The Most Egregious Politically Correct Lies

When I began my writing career, and then my radio show, I promised myself I’d avoid politics. I’m breaking that promise via this first column of 2012, though it is not exclusively political. I’m old enough to remember when people spoke the truth, even if it was uncomfortable. Political correctness has comprised that value in my opinion. And, one of my strong beliefs as a parent is we must speak, live, and model the truth for our children. With political correctness, that often means going contrary to what they might be taught at school.

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I’ll (Not) Be Home For Christmas

This holiday season my wife and I will not both be home for Christmas. Instead we will celebrate our first year of marriage on separate continents.  As we are different races and religions, there are usually challenges we encounter at this time of year, so maybe being 7,000 miles apart will make it easier. We’ve actually resolved the big conundrum for me–the Christmas tree.

I don’t care if you call it a Hannukah bush or an ordinary tree; it is a Christmas tree, pure and simple.  It represents the birth of Christ and it’s not just a secular symbol.  But, it matters to my wife, so we resolved the issue by agreeing, like so many mixed religious couples, to celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah.  Since my boys were raised Jewish, and my younger son just became a Bar Mitzvah, it really isn’t an issue for me anymore. read more

Diversity Is a Nine-Letter Word

Diversity is a nine-letter word; so is parenting. ShortRib (my wife) and I met a wonderful couple on our recent honeymoon that, at first, we thought and they thought represented the most diversity in a couple any of us knew. In fact, they were written up as just such a phenomenon in a local paper in their hometown. David is a 55-year-old, liberal, white Jewish lawyer, while Farah is a 40-year-old, conservative, black Christian, non-profit worker. Key thing about them; no kids, by their mutual choice. However, they’ve been married 10 years and, on the surface, have one of the best rapports between couples we observed on the entire cruise and safari, where we encountered quite a large mix of couples. read more