Tag: Thomas Sowell

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Cultural Good and Evil

Ugliness can be as thought provoking as beauty.  Such was the case when I stumbled upon a vast area smothered in vines.  It seemed a perfect metaphor for the suffocating impact of progressive ideology on our culture.  I wondered if the strangled shrubs were aware of the danger or remained oblivious.  As I stood transfixed and contemplated their potential death, the concepts of good and evil came to mind. 

Progressive western governments increasingly use lies and deceit to enact totalitarian measures to solidify their power.  These laws seek to choke free speech, eliminate dissent and subjugate our limitless human spirit.  Absolute clarity is required to thwart these efforts, a difficult task considering we are bombarded daily with subtle and outrageous lies.  We can clear the fog with the application of morality. This requires a practical definition of good and evil. 

M. Scott Peck’s book “People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil” offers such a definition: “Evil, then, for the moment, is that force, residing inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness.  And goodness is its opposite.  Goodness is that which promotes life and liveliness.”  Dr. Peck offers this simple yet profound summation: “evil is also that which kills spirit.” 

Dr. Peck outlines how lies are the hallmark of an evil individual.  “The evil attack others in order to avoid facing their own failures.” “While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good.  Their goodness is all on a level of pretense.  It is, in effect, a lie.  This is why they are the people of the lie.” 

“People of the Lie” focuses on individual and group human evil.  Please note this article focuses on whether policies are good or evil as measured by their impact on the human spirit.  It is not intended to comment on the spiritual state of those who propagate those policies. 

Some might suggest an entrance into the metaphysical is a bit dramatic.  I maintain that it is essential because the politicians have already introduced good and evil into the 2024 election.  Without our serious consideration we are subject to unconscious emotional manipulation.  Jill Biden recently said she “believes Americans are going to choose good over evil” and vote for President Biden.  President Biden has also evoked similar sentiments: “We are in a battle for the soul of America. A battle that by the grace of God, the goodness and gracious, greatness of this nation we will win.”   In more precise language, we are in a battle between good and evil.  

With their statements the Biden’s have essentially labeled President Trump and conservatism evil.  What about their policies?  Let’s examine several interwoven progressive policies supported by the Biden administration. 

Self-Reliance – Good or Evil? 

“No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.” – Frederick W. Robertson

The above quote epitomizes self-reliance.  It is formally defined as “reliance on one’s own efforts and abilities”.  Self-reliance builds self-confidence, leads to personal growth, and success.  A self-reliant individual learns to make decisions and assumes responsibility for their success or failure.  Self-reliance is independence. The absence of it is dependence which in turn reduces individual power. 

Over the years it appears this core American principle has lost favor.  We have exchanged self-reliance for dependence on Big Government, Big Pharma, and Big Food. 

It seems however that Big Government has had the greatest impact on the decline of self-reliance.  In the 1960s President Johnson launched a massive expansion of social welfare programs entitled the “Great Society”.  Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams and many others have studied the negative impact of these programs on black communities, family structure and individual responsibility.  For example, many black men abandoned their responsibilities because they could.  Thomas Sowell provides the data in “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”:

“Accordingly while two-thirds of black children were living with both parents in 1960, only one-third were by 1994.  While only 22% of black children were born to unmarried women in 1960, 74% were in 1994.”  There was a “widespread abandonment and casual abandonment of their children and the women who bore them by black fathers in the ghettos of the late 20thcentury…”

The data on the disintegration of the family and its impact on crime, violence and upward mobility has been actively ignored.  Instead, public policy to foster government dependency has continued unabated.  President Obama glorified the culture of dependence in his 2012 campaign ad “The Life of Julia”.  To our credit there was such a backlash that Obama removed the video from his campaign site.

This excerpt from a David Harsanyi article titled “Who the hell is Julia and why the hell am I paying for her?” summed up the reaction of many: “What we are left with is a celebration of a how a woman can live her entire life by leaning on government intervention, dependency and other people’s money rather than her own initiative or hard work. It is, I’d say, implicitly un-American, in the sense that it celebrates a mindset we have – outwardly, at least – shunned.”

