July 1, 2005

Now you know the rest of the story...

Paul Harvey, whom I grew up listening to in the mornings, recently made some unspeakably atrocious comments on his radio show.

The gist of it was, America has gotten where it is because we have crawled through the mud and the blood of those we've killed, enslaved, or blown up on our way to the top, and we shouldn't be worried about trying to stand up and walk like decent human beings now, with our nation's fate in the balance.

Here is one choice quote:

We didn't come this far because we're made of sugar candy. Once upon a time, we elbowed our way onto and across this continent by giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. That was biological warfare. And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever.

And we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves. So it goes with most great nation-states, which--feeling guilty about their savage pasts--eventually civilize themselves out of business and wind up invaded and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry up-and-coming who are not made of sugar candy.


This man is one of the most widely respected commentators in the business, inspiring the same kind of trust that newsmen of older days like Cronkite or Kuralt carried. According to his website, "Paul Harvey News is the largest one-man network in the world, consisting of over 1200 radio stations, 400 Armed Forces Network stations that broadcast around the world, and 300 newspapers." It is estimated that his shows reach 18 million listeners. He also just signed a 10-year contract with ABC-Disney for 100 million dollars.

If this is the current voice of America, will someone please turn the station?

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