“This is the way the world ends ...Not with a bang but a whimper."

Does that famous quote aptly describe America’s future? Time will tell, but indications are that this nation, the most powerful, benevolent and fair in the world, is crumbling before our very eyes. Like Rome, it isn’t falling from outside invasion, but within. 

 And one of the biggest culprits is political correctness.

It’s all around us, but especially this time of year, as the assault on “Merry Christmas” accelerates.
 
It used to be a standard greeting, and people would reciprocate with a smile. Your religious denomination didn’t matter, or whether you even had one.  It was simply a friendly expression in a nation where the vast majority celebrated Christmas. And for those who didn’t, most returned the sentiment anyway because it was just a nice thing to do during the jovial season.

But all that changed as Americans’ sense of entitlement exploded. And yes, that included being entitled not to feel “offended” because something may not be to your exact liking.

“Merry Christmas? Well, I celebrate Hannukah or Kwanza or am an atheist, so how dare you presume to wish me your holiday? How offensive and rude!”

But it doesn’t stop there.  Hypocritical retail stores woo Christmas shoppers --- you know, the 95 percent who do celebrate Christmas and spend a half-trillion dollars doing so  --- but won’t put the word “Christmas” in their ads or on their displays.

It’s the Nativity scenes that are increasingly barred from public places. It’s residents who call the ACLU because a development hangs simple white lights on its trees. It’s office Christmas parties becoming a relic, replaced by generic “holiday” events. And yes, it’s Mayors like Michael Nutter who last year deliberately removed the word “Christmas” from the holiday retail complex near City Hall (but subsequently was forced to replace it).

All of it a brazen attempt to make America a more secular society through political correctness, and those who dare question it are labeled “bigots.” 

Several important points need to be addressed:

1) The push to make all things politically correct has been successful, as it is now entrenched in all aspects of society. Everyone gets a trophy in most youth sports leagues, we don’t keep accurate score when one team is winning over another, and all things must be racially, culturally and ethnically homogenous.

The problem is that’s not how the real world works. And it’s the basic principle that the Occupy movement doesn’t understand. You have to work hard and fight for things you want, but when they are bestowed upon us --- without merit --- from those who worship at the altar of political correctness, things go downhill fast.  Need proof? Just look at those who engage in PC the most ---Europe and the United States. Enough said.

2) This is a not call for “Thought Police” to mandate that everyone say “Merry Christmas.”  Quite the opposite. It’s a call for the silent majority to wake up and shove it right back at the small but extremely loud minority who shout “I’m offended” at every single thing. Saying Merry Christmas behind closed doors doesn’t take guts.  Saying it because you truly believe it and not worrying that such an innocuous greeting will offend does --- insane as that is.

3) Most important, Americans need to remember that actions have consequences. And until we connect the dots and see the error of being so PC, those consequences can, and will, have devastating results.

When good folks start looking over their shoulders before saying Merry Christmas for fear of "offending," it all begins to unravel.
 
Think the PC stops at that?  Well, think about the fact that the next time you step foot on an airplane, it may be your last day on Earth because your government --- we the people --- absolutely refuse to non-invasively profile the very folks who openly state their intentions to blow up said aircraft.  And it gets better, as the Transportation Security Administration just announced that children under 12 don’t have to take off their shoes for screening, and will not be subject to routine pat-downs like everyone else

Here’s the $64,000 question. What do we think al-Qaeda will do now? Here’s a wild guess. Start flying a lot more with children? What’s next? Not screening foreign children at all?
 
So when your wife gets incinerated two minutes after takeoff, and the wreckage of a jumbo jet falls on your child’s school because a terrorist put the bomb in his 11 year old's shoe, courtesy of the red carpet we provided, perhaps we shouldn’t wonder why it happened.

Or when your son gets his skull sliced in half by a bullet that emanates from a Mosque in Afghanistan which is "off limits" for retaliation for fear of offending the very people who don’t like us anyway, maybe we should think about where it all started coming apart.
 
Did it start from the reluctance to say Merry Christmas or the refusal to put a Christmas tree on a courthouse plaza? Did it originate from the refusal to acknowledge Christmas on a public school calendar while other religions’ holidays are clearly labeled as such?  It’s impossible to pinpoint, but it really doesn't matter.  That mentality is here, and has in large part led to the Great Decline.
 
