Recently, I was treated to a story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, as well as national papers from Philadelphia to Seattle, on how two Tea Party Republican members of the Tennessee General Assembly (one in the Senate and one in the House) had raised a stink - no pun intended - over renovations to the State Capitol Building that included the installation of a mop sink in one of the men's restrooms. It seems that these earnest and dedicated elected officials were highly concerned that this mop sink might in fact be a stealth installation designed to accommodate and facilitate the ritual practice of Muslim foot washing.
When I could finally bring myself to stop laughing - no small task after reading about these two bright fellas - the story raised some obvious questions that the voters of Tennessee have avoided for far too long. They are: When are we, as citizens deserving of competent representation in the legislature, going to grow weary of this Tea Party clown car, replete with time-wasting antics that border on paranoia, and that might very well get the average person on the street committed for a psychiatric evaluation?
When are we going to say enough is enough and put a stop to inane "Don't Say Gay" bills? When will we get enough of legislation that targets a non-existent boogie man, Sharia Law. How long will we sit idle as bills are introduced under the guise of protecting religious freedom, when all they address are phantoms that no one has ever encountered and that actually jeopardize the accreditation of our universities? How long do we wish to be turned into a national laughing stock and made into the brunt of water cooler jokes from coast to coast?
If we don't get wise and turn these Know Nothings out, I'm deathly afraid some enterprising young reporter is going to ask one of them the really tough question, when they raise a stink about the next Muslim mop sink. That is: Despite the fact that the Muslims are taking over the washrooms here, do you still enjoy the complimentary big mints that they offer in the necessary areas? No one is going to want to know that answer.
Lonnie Hatmaker