Cherche le Homme

An old Kingston Trio song from the 1950s goes as follows:

They're rioting in Africa
They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain
the Whole world is festering with unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like Anybody very much.

But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud
For man's been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud
And we know for certain that some lucky day
Someone will set the spark off and we will all be blown away

They're rioting in Africa
There's strife in Iran
What nature doesn't do to us
Will be done by our fellow Man

-- Sheldon Harnick @1958

Not much has changed, except that now they're rioting in France, and Iran is working on its own mushroom shaped cloud.

Watching clips of the riots in France, I was put in mind of this column by Ruth Marcus complaining about the challenge that's been popping up in debates, "Man up!" I sent her the following response:

I think it's a great slogan. Americans need to get away from the government teat and show some independence. We need to quit feeling sorry for ourselves, face the future with courage and firmly tell the purveyors of dependence, "No!" We need to support ourselves and be frugal and thrifty and save for our own retirement, and then put that off as long as possible. It will take a long time to return to that model and shrink the federal government to the role that was intended for it.

If there's anything that the Feminists stand for it's acting more like a man; reject homemaking, have a career, get to the top. They've made women who want to stay home and raise a family in partnership with good men feel shamed. That's why Sarah Palin is such a breath of fresh air. She's feminine but strong, courageous and proud to be a wife and mother, which means being a leader as well. Maybe her slogan should be "Woman up!"

Freedom is a byproduct of independence. To the extent you have to rely on others, you're not free. Liberty is wonderful, but you don't keep it if you don't earn it every day.