So when the inevitable tragedy happens again --- one that could have been prevented --- and dumbfounded Americans stand around asking "How and why did this happen?", well, you'll know why.  The 40's and 50's were certainly not perfect, but people spoke their minds, were respectful, and America was a powerhouse. That attitude put a man on the moon a mere 60 years after the Wright brothers took flight but is now a fleeting memory.  Which is what happens when you bow to the wrong principles.
 
When Rome was at its zenith, it adhered to the simple principle that the well-being of its citizens was paramount. All of them.  In fact, so fervent was that belief that the Romans would literally go to the ends of the Earth to hunt down any thug that violated the rights of just a single Roman. They didn't let political correctness rule the day, and the Republic thrived.  But when it abandoned that principle, it all came crashing down.
 
They said Rome would never fall, but it did.  Many say the same about America.   Yet the whimper is at our door.

So if we are to ever return to our former glory, perhaps that path could begin by good folks jettisoning political correctness and saying two small but incredibly joyous words without reservation:

Merry Christmas!
 

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“What do you and a catfish have in common? You’re both scum-sucking bottom-feeders.”

And that was the nicest, most printable comment Freindly Fire received after publishing the column “Don’t Like Airport Scanners?   Take The Bus To London!"

Link to Philly Mag: 

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/11/23/don%e2%80%99t-like-airport-scanners/

Quite frankly, the emotional barrage on this issue was a surprise, since it really is much ado about nothing. In truth, this was a media-driven frenzy whipped up to scare travelers before the busiest travel day of the year.   And it’s exactly that type of sensationalism that has led to the Fourth Estate’s plunging credibility.

That noted, there are some important points worth considering:

FREINDLY FIRE Archive from July 26, 2007

At issue is the pathetic handling of airport security in the United States. For those who have been isolated in the Antarctic for the past six years, airplanes are the preferred method of terrorists for carrying out spectacular attacks. Of course, since competence in government is a key component for leadership, that goal was never achieved. A quick look at this past week's events explains why.

                                                           *****

When both sides in a negotiation refuse to budge, the impasse is usually detrimental to both parties.

With that in mind, perhaps I can be of assistance in mediating the exploding conflict involving body-imaging scanners and pat-downs at some of the nation’s airports. 

On one side, we have the government that, despite its reluctance to employ profiling with these measures, is standing its ground.  On the other, we have groups such as We Won’t Fly.com, advocating that travelers not fly because the scanners are “strip searches;” if they do, however, they are encouraged to opt out of the “porno-scanners” and “raise holy hell.”

And I thought this was going to be a difficult negotiation.

There’s a very simple solution: do everything to accommodate the We Won’t Fly people. True, that’s not an effective negotiating strategy most of the time, but in this instance, it works perfectly.

Travelers in America will be somewhat safer, and the We Won’t Fly gang can take the bus to London.  I hear Greyhound has some great deals this time of year.

A look at solutions for America’s impotent policies

Three…two…one…takeoff.  The F-16 fighter jet piloted by Lt. Col. Kevin Kelly of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177^th Fighter Wing --- with me aboard --- accelerates vertically immediately after going airborne.  After rocketing two and a-half miles straight up --- in ten seconds --- Colonel Kelly demonstrates a number of combat maneuvers that are part of the “Jersey Devils’” mission role.  (Except from August 2009 “Freindly Fire” article).

Included in that mission is protecting the airspace of the United States eastern seaboard from all threats.

That makes the 177^th the real deal, as they were first-on-scene over the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  So it’s not a stretch to think that they were somehow involved in protecting our national interests last week when a number of inbound cargo and passenger aircraft, thought to be carrying terrorists’ explosives, were forced to the ground.

While the American people can sleep easier knowing the “wall” they live behind is protected by units like the 177^th, it’s incomprehensible that some of our leaders view using them as our primary strategy to combat terrorism. 

In fact, they are the last line of defense when all else fails --- which, due to our continued ineptitude in formulating a meaningful, proactive strategy, is all too common.

The focus of this election is clearly about the economy, but voters should also consider who will make the greatest strides in developing a sound national security policy, because more than anything else, a major terrorist attack now can and will immediately throw the United States into a depression.

*****

Rather than employ a strategy that takes the fight to the enemy, we continue with one based on two losing tenets:  reaction and reliance on Lady Luck. By definition, since reacting to the enemy means we’re always a step behind, and luck inevitably runs out, it’s time we stop bowing to the altar of political correctness and get serious.