Considering the intensely negative reaction to “Life of Julia”, it is curious Biden released a similar cartoon on the life of Linda to support cradle to grave welfare policies: “But the Life of Linda is a telling tragedy, one where a woman is “liberated” from the love and support of family and community and instead comes to rely upon the leviathan of the state.”  The saddest thing about this cartoon is there was barely any reaction from the public.  How we have change in 9 years. 

In his excellent article entitled “The Destructive Legacy of the Great Society”, Jason Riley explains how the “Democrats are now aiming to create new entitlements and expand the existing ones, not only for the poor but also for the professional class.”  These policies seek to increase the number of citizens politically shackled to their benefactors. 

The latest disturbing example of the attack on self-reliance and personal responsibility is the “cancellation” of student debt.  It is not canceled. The student’s responsibility has been shifted to the taxpayer.  It is an incredibly unfair vote buying scheme that teaches young people they don’t have to make good decisions. It is a grievous insult to taxpayers who sacrificed to pay for their or their children’s education or could not afford to go to college themselves.  The lack of outrage from the citizenry speaks volumes. 

Because self-reliance uplifts the human spirit and leads to personal growth, it is good. Conversely, that which reduces self-reliance smothering our spirit and personal growth falls into the evil column. 

The Effort to Splinter Society and Cast Underperforming Groups as Victims – Good or Evil? 

The decline in our core self-reliance created fertile ground for victim/oppressor ideology to take root. 

These narratives attempt to splinter society into groups and then pit them against each other.  One group is labeled “marginalized” and a corresponding group is labeled the “oppressor”.  Members of the marginalized group are taught they are victims and their failures are due to the oppressors.  Failure is always somebody else’s fault.  Concepts like meritocracy, personal responsibility, group culture, lousy schools, home life and the content of one’s character are ignored.  What could possibly go wrong? 

Divisive victim/oppressor ideology has been widely deployed on the basis of skin color, gender, socioeconomic status and religion. Narratives pushing gender ideology, for example, have been especially divisive because the government has declared the ideology factual when it is only a collection of ideas. Worse the ideology has been tangled up with those who suffer from gender dysphoria.  Consequently individuals who speak against the ideology and its impact on young people are then accused of “hate speech” and prejudice against people who have gender dysphoria. 

The skin color chapter of victim/oppressor ideology is often called Critical Race Theory (CRT).  It is also called neoracism because the ideology condones racism to fight racism.  Coleman Hughes is a young black author who recently published the “The End of Race Politics”.  Sadly he has been viciously labeled as a sell out and Uncle Tom for his efforts.  Below is his summary of neoracist ideology: 

“White people have always had power in society – power that they used to create systems like slavery and Jim Crow that oppress people of color.  Even though those systems were destroyed, American society has made little or no progress redressing the wrongs that white people have inflicted on people of color in the past and continue to inflict on people of color in the present… All around us, policies and institutions give rise to racial disparities – differences in outcomes between white people and people of color…Wherever racial disparities exist, racism – past and present – is the cause….”. 

In other words, black people are taught they are perpetual victims.  The source of their failures can never be found in the mirror.

Mr. Hughes’s book addresses the falsehood of these assertions in detail.  In summary, neoracist theory takes the ugly truth of slavery, Jim Crow and racism and wraps it in lies and half-truths to advance the concepts of systemic racism, white supremacy, and black victimhood. For example, it is obvious we have made significant progress neutralizing racism since the passage of the Civil Rights Act.  Plus, it was white people who initiated the end of slavery, a global practice that had existed for millennia. It was black and brown people who resisted its elimination.  Please read the chapter entitled “The Real History of Slavery” in Thomas Sowell’s “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”. 

