When did we stop acknowledging evil and try to justify or explain it instead?

I find myself asking this question as the media scrapes the bottom of the barrel of classmates who knew alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhr Tsarnaev. He was a “quiet, sweet boy.” He was “an angel.” He was a lifeguard, a student, a normal kid. Well I don’t know about you, but “normal” teenagers don’t detonate bombs feet away from an 8-year-old child.

Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, suggested that the Tsarnaev brothers learned their evil ways, claiming, “It is necessary to seek the roots of evil in America.” Others have suggested that he is the product of a bad upbringing. However, no matter what the explanation of the moment may be, the words “terrorist” and “evil” have become far from politically correct.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, to be completely honest. We simply don’t label evil anymore. James Holmes? Well he was inspired by the violence media. Oh and he had a gun, which obviously turn normal Americans into vicious killers. Or something. Adam Lanza was also armed and had been on some sort of medication. According to the left, Jared Loughner was incited by the “violent rhetoric” spun by the Tea Party (give me a break). Kermit Gosnell is merely a product of an unregulated abortion system. No matter what the blameworthy person or cause of the day, our culture always finds a way to point the finger away from the person who pulled the trigger (or planted the bomb, etc.).

When did it become so horrible to call out evil for what it is? I don’t know about you, but I have no issue with calling someone who takes innocent lives for whatever reason evil. Shooting up a theater of innocent movie-goers? That’s evil. Snipping the spines of living, breathing babies? That’s evil. No amount of political correctness should keep us from labeling an evil act for what it is. Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly what’s happening. No one wants to “label” another human being so we keep our mouths shut. Tucson shooter Jared Loughner had obvious issues long before he pulled the trigger on that fateful January day. Yet we didn’t hear about the numerous safety reports regarding his behavior in college until after he had been arrested. By then it was too late. Apparently the doctrine of “if you see something, say something” has gone by the wayside.

G. K. Chesterson said, “Unless a man becomes the enemy of an evil, he will not even become its slave but rather its champion.” No wonder we have so many problems in the world today. How can you possibly become an enemy of evil if you’re not even willing to claim it exists? Nowadays it isn’t evil anymore; it’s a violent culture, poor upbringing, etc. We’re no longer a nation of personal responsibility. Rather, we’re people of collective blame.

C. S. Lewis said, “God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right.” We’re a flawed species; evil will exist until the end of time. However, it will run rampant and we will become passive supporters to the forces of evil if we’re unwilling to call it out as we see it. How will we even have a shot at preventing the next terrorist attack if we’re still trying to justify the last one? Evil is evil is evil is evil. There’s no other way to put it. You want to know why “Uncle Ruslan” is so loved? It’s because we as a people crave those who blatantly label evil for what it is. However, our slow cultural shift from individuality to collectivism makes it politically incorrect to say so. Individuals are no longer to blame. It’s society, it’s families, it’s medications, it’s guns. We are free to choose good or evil, but with this freedom comes a duty. We have the duty to avoid evil individually and label it when it’s committed by another. Acknowledgement is the first step towards victory over evil. As Chesterton said, we cannot merely be passive observers in the fight between good and evil. We must become the enemy of evil or else we are doomed to become its passive supporters from now until the end of time.

Full Post via The College Conservative 

By: Amy Lutz

For most, the last few days have seemed like a thousand years. Between the Boston Marathon bombing, Gosnell trial, Ricin incident, and West Texas explosion, hope seems lost. I wish I could say I knew the magic words that would suddenly kindle hope inside the hearts of all Americans. I don't. All we can do now is pray.

However, though I can't seem to find the right words to say, I thought I'd let others speak for me.

"There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for." --Lord of the Rings

“Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” ― Stephen King

“Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.” ― Margaret Mitchell

"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage." -- The Hobbit

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." -- Martin Luther King Jr. 

“So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.” — Gandalf (Ian McKellen)

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." — The Emperor (Mulan)

“Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning’s done.” – Rock Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)


“Hope – it is the only thing stronger than fear.” -- The Hunger Games


“Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts.  So when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.” -- Hope Floats

By: Amy Lutz

"I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph."

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."

"I love argument, I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that's not their job."


“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” 

“If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and would achieve nothing. ” 

“Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” 

“I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.” 

“Do you know, one of the greatest problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas? Now, thoughts and ideas, that interests me.” 

"We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous and compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything, and no one is responsible for the state."

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. it's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it."

By: Amy Lutz

So while I was absentmindedly sending out sarcastic tweets today, this happened:

Apparently actress Elizabeth Perkins has a little issue with people who disagree with the president. After I send a sarcastic tweet to President Obama, she proceeded to troll my twitter feed, including reading my older tweets just so she could bash me some more.

For a member of the Hollywood guild which claims to be "tolerant and inclusive," Ms. Perkins certainly doesn't practice what she preaches. Ironically, she probably would agree with me on many of my small government positions on gay marriage. Ignorance is bliss I suppose. 

And of course my favorite: 

Hypocrisy is hilarious, isn't it? 

By: Amy Lutz

On next week's episode of Law and Order: SVU, the show plans to take the gutsy move to address an issue which I though was put to rest a long time ago: Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" comment.

