Great American Success Story: June 2016

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Declaration of Dependence on God

This image can be printed and signed.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for People to acknowledge that they are not God almighty, a decent respect to the opinions of Mankind requires that they should Declare the causes which have brought them to this conclusion.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident:

that all men are Created
that if there were no God, nothing and nobody would exist
that when we depend on the Lord, He takes care of us
that the Lord is God.

We, therefore do, in the Name of God, solemnly publish and declare, that we are totally, and completely, and in every way, Dependent on God.

For the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we pledge to our Lord our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.

If you liked this, you might also like some of Danny's other writings. Check out his Amazon Author Page.

Related blog posts

The Garden of App-en

The Lord's Fishing Buddies

Prayer Wireless?

Adapted by Danny Murphy from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. This piece was first published in the First Coast Community section of the Florida Times-Union website in 2005.

Monday, June 20, 2016

How to tell jokes: Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Remedial Sensitivity

Lenny Bruce, Wikimedia Commons

Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t play colleges anymore due to political correctness. Neither does Chris Rock. In an interview with Frank Rich of Vulture, Rock said, "I stopped playing colleges, and the reason is because they're way too conservative... Not in their political views — not like they're voting Republican — but in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody."

In the tradition of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin, comedians love to exercise their wit privilege by telling jokes about anything. They're essentially wit supremacists who act as if nothing is off limits. Sometimes they push the envelope just to see how far they can go. Louis C.K., Bill Maher, Ricky Gervais, Seth McFarlane, Tracy Morgan, Amy Schumer, Dane Cook, Daniel Tosh, and Michael Richards have all been accused of going over the line in one way or another. Radio personalities Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus, and Howard Stern have also been accused of going too far with their humor.

Richard Pryor, Wikipedia

It could happen to anyone who’s trying to be funny. For example, I myself was once tempted to come up with a few jokes about what happened to Bruce/Caitlin Jenner’s javelin. It just seemed to me that there’s probably a man in a woman’s body somewhere who would love to have Jenner’s old javelin. It seemed to me that it could have been sold or auctioned off on Ebay. However, I realized that jokes based on those premises, which could be extremely offensive to some people, would be way over the line. Thank goodness I figured that out before it was too late.

Just because a joke is funny doesn’t mean that it has to be told or that it should be told. Funny people love their wit privilege, but it doesn't give them the right to tell jokes that offend and hurt feelings. Comedians and others who earn their livings through humor must have sensitivity for the feelings of anyone who might be offended. They must figure out how to deliver kinder, gentler jokes that won’t hurt other people's feelings. They simply must. If they cannot do that, the laughter must stop.

Further Reading

Politically Correct Jokes

How to tell jokes

Learn to tell jokes from the masters

Sunday, June 19, 2016

The Good Provider

When I was twelve and playing Pee Wee hockey, I scored a goal in every game for a while. Game after game, I was in the right place at the right time. It was one of the best times in my life. The only way it could have been better would have been seeing my father in the stands at a game. However, he worked two jobs and he never had time for things like that. He paid for the hockey, but never did come to a game.

One winter, during my hockey years, he got some wood, framed up a small area in the backyard, and lined it with plastic sheeting. Then he filled it with water which froze. It was a tiny skating rink. It was too small to do much and there was actually better ice in a nearby swamp. Still, my father had built it for me, and that meant something.

Our relationship became strained after I grew up. There were times when I went negative when I thought about him. Now, I choose to think about the little skating rink he built for me. I wish I had a picture of it. My father worked a lot and he was a good provider. I’m very fortunate to have had the father I had.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Heroes on board and heroes on the hill - Remembering Bunker Hill and United Flight 93

“Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes,” Colonel William Prescott told the minutemen. It was June 17^th, 1775. They couldn’t afford to waste one round. They stood their ground till the ammunition ran out. They lost the hill, and they lost the battle. However, they had proved to themselves, to the British, and to potential supporters that they could fight. Whereas the British lost about 1000 men, the rebel forces lost about 400.

Bunker Hill Day commemorates the first major battle of the Revolutionary War. When I was growing up, it was one of the best days of the year. My father and his lifelong pal, Fred ''Sullie'' Sullivan, grew up in the Charlestown section of Boston, not far from Bunker Hill. Sullie lived in Charlestown his whole life.

Every year, on June 17^th, my family went to the Sullivan home for a cookout. My father was in the Boston Fire Department Color Guard for a few years, and he marched in the parade. I got to hang out with Danny Sullivan, who was a really fun guy to be around. After the parade, Danny and I would check out the Bunker Hill Monument.

A few years ago, I saw the movie United 93. United 93 was the flight where a group of modern day minutemen stood up and fought back against the terrorists who had hijacked the plane. One of the best things about the film was that the actors and actresses were relative unknowns. They were regular people, as were the passengers on United 93.

Those who fought back on United 93 had something in common with the patriots who fought on Bunker Hill. Their greatest resource was their own courage. Ultimately, they prevented the terrorists from carrying out their mission.

The gripping story of United 93 is shown in real time. It's impossible to know, for certain, how close the movie was to what actually happened. The director and writers pieced together as much as they could from the flight recorders and from phone calls that were made by the passengers. The film depicted, in a very plausible way, what happens to people when they are confronted with acts of terror – the confusion, the fear, and the resolve.

Director Paul Greengrass writes, ''The terrible dilemma those passengers faced is the same we have been struggling with ever since. Do we sit passively and hope this all turns out OK? Or do we fight back and strike at them before they strike at us? And what will be the consequences if we do?''

For more information about the movie, check out http://www.flight93.net/index.php.

For more information about Bunker Hill, check out http://www.nps.gov/bost/bost_lographics/bunkhill.htm.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Are you a wit supremacist?

Wit supremacists normally take the privileges of their status for granted. Recognizing the unearned benefits one enjoys due to wit privilege is the first step to recovery. The following list of statements will help readers to determine whether or not they are, indeed, wit supremacists.

It doesn't take a doctor to figure
out if you have wit privilege.

I prefer to associate with people who tell good jokes and who laugh at my jokes.
I avoid associating with people who aren’t funny.
I enjoy my ability to find something to laugh at on TV at any time.
I’m confident in my ability to get people’s attention by telling a joke or two.
I enjoy making fun of people who don’t understand a joke.
When I go to a multiplex cinema, I can always find at least one good comedy to watch.
I can tell in a matter of seconds whether a new acquaintance is going to be funny.
I try to protect my children from encounters with the witless.
If a traffic cop pulls me over, I’m confident in my ability to develop a friendly rapport by telling a joke.
I can easily find humorous greeting cards whenever I want to.
I routinely win arguments with the witless simply by being humorous.
I feel no need to read serious literature, engage in serious conversations, or watch serious programming on TV.
My sense of humor was a key factor in getting a job or a promotion.
I can always get off the hook for being late to a meeting by telling a joke.
I feel comfortable in most settings because people like the way I tell jokes.

If you identify with two or more of these statements, there’s a strong possibility that you are a wit supremacist.

Wit Privilege and America's War on the Witless
An article of mine in The American Thinker

Further reading

Laughter is the best therapy

Remedial Sensitivity

Politically Correct Jokes

Watch how the masters tell jokes.