The evil reality of black victimhood during slavery and the ugly racism that followed has erroneously been projected to the present. We should ask why.  

Even though only a modest amount of research is required to debunk the tenets of neoracism and its divisive impact on society, it is still advanced at the highest levels of our government.  Consider President Biden’s commencement speech at Morehouse College: 

“You started college just as George Floyd was murdered and there was a reckoning on race. It’s natural to wonder if democracy you hear about actually works for you. 

“What is democracy if black men are being killed in the street? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR_jSiuo6Lg

“What is democracy if a trail of broken promises still leave black—black communities behind? 

“What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot? 

Neoracism in general and these remarks in particular are heartbreaking.  To lie to any young person about their potential for success, especially by the leader of the free world, could derail their efforts and future achievements.  It is demeaning and abusive. We must ask if limiting success and therefore personal power is an intended or unintended consequence of all forms of victim/oppressor ideology. 

Racists will always exist.  They can be neutralized, however. The solution is quite simple.  Shift the cultural paradigm to equal opportunity, meritocracy, and a collective focus on excellence not skin color, gender or any other single characteristic of an underperforming group.  This will result in a more united culture striving for success, not one mired in resentment and “hate speech”.

Unfortunately, the implementation of such a shift will be exceedingly difficult.  True progress will require individuals and underperforming groups examine their own limiting behaviors. It is also essential that we admit our significant policy failures that shackle the poor, discourage self-reliance and personal responsibility.  Sadly this is something that politicians and hustlers are loathe to do.  They just pile on more bad policy and taxpayer dollars to cover up their mistakes. 

The Efforts to Quell Free Speech: Good or Evil?

Free speech is under attack in many western countries often under the guise of quelling disinformation and “hate speech”.  It is notable that those who want to regulate free speech to stop “hate speech” are the same progressive governments who promote victim/oppressor narratives that encourage “hate speech”. 

The most egregious attack on free speech can be found in Canada’s proposed Online Harms Act.  State media suggests the bill is designed to stop the online exploitation of children.  Justin Trudeau stated in a speech introducing this bill “…people will see that it is very specifically focused on protecting kids and not on censoring the internet as misinformation and as the right wing tends to try and characterize it as…”.  Even though parts of the bill do attempt to protect children, it goes far beyond that.  Trudeau seeks to stop lying by lying.     

Matt Taibbi, Racket News, summarizes the bill in his article “Blame Canada? Justin Trudeau Creates Blueprint for Dystopia in Horrific Speech Bill”.  Below are highlights of the proposed bill from his article:

·       enlist Canada’s citizens in an ambitious social monitoring system, with rewards of up to $20,000 for anonymous “informants” of hateful behavior, with the guilty paying penalties up to $50,000, creating a self-funded national spying system;

·       introduce extraordinary criminal penalties, including life in prison not just for existing crimes like “advocating genocide,” but for any “offence motivated by hatred,” in theory any non-criminal offense, as tiny as littering, committed with hateful intent;

·       punish Minority Report pre-crime, where if an informant convinces a judge you “will commit” a hate offense, you can be jailed up to a year, put under house arrest, have firearms seized, or be forced into drug/alcohol testing, all for things you haven’t done;

·       penalize past statements. The law gets around prohibitions against “retroactive” punishment by calling the offense “continuous communication” of hate, i.e. the crime is your failure to take down bad speech;

·       force corporate Internet platforms to remove “harmful content” virtually on demand (within 24 hours in some cases), the hammer being fines of “up to 6% of… gross global revenue.”

If this bill passes, Canada will become the “thought police” and thereby limit individual growth and freedom.  Fear, not a dedication to excellence, will dominate the culture as people become compliant surfs and snitches who must constantly self-censor.  It will eliminate dissent and debate.  It will crush people’s spirit.  It is evil. 