Based on the events of last week, here are four immediate steps the government should take:

1)      Profile, profile, profile.  This cannot be stressed enough.  How is it possible that we profile packages, like the ones thought to contain explosives, but not people?  That absurdity is blatantly obvious to all except those making the policy.  And this is only an Obama Administration problem because he is President.  We did the exact same thing under Bush.

It is an inarguable fact that profiling works.  Just ask the Israelis, who profile better than anyone and, as a direct result, have never had a hijacking on their airline, El Al.  The critical difference between us and them is that they don’t care if someone feels “offended” when they are singled out for additional screening and questions. 

So why do we?  Flying is a privilege, not a right.  If one feels slighted by getting singled out, fine.  Take the bus to Europe.  But if we really want to show a “compassionate” side, we could offer a $15 gift card, good in any American airport, to anyone who is actively profiled. Such a move would go a long way towards mitigating any hurt feelings while still accomplishing our security goals, and could be easily afforded by a ten-cent surcharge on airline tickets.

2)      Profile the right way.  It’s not enough to just single people out, but to single out the right ones. This means not harassing 80-year old grandmothers from Missouri, but taking a closer look at those fitting certain age, gender, ethnicity, and country of origin/passage characteristics. Last time we checked, all 19 hijackers from 9/11 were males of roughly the same age, and all of Middle Eastern origin.  Seems like a good place to start.

But to be proactive, we should also be keeping an eye on al-Queda’s next generation of bombers: women and children. As long as people understand that no one is off the table, and active interrogations can be performed at any step along the way, we will make huge gains in bolstering our security.

3)      Discard irrelevant security measures.  Dollar for dollar, shoe-bomber Richard Reid did more damage to us than the 9/11 attacks.  When that bumbling bomber bent over to light his shoe, he cost us billions in useless regulations and lost productivity --- even though we can bring lighters, matches and even lighter fluid onto a plane. And keep in mind that virtually nowhere in Europe are shoes screened. 

One hopes this isn’t merely a grandstand play.  Remember the millions of cigarette lighters confiscated because they weren’t permitted aboard planes? And after all that, the policy was discarded, with the then-head of the Transportation Security Administration saying, "Taking lighters away is security theater."

Which brings us back to profiling.  If we inspected the shoes of just those fitting a high-risk profile (and occasionally at random) rather than every single traveler, we would be in a far better position to actually catch terrorists. And the tedious monotony would be alleviated from security screeners, ensuring a sharpness that would put them at the top of their game.

4)      Require Homeland Security personnel to perform all duties related to screening passengers and cargo on direct flight to the United States. This wouldn’t be necessary at all foreign airports, but those in countries posing the greatest threat to America.  And if the Turks, for example, don’t approve of Americans taking the lead in security for America-bound flights, the answer is simple.  They don’t fly here. 

Why this need? Just think back to the Times Square Bomber. Despite being on the No Fly List, and buying a one-way ticket to the Middle East in cash, he actually boarded a plane at JFK airport trying to escape.  This was made possible because Emirates Airlines hadn’t consulted the updated No Fly List against its passenger manifests.  How we don’t have real-time access to every airline’s passenger records is unfathomable.  Remember, flying is a privilege, so privacy concerns shouldn’t apply.

This isn’t a panacea, of course, but it is a huge step in taking away our enemies’ safe havens.  Sure, they can travel to a country without American screeners and attempt to fly from there, but it makes their missions infinitely more complicated.  And keeping an enemy off-kilter is the best way to thwart --- and ultimately catch --- them.

The U.S. government must also conduct a thorough and independent review of “lessons learned” from this latest terrorist action.  Homeland Security is so large and bureaucratic, with so many competing agencies, that we must definitively know who worked well with whom --- and who didn’t.  We also need to assess how we worked with our foreign allies (kudos to the Saudi intelligence in this case), and what can be done to be more proactive in the future.

There is no such thing as “guaranteed security,” as we live in a high-risk world.  But one thing is certain:  if we continue burying our head in the sand by failing to implement a comprehensive security plan --- one with no regard to political correctness --- we will have no one but ourselves to blame when the next big one hits.

And by then, it will be way too late.

*****

Link to FFZ article on F-16 flight:

http://www.freindlyfirezone.com/index.php/component/k2/itemlist/date/2009/8

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it