Ben Stein message

[30inchbuck]

If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly.




The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday

Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05.

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so
important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are.

If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as
is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.


In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?"
(regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

 

[MNHunter]

"Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong...."

Kind of ironic coming from someone who worked in the Nixon Administration and was one of his most ardent supporters

 

[RLH]

did ya know that ben stein was a founding member of the black panthers? he was also nixon's speach writer.

 

[idabigbuck]

MNHunter,
What a ridiculous comment. Just because someone worked for Nixon doesn't mean he had any knowledge of any wrongdoing. The inner circle of people that had any knowledge was very small. Did Mr. Stein do anything wrong? If you have any problem with the text of the post please state them. Otherwise your comment is irrelevent.

I agree with everything Ben Stein had to say. People in this country expect everyone else to cater to their every whim. "Oh we don't want to offend this group, we don't want to offend that group." Well you know what "GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE AND STOP SNIVELLING ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO NOT BE OFFENDED." If this offends you TOUGH!!!! In the words of a famous MM philosopher, "COWBOY UP, CUPCAKE"

 

[MNHunter]

You may think it ridiculous, I think it is ironic. While I do not disagree with much of the rest of his statement, I also believe many people avoid the fact that many of the people who continously talk about the moral decline of country are themselves partly reponsible for it. Whether it be a a congressman who has affairs himself talking about "family values" or another accepting bribes talking about the corruption in government.

My point is the message can be tainted by the messenger.

As for Mr. Stein, from everything I have studied about Watergate, I believe in his capacity as a speech writer he was forced to decide between writing blatantly false propoganda or quit out of conscience. He chose the former.