It is also the direction many western countries are headed.  As a constitutional republic it would be difficult to enact and enforce Canada’s proposed bill in the United States.  However, as we have seen with exposes such as the Twitter Files and the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop, there are rampant efforts to censor and curtail free speech often under the pretense of stopping “hate speech”, disinformation and “saving democracy”.  This is illogical.  Free speech is a nonnegotiable component of a successful democracy.  Without it, we will no longer have a democracy.  The “saving democracy” façade, therefore, is a lie to gain our support for legislation that will limit our discourse, freedom and spirit.  It goes into the evil column. 

Lies and disinformation can be found everywhere – social media, traditional media and exiting the mouths of politicians.  Legislation will never stop it.  It will only give those in power free rein to lie with impunity.  Our only hope is to neutralize lies with an honest media, critical thought, personal responsibility, dedication to reality, vigilance, continuous exposure to differing viewpoints and rational debate.  Let’s work on these things. 

Summary

Above we examined just three intertwined progressive policies and strategies that have the full support of the Biden administration.  Individually and together, they restrict the human spirit, free and open expression, personal and cultural growth. It seems that President Biden and his wife have engaged in a classic case of projection in their remarks on good and evil. It will be interesting to observe if they ever offer detailed examples to back up their words. 

There are many other policies that would benefit from the application of the good and evil filter such as lying to children and parents that puberty blockers are fully reversible, supporting late term abortions for convenience or weaponizing the justice department to attack a political opponent.

Ultimately change is dependent on us, the voters, and our clear view of the evil impact of these policies on our cultural and human spirit.  Too many citizens have taken the victim bait, tolerated failure, the collapse of our cultural mores and unbelievably continue to elect politicians and systems that foster our decline.  Let’s pull the suffocating vines out by the roots. 

For those who prefer to read on Substack, please visit My Two Cents on Substack. Details section included below.

DETAILS

As always, I include a details section to support the opinions above and provide resources for the reader to continue their own research:

  • Scott Peck’s books People of the Lie and The Road Less Traveled are as relevant today as they were when published years ago. 
  • Let’s keep the definition of tolerationism handy as we observe global events: “Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed.”
  • The quote from Frederick W Roberston on self-reliance was sourced from this article.
  • WSJ’s James Taranto response to Life of Julia. 
  • David Harsanyi reaction to Life of Julia titled “Who the hell is Julia and why am I paying for her whole life?”
  • “The polls say President Biden has lost support among black Americans, and the White House appears to have settled on a strategy to win them back: spread more racial division.”  The quotes from Biden’s commencement speech to Morehouse College were from this editorial from the WSJ.   
  • Jason Riley compares Obama’s and Biden’s speeches to Morehouse College in this WSJ editorial.  “Mr. Biden’s speech revealed someone who doesn’t believe that black people can or should be held to the same standards as other groups.” 
  • Manhattan Institute columnist Douglas Murray received the Alexander Hamilton Award for his “unwavering defense of Western values”.  Consider watching or reading his inspiring acceptance speech. 
  • Please note that “hate speech” is in quotes because this phrase is being used as a cudgel to limit free speech. Too often, opinions that disagree with the various victim/oppressor ideologies are deemed “hate speech”. It has therefore become a meaningless phrase in my opinion. 
  • Thomas Sowell has done much to shine a light on myths and lies that promote victimhood. Note that “underperforming groups” is his language. In addition to his excellent books consider the youtube series, Black Wisdom Matters.  Perhaps watch this video of young black men’s reaction to Thomas Sowell.  It is unfortunate his research and conclusions are not taught in schools alongside the likes of Ibram X Kendi. 
  • Walter Williams also offer a path forward.  Perhaps begin research into his work with this article “Blacks of Yesteryear and Today”.
  • Microwave Man says it best.
  • “The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America” by Coleman Hughes is excellent. Please ignore the unfair attacks on Mr. Hughes and give this book a chance. 
  • An opposing viewpoint can be found in the Culture Ally site’s definition of marginalized groups.  It appears everyone is marginalized except for middle and upper class heterosexual white men.  “Marginalized groups include women, people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, Indigenous peoples, people of a lower socio-economic status and so on.  These groups have been historically disempowered and oppressed by influential and discriminatory groups.”
  • Public, Racket News and the Free Press are independent journalists who have done significant research and reporting on the subject of free speech.  They publish on Substack.  Should we wish to truly save democracy, we must educate ourselves.  Perhaps begin with Michael Shellenberger’s Public, read the original and current Twitter Files, the Missouri v Biden case, details on Canada’s proposed Online Harms Act and add these publications to your reading list. 
  • Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn in their “America This Week” podcast discuss both the NYT’s editor who responded negatively to the Biden administration’s request that they do more to take down Trump and the proposed dystopian Canadian law. Here is the transcript .
  • To compare both sides of the rhetoric, here is a favorable presentation of Online Harms Act.
  • Michael Shellenberger  interview “Global Elites Fear of Democracy Behind War on Free Speech”.
  • Public’s David Agape  “Soros and US Government Behind Conspiracy Theories and Attacks on “Twitter Files Brazil”
  • Arguments for and against free speech  https://www.plebity.org/arguments-for-and-against-free-speech/ .
  • John Strossel’s article “Censorship: A Global Pandemic”.
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The Circus

