I was perusing our local paper this morning when I ran across this article: http://asburyparkpress.nj.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=0f94002a0.

A 15-year-old girl in Iceland is suing to use her real name – Blaer – which means “light breeze”. The problem, it seems, is that Blaer is not among the 1,853 government-approved girl names.

I was shocked by the article in a way only an American can be. It is hard to believe that any government anywhere could be so repressive as to permit only certain names. It was like getting smacked in the head by a two-by-four.

Hitler. Stalin. Mao. Castro. Jerry Brown. Would any of these dictators dream of something so petty, so small, so dehumanizing? No, it was the kindly little country of Iceland. C.S. Lewis was right when he wrote, “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good  of its victims may be the most oppressive”.

The article goes on to say that the law, “will protect children from embarrassment”. Here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. we hold the right to embarrass our children as sacred.  Just ask Blanket Jackson, Moxie Crimefighter Jillette or Kel-Al Cage.