A Sunday in Elizabeth, CO

Checkin’ in again with some thoughts on politics that struck us as entirely relevant out here on the completely apolitical great American highway.

From Mark Kirkorian of NRO's The Corner

Back from spending a week in the woods with the Webelos. Everyone had a good time with the usual hiking, archery, and smores. The only thing worth mentioning on a political blog is the fact that there was no politics. It's not just that there wasn't much discussion of politics among the adult leaders; it wasn't really the place for it. But over a week you get some idea of where the other parents stand, and in addition to some conservatives and middle-of-the-road or non-political folks, I was delighted to discover we had a couple of genuine lefties, one a former journalist, the other a pacifist former philosophy professor who works for an enviro group. That's good not just because these two are fine people and dedicated parents but because it's a repudiation of the idea that everything has to be politicized. Whatever they might think about abortion, the minimum wage, or the war in Afghanistan, they were obviously happy to have their sons join hundreds of other boys to salute the flag, say grace before meals, and learn to shoot. In other words, they're normal people whom I just happen to disagree with on some political issues. And it is precisely this non-political space for normality that the atheist groups and gay groups have been trying to destroy in their war on scouting and, mutatis mutandis, the efforts by them and their allies to subvert other basic social values and institutions, like patriotism. religion, marriage, and motherhood.