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool most of the country repeatedly, and we wallow in shame.  Our gullibility is a national hazard.  We repeatedly accept nonsensical narratives and then blindly perform as intended with no regard to the consequences.  We must connect the dots between the ring leaders, their motive, our own trip around the ring and the resultant havoc.  How did free thinkers become circus animals?

A few things seem clear.  Humans are habitual pack animals by nature.  Allowing others to dictate our thoughts and actions becomes a habit which causes our ability and desire for critical thought to atrophy.  This seems especially true with undeveloped young minds.  With repeated failure to question the questionable, a negative spiral develops as critical thought continues to decline and the circus animal habit is reinforced.  This allows the ring leaders to float increasingly dubious theories that increase their power and reduce ours.  The beliefs and behavior spread through the pack.  

This strategy to manipulate and control would fail without media compliance and censorship of competing views.  Yet we give the media approval to distort the truth with our patronage.  We continue to vote for politicians who deploy false narratives and support censorship to suppress views that challenge them.  The secret sauce to a successful campaign, however, is our unquestioning gullibility.  We are accomplices in our own bondage.

A good example of this decades long strategy is unfolding before our eyes. Social justice theory is based on the idea that racism is the sole reason some groups are less successful than others.  A part of this theory focuses on decolonization or freeing the oppressed who have been colonized by racist oppressors.  Do protestors steeped in social justice theories who chant “from the river to the sea” realize their words support the rape, torture, and killing of Jewish children and adults?  It’s doubtful they have connected the dots between the faulty logic of the narrative, the motives of those who push it, their own behavior and the beheading of babies.  

Simple logic dispels the “decolonization” theory.  Every single human is a descendent of “colonists” and somewhere in their lineage experienced “colonization” peaceful or otherwise.  Do we all require liberation or elimination? Humans have done horrible things in their wars.  We cannot change the past, we can only impact the future.  One of the best humorous take downs of this theory comes from Bill Mahar. 

Let’s examine another example that is not as obvious but has had compounding destructive consequences for society.  We were told George Floyd’s death was a racially motivated murder.

While it is true that instances of excessive police force and racism have occurred, is it true that George Floyd’s death in police custody was the result of racism?  The body cam footage demolishes the racist cop narrative.  Four officers, two white, one black and one Asian, who work for a black police chief, participated in the arrest of a 6’4” 223 lb man, repeat criminal, who was whacked on a lethal dose of fentanyl combined with methamphetamine and resisted arrest. Critically important, Floyd lied about his fentanyl intake and repeatedly said he “couldn’t breathe” before Chauvin arrived on scene.  He also used the same language during a 2019 arrest.  It is quite straightforward.  Perhaps this is why the politicians refused to release the body cam footage initially.  It tells a far different story than the politicians would have us believe.

