Political Correctness Ramblings

October 22, 2010 D.A. Adams 5 Comments

Now that Juan Williams has been fired, I had the opportunity to apply for the host position on “Talk of the Nation.” Having long been a fan of the program, I was excited about the chance to take over the helm and use my talents for this prestigious show. The following is a transcript of my interview:

D. A. Adams: Thank you for the opportunity to interview for this position. I believe I’m the right person for the job.

Averly Sensitive: By person, are you implying only humans are qualified for this position?

DA: Um, yes?

Ima DeBaller: So you discriminate against other species?

DA: Well, I thought the ability to speak English would be a prerequisite for a national radio host.

Averly: Hmmph, so you don’t like other nationalities, either?

DA: Um, what?

Ima: You closed-minded white male bigots are all the same.

DA: I’m a little confused. Can we start over?

Averly: We at NPR pride ourselves on our open-mindedness and commitment to free speech. You clearly are not objective enough to work here.

DA: Look, I believe all people deserve respect and dignity, regardless of race, religion, social class, gender, whatever.

Ima: So you are against the elderly.

DA: What?

Ima: You didn’t include the elderly in your little rant. Obviously, you must be an ageist.

DA: (Due to the sensitive nature of this blog, Mr. Adams’s Irish-tempered outburst has been omitted to protect innocent eyes.)

Averly: (Sobbing) I’ve never been called those words before.

Ima: Look what you’ve done! You brute.

DA: (Content removed.)

Obviously, I didn’t get the job, and NPR will have to continue their search for someone who is open-minded, sensitive, and domesticated enough not to offend any culture or sub-culture by saying something that can be misconstrued out of context as offensive. In this manner, free speech and liberty shall be preserved ad infinitum.

www.thirdaxe.com

General Posts

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

October 20, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

I found this poster yesterday that pretty well sums up how I feel politically. This current toxicity of partisanship between the extremes of each party is disgusting:

To me, people who knock on doors to tell other people how to live their live are the epitome of arrogance, and that goes for both the religious nuts and the liberal do-gooders. In this current atmosphere, instead of having a real national debate on reforming a broken healthcare system, we got “Death Panels” and “ObamaCare.” That irrational fear-mongering did nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, to fix the problem. Instead of having a real national debate on controlling our porous borders, we got “Human Rights” and “Racial Profiling.” Again, nothing has gotten done, and our border is sitting there wide open for anyone to scurry across.

Here’s a memo for the I’m-Right-And-You’re-Wrong extremists on both sides of the aisle: While you hold your breath and stomp your feet as your debate strategy, the rest of the world is passing us by. Our economy still might be the largest in the world, but our education and healthcare systems aren’t even in the top ten anymore. We have REAL problems that need to be fixed, and the only way to get anything done is to stop these “Who’s the bigger asshole?” contests, swallow a little pride, admit you don’t have the only answer for everything, LISTEN to what the other side has to say, and come to a workable compromise that moves legislation and policy forward.

I’ll admit that I’m guilty of poking fun and pointing out stupidity more against conservatives than liberals, but that’s because I live in a highly conservative region that, while the intentions may be good, is stuck about sixty years in the past, holding on to Cold War paranoia and believing their religion is the only one on the planet. If I were in a more liberal region, I guarantee, my brand of criticism would be aimed the other way.

Maybe we need to collapse as a nation and suffer through some real hard times for a couple of generations just to learn a little humility. Perhaps that would be the best medicine for the extremists to cure their arrogance. Maybe then, instead of debating about hot-button, emotionally-charged, mostly irrelevant to day-to-day life issues, we could focus on rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and regaining our place as the world’s leader. I hope not. I hope there enough people like me who are sick enough of the extremism to save this country before it’s too late. If you are like me, turn off Fox News, turn off Keith Olberman, stop listening to the extremists who refuse to listen, and vote moderate.

www.thirdaxe.com

General Posts

Monday Morning Ramblings

October 18, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

I often complain about the negative issues in education, but this morning, I would like to take a moment to praise a few of the areas that are positive.

Today and tomorrow are Fall Break, so there are no classes on campus. However, in Sevier County, dual enrollment instructors are still required to teach in the high schools. Our first term for dual enrollment ended on Friday, and grades are due on Wednesday. Since I’m teaching that overload section this semester, grading time is scarce, so last week, I went to the dean of the Sevier County Campus and asked her if I could leave an assignment at the high school and use Monday and Tuesday to grade in my office. Without missing a beat, she told me that as long as the students were occupied at the high school, my plan was fine with her. She even expressed an appreciation for the volume of hours I’ve been putting in this Fall.

That’s one of the things I love about my job. I almost always feel as if I’m supported by the leadership of the college, and I know that most of them understand how hard we work on our end because they work just as hard on theirs. At the point when I went to talk to her, I hadn’t had a day off in three weeks, and I was feeling desperate for a little time to clear my head and relax. If she had said no to my request, I would’ve had to grade all weekend again to make sure their grades were in on time. Since she allowed me to use this time on Monday and Tuesday, I got to get caught up on mowing Saturday and then put my feet up on Sunday and rest. At the previous college where I was employed, the leadership wouldn’t have cared one iota about my well-being and probably would’ve considered me a derelict for even making such a request.

It’s nice to work for people who understand that we are human beings, not machines. It’s nice to know my dean appreciates my efforts. There’s no way to measure how far a little appreciation goes, especially in a profession that is often bombarded with criticism from every angle. So on this Monday, I’d like to thank Dean Frazier, Mr. Taylor, Dean Crawford, and Mr. McLain for everything they do to support us front-line grunts. Your efforts are appreciated as well.