Don’t Blame Andy

The other day I received one of those supposedly funny and poignant emails that sarcastically dismisses anyone with an opinion contrary to someone for right of center and at the end tells you to pass it along to ten friends if you care about being an American. It was supposedly a quote from CBS commentator Andy Rooney but I have been watching Andy Rooney for many, many years and I highly doubt he said anything of the sort. Besides, I had read this exact email before, just not attributed to Andy Rooney but the exact same text. I didn’t pass it on.

Well… first of all, Andy Rooney didn’t say any of this on TV or possibly anywhere else. It’s been on the internet almost as long as I have had access to the internet. Second, though I agree with some of it (especially a part about a waitress with an infected lip) I don’t agree with the nasty take on what it is to be a true American. Didn’t we get enough of this in the Bush years? Didn’t we reject this during the McCain Palin campaign?

I believe in the separation of church and state and I don’t believe you have to be able to speak English to be an American. My grandfather didn’t know English when he came here. His English was always difficult to understand but he also spoke German, Russian, Yiddish and a little Polish. Still, he worked his way through school, went to college, started a successful business, paid taxes, raised a family and donated thousands of hours of his time and his money to charity. He was an American – not a Russian American and I can relate to that.
If 86% of Americans believe in God(according to this circulating email), good for them. They just don’t have the right to foist it upon the other 14%. That’s what the Constitution says anyhow. By the way, 99% of that 15% don’t care what’s written on the dollar bill. It’s only money.

What I see is that somebody is always pissed off about something somewhere. That’s just human nature. If people would just be tolerant of others, respect their beliefs and mind their own freekin business than the world would be such a great place.

I’m not passing that email along or any others like it, whether they have right or left leanings. It’s time for all of us to get along. I am wishing everybody a great New Year full of peace and prosperity and diversity.