And by "gutsy," I mean not gutsy at all. 

While I'll be the first to admit I'm a fan of SVU, the program has a long history of painting current events with a very liberal brush. Main character Olivia Benson is staunchly pro-choice, an issue which is frequently brought up on the show. At least former detective Elliot Stabler was there to butt heads with her on the issue (he was a pro life Catholic), but Stabler exited the show long ago. 

THIS is why culture matters. Conservatives can no longer allow liberalism to run rampant in mainstream television, corrupting the less politically-minded among us. Todd Akin's idiotic comment is the gift that keeps on giving for the left. Although his statement in no way reflects the opinion of the mainstream pro-life movement, it was (and still is) persistently used to imply (falsely) that 1. The pro-life movement is not compassionate to victims of rape and 2. The Republican party hates women. 

Say it with me. 

This is why we can't have nice things. 

By: Amy Lutz

This morning, the RNC released their 2012 "autopsy" findings and plan for future elections. The report, appropriately titled "The Growth & Opportunity Project," bluntly addresses the widespread issues within the Republican Party as well as providing a plan for 2016. Although I highly suggest you read the entire report yourself, here are a few highlights.

• The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue.
• It is time for Republicans on the federal level to learn from successful Republicans on the state level. It is time to smartly change course, modernize the Party, and learn once again how to appeal to more people, including those who share some but not all of our conservative principles.
• If we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans, we have to engage them and show our sincerity.
• This new organization should develop a program designed to educate Republicans on the importance of developing and tailoring a message that is non-inflammatory and inclusive to all.
• Republicans should develop a more aggressive response to Democrat rhetoric regarding a so-called “war on women.” In 2012, the Republican response to this attack was muddled, and too often the attack went undefended altogether. We need to actively combat this, better prepare our surrogates, and not stand idly by while the Democrats pigeonhole us using false attacks. There are plenty of liberal policies that negatively impact women, and it is incumbent upon the party to expose those and relentlessly attack Democrats using that framework.
• Republicans need to talk about people and families, not just numbers and statistics.
• Encourage young candidates to run for office by preparing them with training and support.
• Media plans and buys must integrate all platforms. What worked in the last campaign will no longer work in the next campaign. Continued audience fragmentation means media plans must incorporate increasingly diverse mixes of broadcast television, cable television, Hispanic advertising, sports programming, radio, Internet advertising, social media, mobile, and other
  emerging media such as online television viewing and radio listening.
• Groupthink is a loser.
  
• The number of debates should be reduced by roughly half to a still robust number of approximately 10 to 12, with the first occurring no earlier than September 1, 2015, and the last ending just after the first several primaries (February-March 2016).
• Instead of driving around in circles on an ideological cul-de-sac, we need a Party whose brand of conservatism invites and inspires new people to visit us. We need to remain America’s conservative alternative to big-government, redistribution-to-extremes liberalism, while building a route into our Party that a non-traditional Republican will want to travel. Our standard should not be universal purity; it should be a more welcoming conservatism.
  

By: Amy Lutz

I promise this is not a joke. 

This week, Sports Illustrated named President Barack Obama "One of the Most Powerful People in Sports." Appropriately, he was #44 on the list. The magazine had this to say about the selection: 


"POTUS might be the ultimate global power player, but he also wields significant influence in the Republic of Sports. One relevant riff-on his NCAA tourney picks, on his desire for a college football playoff, on his concern over permitting the sons that he doesn't have to play football-and the sports world takes notice. Plus, the 51-year-old can shoot the J."

I think we all know where Sports Illustrated is located on the political spectrum because anyone with eyes and half a brain could logically deduce our current Commander in Chief knows very little about several of this country's favorite pastimes. Don't believe me? I'll prove it. 

He doesn't know the name of the 2012 NBA Champions. 

"Miami Heats?" I'm not an NBA fan and even I know it's the "Miami Heat."

He thinks "Caminsky Park" is actually "Kaminsky Field." 

Alright, I'll admit, I didn't know where Kaminsky Field was until I saw this video. However, 1. I'm not a huge baseball fan (I was unfortunately enough to be born into a family of Royals fans) and 2. I'm not from Chicago. You would think that someone who hails from Chicago and claims to be a huge baseball fan would actually know the name of the park where the White Sox played from 1910-1990. 

He Can't Actually Name Any White Sox Players

In 2010, before throwing the first pitch at a Nationals-Mets game in DC, the president gave an interview in which he was unable to name any White Sox players. But, wait, I thought he was such a HUGE fan? 

Rob Dibble, former White Sox pitcher: “Having played with the White Sox for a short time, I know how the Cubs fans and White Sox fans go back and forth. Who was one of your favorite White Sox players growing up?”

Obama: “You know uh ….. I … I thought that … uh …. you know … the truth is a lot of the Cubs I like too! But, uh … I did not become a Sox fan until I moved to Chicago. Because I uh …. I was growing up in Hawaii so I ended up actually being an Oakland A’s fan.”

He Doesn't Mind Insulting Handicapped Athletes 

Now that's just downright offensive. 

He Throws Like a Girl

I take that back. Even I could probably throw out a better first pitch.