Was it 2nd degree murder?  Read the medical examiner’s autopsy, watch “The Fall of Minneapolis”, read “They’re Lying” by Liz Collin, compare to the official narrative and come to your own conclusions.  Those who conduct this essential research will learn that many factors contributed to Floyd’s death not the least of which were his own choices.  

It was not Floyd’s tragic death per se that caused the riots.  It was how his death was characterized.  The Democrat leadership, their operatives and the media presented Floyd’s death as murder by a racist white cop.  As revealed in the above reference material, this packaging was a well-executed nationwide disinformation campaign. 

The speed and scale of the George Floyd campaign was breathtaking.  We must consider the possibility that it was ready to launch as soon as an appropriate opportunity presented itself. Plus the uniformity of the immediate reactions indicated organization at the highest levels and across multiple industries. Democratic politicians, including Biden, Harris, the Minneapolis mayor, Minnesota DA and Governor declared it a racially motivated murder immediately, well before the facts were known.  Media relentlessly promoted this message.  The mob harassed, threatened and canceled anyone who questioned the narrative. 

The roll out of the Floyd campaign alone should have pushed our BS meters into high alarm. Instead, the pack did what packs do and followed along.  It was not long before corporations poured millions into BLM and white suburbanites papered their yards with Black Lives Matter signs.  People who proclaimed All Lives Matter were attacked as racists. Trips to the Panderverse were fully booked. 

Floyd’s death was not a racial issue so why did Democratic operatives and their partners launch a racial narrative which was guaranteed to cause riots and harm the very people they claim to support?

“Dozens of people were killed or injured in the violent unrest, and thousands of businesses and properties, many minority-owned, were looted, torched, or otherwise vandalized.”  As this FEE article explains the estimated damage of between $1B and $2B only reflects insurance claims and does not come close to estimating the long term negative impact to the communities where rioting occurred.  “We must also remember that riots leave a lasting shadow on a city that haunts its economy for decades. The afflicted areas face higher insurance rates, lower property values, higher prices, reduced tax revenue, and decreased economic opportunity.”

The George Floyd campaign was likely deployed for the same reason political operatives do anything – to get votes.  The 2020 election was upon us.  Black voter turnout had declined in 2016 as compared to 2008 and 2012.  Democratic operatives were concerned that Biden’s popularity among blacks was in line with Clinton’s in 2016 and notably lower than Obama’s.  Popularity impacts enthusiasm and therefore turnout plus there was some concern that Trump was gaining with black voters. This spelled trouble in the swing states. 

Progressive social justice theory had already taken root in our society.  It was the basis for the battle cry that systemic racism murdered George Floyd. Meanwhile Biden and Harris positioned themselves as champions for victims of racism.  The media had already tarred and feathered Trump as a racist.  Voila, voter enthusiasm delivered in favor of the Democrats combined with increased Trump hate. 

The numbers suggest that the Floyd campaign worked.  Black voter turnout did not match 2012 at 67% but did increase from 60% to 63% from 2016 to 2020 even with Biden as the candidate. 

Did Democratic politicians and operatives sacrifice lives, homes, businesses and communities with a lie to drive the vote and regain power?  It certainly appears so and we let them do it.  We can only wonder what will happen in 2024 considering Biden and Harris’s historically low favorability ratings.  Will we aid and abet the ring leaders once again? 

Donations were another likely goal.  From Politico on July 1, 2020: “Online donors poured a record $392 million into campaigns and causes via ActBlue in June, a sign of surging activism and political enthusiasm on the left that smashed the previous monthly high, from just before the 2018 election, by a whopping 50 percent.”  White supremacists are quite generous. 

