Beware the Memes on the Internet!

This Meme is Making the Rounds on Facebook. The charge is
that it was seen outside a mosque in Dearborn, MI.

My writing history as relates to Islam is pretty well chronicled here on Renegade's Rants, and it would not be hard for any reader of this article to see exactly what I mean. I should point out that while I am much less rabid than many writers of a Christian conservative viewpoint, I am nevertheless very much anti-anyone who is anti-America. It is not that I believe growing up in this country makes anyone more or less elite than anyone else in the world; it is the fact that to this day, the US is still one of the best places to be for religious freedom, personal freedom, and the overall protection of law.

With this being said, I also find the intentional misrepresentation of Muslims to be sickening. If anyone has an issue with Islam, that to me is fine; the issue is with an ideology, as opposed to a living and breathing human being. However, to take pot shots at people because they believe differently, live differently, and dress differently is absolutely and unequivocally the lowest, most despicable, undeniably vile thing anyone can do. Those who manufacture such gross lies and stories are the first in my proverbial crosshairs today.

Above is a picture which I have seen going viral on Facebook and on Google+ most of the day. It is certainly frightening to think that anyplace within the United States would have such a sign, and it is terrifying to think that there could be a group of people so brazen as to say place it in the first place. According to the various comments accompanying this image, it is seen outside a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan. Understandably, the picture is creating quite a stir.

However, the first thing I would like you to do is look at the title on the sign seen above: There is no such mosque in Dearborn, MI, and likely never would be. That is because even the most militant of Muslim extremists in the US (and there are radical Muslims living in this nation and seeking to create a caliphate here) would never blatantly advertise their goal. How do I know? Because there are far too many gun toting nutcases out there who would have no problem turning their attention from the basically defenseless people in abortion clinics to equally defenseless people in a mosque. The intention of the radical are not to get their own killed; sure they'll use suicide bombers and the like; but they need people who do not wish to commit suicide to populate whatever region they are intent on taking over. This is just one reason of several for why the sign seen above ought to raise eyebrows.

For my dollar (nickles are currently worthless), whoever created this meme in the first place ought to be paraded into the public spotlight to explain themselves, at the very least. Preferably, I'd like to see them tried on criminal charges. They do not deserve to live as though they are law-abiding citizens; nor do they deserve to believe they are patriots without having that self-aggrandizing notion severely challenged in a court of law. Whomever created this hoax ought to be caned. For that matter, anyone sharing and perpetuating this willful attempt at inciting violence; anyone who is doing so and knows it to be false; ought to be charged, convicted and punished as accomplices.

But, here I am, going off on a tangent again. I suppose it wouldn't be a rant without the occasional rabbit trail.

Note the URL seen at the bottom of this image.
Can you see the one in the first image? No? That's because
someone intentionally cropped it out of the picture.

Let me get back to why this sign is a hoax.  To the right, note that you can see the very same symbol at the top of the sign. The very same title can be seen on the sign. The very same building can be seen to the right of the sign, and the cars are exactly the same and in the same positions as in the image above. Note however that the slogan is not the same. How is this possible?

Anything is possible when you utilize a church sign generator, which is precisely what the perpetrator of this particular hoax did. What's more, he or she did so with the express purpose of creating hysteria. What's worse is that this meme was created around or long before 2014, which means some ignoramus decided to resurrect this specific zombie- And believe me, it is so evil that even Umbrella Corp would wash their hands of it.

In summary, if you value your own reputation as an intelligent, ethical and law-abiding individual, DO NOT repost this atrocity. It is beyond foolish. It is beyond childish. It is an absolute abomination that fully deserves to be forgotten. Feel free to tell the same to your friends... Or, if you're not sure how they'd react, then by all means; share this article with them. It's worth it to hopefully save someone from the shame of ignorantly following hate and fear mongers.

Renegade out.

FDR, Nationalism and H.R. 973

"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward."

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

I find it very interesting on more than one level that FDR, a man who lived about half his life as a cripple, made a statement such as this. I am not slamming him for being crippled- In fact, that is about the only thing I hold him in esteem for. The man was the only physically challenged president we've had, and he did a pretty decent job in many respects. The problem is that he also did a horrendous job in many others.

Actually, one of the first reasons I find it interesting is that it is a quote many liberals would wish to champion. Notice, I did not use the words Democrat or Republican: Truth be told, there is very little difference between parties any longer. No there is only ideology, and that breaks roughly into Conservative and Liberal, with many riding fence in between; but I digress. It is a quote they would champion because it sounds like a truthful statement from a heroic figure. The man could not walk, yet look at his keen observation!

I cannot help but notice, however, that the only backwards walking I've seen from most modern Conservatives is derived from their need to clean up the past administration's mistakes. The charge I often hear is that Conservatives are stuck in the past- Well, people who clean up someone else's disasters often are, though not by choice.

This brings me to an article I read earlier today originally written by the late Howard Zinn. In it, he lambastes what he terms "Nationalism ... One of the great evils of our time." The problem is, Zinn proceeds to describe patriotism- Not Nationalism. Now mind you, this man was a veteran. He fought in World War II. Thus, it was strange to read such a gross mischaracterization- He ascribes the very attitude which gave rise to Hitler to patriotism.

Take, for instance, this excerpt from the beginning of the article:

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blesse

Is not nationalism -- that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder -- one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred?

This is not Nationalism- This is patriotism that is being attacked here. Perhaps more amazing in its sheer foolishness is the fact that the article attempts to paint the United States of America as unimportant, unexceptional and far from unique. He ends his abomination of an article with these words: "We need to refute the idea that our nation is different from, morally superior to, the other imperial powers of world history ... We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to any one nation."

This is humanism at its best- Not to mention historical revisionism, interpretive deviance and terminological hijacking. While I agree that the U.S. has no feet to stand on from a moral perspective in many instances, the rest of his closing statement is purely progressive liberal bull.

I bring this up because once again, a Conservative has to set the record straight.

Nationalism is what Germany experienced during the rise of Adolph Hitler. It is an extreme attitude of superiority centered around a single powerful figurehead. The ruler institutes symbols and the subjects show reverence and/or deference to these without question, criticism or complaint. It was this attitude that allowed Hitler to not only come to power, but also to taking his first steps towards eternal, historical infamy. When Hitler was questioned, what resulted was often a less than pretty sight; within his government, individuals who stood against him wound up catching a bad case of death.

Contrasting heavily with this is Patriotism. Patriots support their nation, think highly of their nation and appreciate their nation. However, they are also highly critical if something seems to be affecting it for the worse- They speak out, demanding a return to proper adherence to rule of law, for instance. Or, hypothetically speaking, denouncing as wrong something as obvious as electing a duel citizen to federal public office. In this country, this sort of thing can be done at any time, anywhere. In this country, patriots rally behind a flag and their troops while demanding accountability from their leaders. In this country, people can do this without disappearing unexpectedly- Or being slaughtered on the spot.

This article exemplifies perfectly the need for H.R. 973. In short, it spells out the need for all courts, from Municipal to Supreme, decide cases based solely upon US Law and no other. It seems so simple and common sense that one might be tempted to dismiss it as unnecessary. Such a dismissal would be a colossal mistake, however.

As indicated in the earlier example, common sense is far from commonplace nowadays. As such, people are needing, more and more, for things to be spelled out for them. Our leaders in D.C. top this list. For this reason, I urge you to phone your Reps and Senators and demand their support and passage of this bill. It's simple, it's common sense, but in the long run, it may save this country.

If you don't know who your Reps and Senators are, try this handy online tool.