A New Kind of Radical

Last month, the California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22 which passed with a 2/3rds majority during last Novembers election. The citizens of the State of California stated that, in California, marriage was defined as a union between a man and a woman. Period. Simple enough. The people of the state spoke, the Governor, who's whole platform was working for "the people of California", agreed and signed it into law.

Then a bunch of radicals descended on the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Proposition stating it was "unconstitutional". (Which is every radical's favorite buzzword whether it is constitutional or not!) So the Supreme Court, in defiance of the electorate and the Legislature and the Executive office in Sacramento, overturned the Proposition and California became the first state in the Union to legalize same-sex marriage.

This is not the first time someone tried to be radical about same-sex marriage. Gavin Newsome, Mayor of San Francisco, in a PR stunt, legalized same-sex marriage in San Francisco. Didn't last. Why? It was in violation of State and Federal laws. It was in violation of Proposition 22, a proposition who's verbiage had already been upheld earlier.

Radicals. Always trying to subvert and overturn the status quo. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not so good.

Instead of being a radical who's always trying to ram their view, their morality, their pet cause down the throats of those who don't want it, why not try being a radical who's trying to change society for the better?

We need radicals who will buck the status quo and develop hydrogen powered vehicles without the exorbitant price tag?

Or a radical who develops a way to drill oil that is cleaner and more productive than before?

Or a radical who sees the possibilities of powering this country (and others) by using those previously mentioned drilling and processing ideas to free land instead of locking it down under the guise of protecting the beauty of the country?

Or a radical who says he or she will not take obscene profits but will allow society to use their ideas for the betterment of man instead of padding their portfolio?

What a radical idea it would be to see speculators not line their pockets by fueling the spiralling prices of crude oil and gasoline but instead channel that money into R&D so that another radical can come up with the aforementioned drilling and processing procedures?

How about a radical who, when someone offers an idea that is contrary to their pet idea; instead of taking it personally and castigating the bringer of new ideas, they shelve their own anger, consider what's being presented and take an objective view?

How about a radical who doesn't see opposition as a means of destroying their life but as a way of broadening their horizons?

How about a radical who, when presented with a product that represents Christian faith, says, "I don't care who it offends, it's a good product, it sells, we make money, we'll keep it!" instead of kowtowing to pressure from haters who threaten to boycott their stores. How about those same radicals not only putting up something wholesome in their stores but also taking down those Che Guevara t-shirts? After all, what's better for society? A God who becomes a man and give His life for all or a murdering communist??

We need a radical who instead of killing citizens of their countries that believe differently will make an effort to live in harmony with them.

We need a radical who will tell those who kill over religious, political and social differences that they will stand for the downtrodden and resist evil with all their might and at the same time, endeavour to change hearts and minds.

Is it radical to allow all humans, everywhere, to follow every whim of their hearts or is it radical to voluntarily restrict your freedoms for the greater good of yourself and your fellow human being?

What's radical? To laugh at that which your heart and mind tell you is wrong? Or to turn away and not submit yourself to perversion?

What's radical? To say nothing while evil goes on around you? To stand and stare not wanting to get involved? Or to jump in and possibly save a life? Save a soul? Save a child?

We need a new kind of radical. One that doesn't let professors brain wash them into thinking this country is evil. One that believes they can do any thing they put their mind to. A radical who won't give in to small-minded, petty arguments. A radical who will put aside their power and prestige. A radical who will allow that there may be someone smarter than you. We need a radical that will scream that we have the best and brightest here. That our system, while not perfect, is a damn sight better than most. We need radicals who aren't afraid of the past. We need radicals who look to the future with hope and optimism. We need radicals who not only think outside the box but are willing to look back in the box once in a while and take what works and make it better.

We need a new kind of radical who is willing to say to the bubble-headed bleach blonde who comes on at five and constantly degrades those who do good that they don't want to watch that anymore and are changing the channel.

We need a new kind of radical that puts aside their own leanings to report what they see and hear. To not consider "spin" being radical but being radical by not spinning the news.

We need a radical like those who came before us in this country.

The John Smith's.
The George Washington's and Thomas Jefferson's and John Adams' and Abraham Lincoln's.
The Roosevelt and the Reagan's.
The Wright Bros'. and the Lindbergh's and the Kelly's.
The Cessna's, the Piper's, the Beech's.
The Ford's, the Chrysler's, the Daimlers, the Buicks.
The Eli Whitney's, the Samuel Fuller's, the B.F. Goodrich's.
The Seward's and their follies.
The Goldwyn's and the Mayers'.
The Alan Shepherds, the John Glenn's, the Chuck Yeager's and the Gordo Cooper's.
The Dean Kamen's, the Steve Jobs', the Bill Gates'.
The Mom's and Pop's who open diners, and hardware stores and beauty salons and 7-11's.
The kid who sells lemon-ade on a card table in his front yard for 25 cents and is not afraid to do so because other radicals have seen to it that pushers, dealers, crooks, thieves and all-round bad guys don't come to their neighborhood.

A new kind of radical. He or she is in the mold of the old kind of radical. The ones that made this country great. The ones that stood against evil. The ones that nailed indictments on church doors. The ones who offered a life for life.

Eric