It is not clear what BLM did with the $90 million they received in donations but their website in 2020 clearly stated they were a political organization dedicated to driving people to vote in the 2020 presidential election.  Somehow, someway we can assume some amount of the money found its way towards that goal.  Like any good scam, we may never know what happened to the rest. 

The George Floyd campaign had other results.  We should carefully consider whether they were intended or unintended consequences.    

·      Many cities defunded their police departments during the Floyd campaign. This in combination with public policies that remove consequences to crime have resulted in notable spikes in crime and chaos in these cities.  It would be a worthwhile effort to determine how many additional black lives were lost to murder as a result of the George Floyd and defund the police campaigns. 

·      It undermined the concept of “innocent till proven guilty”, a foundational principal of our democracy.  It’s interesting how those who declared Chauvin guilty before seeing the facts are the same people who say democracy is under attack from the right. 

·      How many people voted for Biden because they were worried their communities would be destroyed by rioters if Trump won?

·      The Floyd campaign pushed the systemic racism, oppressor/oppressed message mainstream garnering solid support especially among young people who had already been steeped in social justice theory in school and social media.  This allowed Biden’s handlers to cement it into government policy soon after the election. 

·      Floyd’s death was tragic but he is not a hero our children should emulate. He was a drug addicted criminal given to violent behavior.  As Thomas Sowell has pointed out, when a group tolerates (or worse, promotes) the bad behavior of its members, it brings the whole group down.  We should ponder why the Democrats take actions that suppress poor black communities. 

·      One of the most damaging long-term consequence of the relentless social justice campaign is the increase in racial tension in our country.  Divide and conquer is an axiom for a reason. 

The aftereffects of the George Floyd campaign were disastrous for our county in general and poor minority communities in particular.  We must face the fact that it is partially our own fault. We swallowed the narrative hook, line and sinker, ignored the motive, performed as desired and failed to connect our own actions to the results.  People died, communities were irrevocably harmed and lives destroyed. 

Unfortunately we humans have a history of ignoring our BS meters with great consequence.  Remember eugenics? Thomas Sowell explains in his book “Social Justice Fallacies”: “In the early decades of the twentieth century, when Progressivism was a major new force among American intellectuals and in politics, one of Progressivism’s central tenets was genetic determinism— the belief that less successful races were genetically inferior.”

Eugenics theory was a basis for genocide.  More from Sowell: “A widely read book of that era, The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant, declared that “race lies at the base of all the manifestation of modern society”96 and deplored “a sentimental belief in the sanctity of human life,” when that is used “to prevent both the elimination of defective infants and the sterilization of such adults as are themselves of no value to the community.”97 This book was translated into other languages, including German, and Hitler called it his “Bible.”98”   

Unbelievably genetic determinism was quite fashionable.  “There were hundreds of courses on eugenics in colleges and universities across the United States,90 just as there are similarly ideological courses on college and university campuses across the country today, promoting very different ideologies as regards race, but with a very similar sense of mission, and a very similar intolerance toward those who do not share their ideology or their mission.”

Genetic determinism and eugenics faded due to inescapable facts.  The Progressives then shifted as Sowell explains: “In the later decades of the twentieth century, and on into the twenty-first century, latter-day Progressives substituted racial discrimination for genes as the automatic explanation of group differences in economic and social outcomes.”

The Democrats have absorbed Progressive theory and forced their racism based social justice vision into schools, corporations and government. Yet, just as with eugenics, this theory is fatally flawed.  Why do we give it any credence when common sense suggests that many factors impact the economic and social outcomes of groups such as geography, culture, education, wars, personal choices, % of single parent homes, etc. just as many factors contributed to Floyd’s death.  Racism has certainly impacted the success of various groups but so have any number of other factors. 

Social justice theory will eventually collapse.  The question is how much damage will be done in the meantime.

It is important to note the Floyd campaign is one of many manipulative narratives pummeling our country.  We can inoculate ourselves and therefore the country via knowledge, exposure to different viewpoints, context and unparsed data which unfortunately is rarely found in traditional or social media on either side. Censorship and intolerance make this task difficult, but we must dig for truth and act on it.   

