I am so pleased to offer you another opinion piece by my dear friend and frequent guest blogger here, Julie Imirie.
The Liberal’s Double Standard Part 4,652
The whole universe is all abuzz over the speech that Dr. Benjamin Carson gave at the National Prayer breakfast. His passionate remarks were the shot heard ’round the world as an indictment of Obamacare and the entitlement society, a philosophy that Dr. Carson simply does not share, and does not want to promote. Dr. Carson so eloquently stated that his mother never let him be a victim, or feel that there was anyone to blame. They started at square one the day young Ben was born, and worked from there – navigating through poverty and the mean streets of Detroit, to help him become possibly one of the most celebrated and well-known black success stories in modern times, second only perhaps to Obama himself, if you believe that his success came from hard work (which I don’t.)
Enter the left-wing media. Not only did they accuse him of politicizing the occasion, they took issue with his even daring to speak out about the great leader’s healthcare plan. Now let’s get this straight. Are we to believe that the left cares about the appropriateness of a speech at a prayer breakfast? Number one, they don’t believe in prayer, and number two, the President has seized every opportunity he can to politicize every event he goes to. May I remind you of his most recent trek into the policy muck during the Sandy Hook school shooting and hurricane Sandy. In fact, if you look at his own remarks from 2012′s prayer breakfast, the President explained how his faith influences his views on public policy, including asking the very wealthy to sacrifice just a little in order to help the rest of American society. “[A]s a Christian,” the president said, his approach “coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’”
We can agree to disagree on whether the prayer breakfast was the correct platform for Dr. Carson’s remarks, although you’d be hard-pressed to get me to say that we should not take advantage of every chance we get to slam Obamacare and this administration. But, here we have a learned, experienced, decorated, admired and successful black doctor (oh, the horror of it) disagreeing with the ‘messiah’? What is so striking here is that it just galls the left to see a black conservative. If Dr. Carson had stood up there and talked about gun control, global warming, or more taxes for the rich, you wouldn’t have heard a peep. Make no mistake, this was not about the appropriateness of Dr. Carson’s remarks on this stage. It was about the left vilifying anyone who speaks against Obamacare, let alone by a BLACK doctor. Dr. Carson should be commended for his life, his candor and his faith. He should be looked at as the epitome of the opportunities that are possible in this country – for all its citizens, no matter what their humble beginnings were. And, he should be proud that he defied the conventional left-wing media stereotype of the American black.
I attended a luncheon this week where former US Senate candidate Dan Bongino spoke to a group of Republican women. Of course, when Dan speaks, it is always a lesson on economics and the plight of the Maryland conservative. But, from this speech, I would share a portion of his thoughts. Dan implored that we all do one thing from now on: when it comes to the media, TURN IT OFF AND DON’T LISTEN, because when we give these people voice, we are contributing to our own destruction. The media is counting on you to scratch your head and say, well, maybe it wasn’t a good idea for Dr. Carson to do that. They are counting on you to question the appropriateness of his remarks, yet, let it pass that Sylvester Stallone, Matt Damon, Samuel Jackson and others make the most violent movies allowed by ratings’ standards, then preach to us about gun control. And, they are hoping that by subliminal messaging, you begin to doubt your party and your fundamental beliefs. Dr. Carson was exactly correct, on point, and at the right place at the right time – because every day, every place, everywhere, we must speak out.
