Almost daily, news reports confirm that inmates are now running the asylum. But the asylum is our country, its culture, and its former status as a bastion of stability where reliance on common sense once prevailed.
In California, the Berkeley City Council recently decided to throw away common sense and remove any reference to gender from its laws. Henceforth “siblings” will replace “brothers” and “sisters.” References to “he” and “she” will no longer be tolerated, and “they” must be used instead, even if only one person is being referenced. And in Berkeley’s attempt to win a prize for extreme craziness, manholes must now be called maintenance holes. Seems some females felt slighted that men were given preference in the naming of the covers of sewers.
One day after Miss Kathy Zhu won the Miss Michigan pageant and a chance to compete for the title of Miss World America, she received notification that her victory had been cancelled. Pageant organizers found out she had committed what they deemed to be unacceptable attitudes in her Twitter postings two years ago. Responding to Black Lives Matter criticism of police, her comment to some members of BLM stated: “Did you know that the majority of black deaths are caused by other blacks? Fix problems within your own community first before blaming others.” Even the complainers from BLM have to know how correct she was. But that didn’t matter.
The scrutinizers who didn’t like Miss Zhu’s comment to the Black Lives Matter crowd also didn’t like her common-sense questioning when the college she was attending officially okayed promotion of a “World Hijab Day.” Muslim students urged passersby to “Try a hijab on” from their booth. That prompted her to ask: “So you’re telling me that it’s now just a fashion accessory and not a religious thing? Or are you just trying to get women used to being oppressed under Islam?” These are good questions that didn’t get answered.
Back in California, doctoral candidate and teaching assistant Laura Tanner has been attacked, not for something she said in a classroom but for a stand she took in a Twitter posting. Her crime? She stated, “It’s not possible to be born in the wrong body.” Thought a well-respected academic, she faces a crescendo of students, faculty and alumni who want her fired.
It seems as though examples of a nation losing its fundamental bearings can be found daily. And while they may lead to a chuckle, a shoulder shrug, or a bit of anger, they should certainly not be ignored — or allowed to dominate. Our nation is clearly under attack by some who know that national culture is being supplanted by eerie political correctness.
We end this survey of escalating madness by noting that, on July 19th, Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives approved the so-called Equality Act 236-173. The first casualty of this ill-conceived measure (if approved by the Senate and not blocked by President Trump) will be requiring males who claim to be females via the transgender process to compete in formerly all-girl sporting events. If this so-called “Equality Act” wins full approval, we can say goodbye to female versus female competition.
Some will surely call this “progress.” They’re wrong. It’s an element of nation-destroying madness.
John F. McManus is president emeritus of The John Birch Society.
