We don't hear the word "normal" much anymore. The forces of political correctness and 'groupthink' have destroyed the very concept that anything can be normal without making someone feel hurt or damaged. But normal is an important idea.

The fact that we have, or used to have, 'social norms' and a culture that celebrated patriotism, family and community is an idea which needs to come back. And soon. It's not normal, nor is it productive to find fault and outrage with every single thing you hear out-of-context and then react as if a grave injustice has been perpetrated.

Let's just talk about Kate Smith. Here's a woman who was by all accounts a great patriot, standing up for our troops and using her celebrity to give a voice to those shut out by society. But at the time she was performing her heroic duties, the world was not caught up in the world that everyone is a victim and everything can be deemed offensive. Actually, she used parody and humor to make some incredibly important points about racism and segregation and was a pioneer bringing people of color into the mainstream of entertainment.

That fact didn't matter for the internet trolls who chastised the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Yankees for playing Kate's version of "God Bless America". Both organizations cowardly panicked in the face of criticism that was both out-of-context and blatantly false. The Flyers went so far as to actually remove the statue of Kate Smith in an effort to placate the beast of ignorance.

One man has consistently stood up for common sense, refusing to let a great women be disparaged by ignorance and fear: Steve Kalafer, who owns the minor league baseball club the Somerset Patriots and Flemington Car and Truck Country.

Steve stepped up immediately upon hearing of the unceremonious dumping of Ms. Smith. Actually sending the Flyers a check for $10,000 to relocate the statue to the Patriots stadium in Bridgewater.

The Flyers rejected his offer. Now, he's back upping the offer to $50,000.

Will the Flyers budge? Will the team undo the betrayal of the iconic performer? This is a good indicator of how far down the road of ignorance and fake outrage our culture has gone.

Thankfully there are still heroes like Steve Kalafer to recognize that someone has to stand up and fight.

 

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