Sticks, Stones and Glass Houses.

We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. Told by thousands of parents for years as a way to teach one of life's most important lessons - "Always tell the truth." We instill this value into our own children and demand that they live this lesson every day just as our parents taught us. I have had my own struggles with the truth over the years dating back to the first time I lied to my parents about why I'd come home so late or why my report card was so atrocious. Despite our parents best teachings, society teaches us something completely opposite of their best advice.

Society teaches us to lie. It teaches us that not only is lying acceptable in certain circumstances, it's necessary for the daily battle to survive. Who amongst us has never cheated on their taxes, embellished on a resume' or any of the hundreds of reasons that present themselves on a daily basis? I suspect that there are none among us who are without sin on this score. It's a fact of everyday life now. Lying has become so commonplace these days as to seem passe'. What's worse is not only is it accepted, it's expected of certain people. So much so that hearing the truth sometimes raises the hackles on our necks in defense. Two groups spring instantly to mind - politicians and salesmen. Those groups are expected to lie to us and we have grown accustomed to hearing them spew great whoppers. We smile inside and tell ourselves, "This is the way of things, this is normal."

During our formative years, when the teachings of our parents is still fresh and causing us great consternation about lying, the story of George Washington and the cherry tree seems completely believable. We accept it as fact simply because that is what we have been taught. Ask yourself if you believe that story now. Washington was a young boy when the incident occurred so it seems plausible that he would own up to his misdeed and suffer the consequences. It's treated more as a fable now. Something used to reinforce the lesson on telling the truth just like the boy who cried wolf.

Which brings me neatly to my real point. Crying wolf has dire consequences when it is discovered to be false. It damages both the teller and the listener in obvious and subtle ways. The teller is soon dismissed as a liar and a fraud and the listener becomes hardened and cynical to the real danger that may be lurking in the shadows. As a result, the entire village is left open to the horrors of being devoured by a ravenous monster.

George W. Bush was a liar. So was Bill Clinton. So too is Barack Obama. Again, we expect this of our elected officials and they never fail to disappoint. What we do not expect is to have what was once the most trusted group of people in the country turn out to be liars as well. Once a guardian of our liberties, they now serve to cloud the truth and hide the facts. They editorialize and spew great whoppers but we give them a pass because they've learned to lie like politicians and salesmen do. They tell lies that comfort us and reinforce our own beliefs.

Before I continue, if you're expecting a rant on he evils of the media... you are correct.

I call Chris Matthews the "journalist who cried racism". He does it so often and with such skill that he is never questioned by a large segment of the people. As does Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow and a growing number of commentators in the media. You can turn on any of the people I've just mentioned on any given night and during the course of their broadcasts, you will hear the cries of racism being thrown about like candy from a pinata. It's been made a staple of the evening news to the point of being disgusting. I am beyond the point of being tired of it. I've reached the point of no return with it quite frankly. It's as if Matthews and his ilk long for the days of lynchings and crosses burning to give them a vehicle with which they can "save the world".

I've tried to find the real reason for it and I have a few ideas of my own. Tell me if any of them make sense.

1. People who constantly call out people who are gay are called homophones and justifiably so. The theory was that those with the most fear and hatred of gays somehow harbored homosexual tendencies they were subconsciously trying to quell. Could not someone who constantly calls others out for being racists also be considered a racist? Are they not also harboring racist tendencies that they too are trying to quell? Shouting "Racist!" at others proves that I'm not one...right?
2. The vast majority of talking heads these days would like their own civil rights movement or some such social crisis. They need something on a grand scale to justify their own existence. A democrat president means they can no longer trumpet the evils of the wars we face or the collapsing economy so instead, they'll invent something they can fight using all their nobility and enlightened sensibilities.

3. Although somewhat darker and more sinister, the last reason is the most plausible to me. The incessant, and untrue, cries of racism by the media is just the age old tactic of marginalizing an entire group of people. In essence, "Don't listen to that group, they just hate black people." This serves two purposes: first, the silencing of dissent that those on the left think may be dangerous to their own. If it weren't effective, would they be fighting it so hard? Secondly, and most disturbing is this, the media's penchant for "social engineering" is at stake and they must preserve the work they've done over the last 18 months. They've worked so hard to get Barack Obama in the place he is in now and they simply won't allow anyone to tear him down.

Perhaps worse than the media's constant trumpeting of racism is to hear members of Congress do the same. Hank Johnson, (D) Georgia said that without reform, the Klu Klux Klan would roam the quiet countryside again, Charlie Rangel (D) NY says he sees the same faces in the crowds of the Tea Parties that he saw during the civil rights struggle. The latter is patently absurd but accepted as fact by most in the media without question. "If a black person calls you a racist, then it must be true." In fact, where the media is concerned, the only person who's character is above reproach has dark skin...unless he's Michael Steele, Clarence Thomas or Condoleeza Rice. All others are sainted and holy and must not be questioned.

Last time I checked, ALL humans are flawed, not just one political ideology. Last time I checked, we are all weak and imperfect and filled with the propensity to do bad things, despite who we voted for.

In summation, I'd like to remind those of you who are afraid of words that the great George Carlin once said, "Words aren't evil, intentions are." Disagreeing with a black man does not make me a racist.

Hey, I disagree with the teachings of Mao...does that mean I hate Chinese people too?