A Yucky Ducky? A posting of an original commentary by Tony Pronenko

I posted this article on a site called BubbleNews as well. BubbleNews is a site that gives writers a forum for posting articles and poems and other works with no restrictions. Even though it is posted there I wanted to have it posted on DBD as well because this is like my Home Base. 

A Yucky Ducky?

There is no doubt in my mind that there are probably a million other commentaries on the remarks made by Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson. Usually I try my best to stay away from mainstream articles or commentary that has already collected the opinions of the general public at large. However, there is something about the comments, the timing, and the response that has pulled me in. So on that note, I will attempt to levy my opinion on this topic in the hopes that at least one person might agree. Then again, sometimes I write just to hear myself think. Picture that!

Anyone who knows me knows that I take to heart the general ideals that caused a handful of people to raise an army to fight for independence. In their victory they established a more perfect union, in principal anyway. They had the best of intentions and they did everything that anyone could have. The problem lies in the fact that the people that fell within that bubble of righteousness were human. As humans often do they eventually adapted. They grew and changed and along with them were those ideals that they all rested on. It became clear very early on that the ideals the country was founded on were no longer a good fit for the people that were now inhabiting the land. Even 20 years after the revolution major adaptations and addendum's were added to the constitution to allow the ideals to fit the people.

There are plenty others but one of the ideals that remained mostly unchanged through the years has been freedom of speech. To give a person the right to express their opinions openly without the fear of reprisal or attack. In principal this is one of the most endearing of the rights and also the most dangerous. Sure, the right to free speech is there and everyone has it. However, it is a burden for the speaker to carry once he or she opens their mouth to express that which they think is right or that they just feel is right for them, for others will now know what side you fall upon.

Today the rules are no different than they were a hundred or so years ago. You have the right to say what you want, and you will not be put in prison for spouting off. But no matter how safe you may feel, if you offend the wrong person or group of people you will indeed feel the wrath of their differing opinion. Such is the case for Phil Robertson. Just as the many who have come before him, he too spoke his mind about a subject that some feel is a bit dangerous. He spoke his mind and as a result his employer, in an effort to protect themselves have levied punishment unto Mr. Robertson.  

Now this situation has almost taken on a life of its own. There are a great many people who support Mr. Robertson today. They offer their support not because they agree with his comments and want to rally the troops. No, they are coming to his aid because they feel it is wrong for him to be punished for making comments that people feel he has every right to make. For those reading this who may not have heard or read what exactly Mr. Robertson said, he essentially gave his opinion on why intercourse between gay or lesbian partners was not feasible in his mind. He was not rude, he did not set out to offend anyone, nor did he make any comments that could be seen as hurtful. He simply gave an opinion. 

What his employer, A & E television has done in response is sadly just a sign of the times. For the past decade our society has been scared. We are scared to offend anybody and we are scared to say the wrong thing. This is mostly, I believe, because during that same time the people who found themselves in minority groups were starting to stand up and be proud. This was a sharp detour from the way people would see themselves prior to that change in attitude. People in minority groups would feel afraid. They would feel as if they are doing something wrong or that they were broken. 

It took words from strong leaders and for the majority groups to lead themselves from ignorance. It was ignorance that would cause much of the hate crimes or just the overwhelming fear of people who were different from themselves. Fear is the common theme here. It was fear that caused both sides to act in the manner that they did. It was fear that kept minority groups from stepping forward and it was fear that caused the majority groups to push back. Once that fear was erased through knowledge and mutual experiences both sides were finally able to see people for who they were, not what they were. 

As these changes finally started to take place everyone was scared to offend anyone else. A new fear crept in and it was a fear of hurting someone. When this became commonplace it spread all over the country. It became a morality crime to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and people and companies everywhere looked for ways to stem the tide. Eventually they found a way and that way became avoidance. If someone said something that another group felt was wrong or an incorrect way to speak that person or group of people would look to put as much room in-between them as possible. This way they could claim indifference. "It wasn't me who said that, it was him. And we will separate ourselves from that person immediately"

This happened over and over again for years and it still does today. It happens with racially motivated comments and actions as well as that against or about gays and lesbians. This my friends, is what happened to Mr. Robertson. He was made a leper for his comments and his employer looked to say, "It was him, not us and we will put as much space in-between ourselves as possible." The hope here with A & E is that people will see them as good and kind towards the offended group. The problem is that they reacted too quickly. The leapt before they looked over the side of the cliff. The comments that were made were almost benign. If I had to guess I would say that the gay and lesbian community might not even be offended by the comments. These are the comments of an old man who generally grew up in a different age and has different thoughts about certain things. At least, in my opinion, he had the decency to make his comments in a manner in which he did not blatantly offend someone. What I mean is he was not an ass about it. 

Look, the thing is, we have a lot of things in this world that could use some work. We have just started over the last few years accepting the gay and lesbian community into the rest of the community. Their allowed finally to be married. We have people in prison because they carried a half-ounce of marijuana while real criminals walk the streets. Speaking of which, the legalization of marijuana is way overdue. It is rather ironic that weed is illegal but alcohol is legal. Scientifically marijuana is less harmful than alcohol yet there is a liquor store on almost every corner. We have wars all over the world and homeless vets living in the American streets! We should spend more time fixing these issues rather than worrying about what some guy says in a magazine article. America, we have our priorities backwards and until we get them fixed we are going to lose those ideals that this country was founded on over 200 years ago.