We will pay a heavy price if we don’t connect the dots between the power hungry, their motives, our gullible compliance, and the resultant consequences.  Let’s quit the circus and start thinking again. 

DETAILS

As always, I include a details section with source material that supports the opinions above and a jumping off point for readers to do their own research.  We are at a critical juncture in history.  Our active participation is an absolute requirement to avoid further devastating consequences.  I highly recommend starting with Thomas Sowell’s book quoted liberally above, “Social Justice Fallacies”, then watch “The Fall of Minneapolis” and read “They’re Lying” by Liz Collins. 

·      Consider watching “Black Wisdom Matters”, a series of videos curated by Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Carol Swain and other critical thinkers. 

·      To follow up, read Thomas Sowell’s “Discrimination and Disparities”  and “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”.  Note I recommend Sowell because he is a brilliant economist, black, grew up in Harlem and is 93 years old. He is eminently qualified to discuss racism and social justice theory. 

·      To gain a better grasp of the full impacts of the Floyd induced riots, please consider this FEE article.  

·      This Seattle Times article is an important read to understand the disastrous consequences of circus folly.  Curiously the language attempts to justify their shameful actions: “The shooting, which occurred early on June 29, marked the second fatal shooting during the three-week Capitol Hill Organized Protest, which sprang up in the wake of national outrage over the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. The police-free zone was set up after the Seattle Police Department abandoned its East Precinct during the protests.”  Emphasis mine.  No.  It sprang up because of a false narrative about race that was perpetrated and promoted by the ring leaders who remained unchecked by the people. 

·      Census bureau’s voter turnout charts. 

·      This article outlines the historic black voter turnout in Georgia, a swing state.  There are many reasons for this.  It is logical to assume the enthusiasm created by the Floyd campaign is one of them. 

·      This Gallup opinion piece includes polling information and voter turnout statistics.   It concludes with this sentiment: “The challenge for the Biden campaign lies in pushing Black voters’ enthusiasm (and, hence, turnout) closer to the historical records achieved by Obama in 2008 and 2012 than the lower levels seen in 2016.”  

·      There are many articles that state black support for Biden has fallen since 2020.  Here is one.  If Democratic operatives employ similar tactics, 2024 will be hell on wheels.  Their strategic and well-coordinated campaign to get Trump nominated may not be enough to ensure a Democrat victory. 

·      Consider this article by Nate Hochman on the history of the defund the police movement.  An excerpt: “The push for police dismantlement can be traced back to this view: Abolitionists maintain that crime is the result of social conditioning rather than a permanently flawed human nature, in contrast to the more traditionally conservative notion of violence as an inescapable aspect of an intrinsically broken human condition.” It is interesting to note the abolitionist view came into fashion about the same time as eugenics. 

·      The WSJ editorial details the aftermath of the defund the police movement in Seattle.  There is a scramble to hire more police officers to combat increased crime. 

·      Survey results indicate that young people have been influenced by social justice narratives.  Two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 said they think Jews are “oppressors’, 75% said white people are “oppressors”, 60% said Hamas actions were justified and 51% believe Israel should be eliminated and given to Hamas or the Palestinians. 

·      The Censorship Industrial Complex (as Michael Shellenberger, Public calls it) is a serious component of narrative deployments and a frightening development in our country.  Not surprisingly the politicians who support the implementation of social justice policy also support government censorship or act like it isn’t happening. Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi have done much work on this subject.  This Public article by Alex Gutentag is a good starting point.    

·      Eugenics and genetic determinism, the pet theory of early Progressives, had a profound impact on society.  Consider this article from the Ethics and Public Policy Center.  “The eugenics movement of the early 20th century was full of elite thinkers who advocated contraception and sterilization as a means of minimizing the reproduction of unwanted minorities: non-white Americans, the poor, and those deemed mentally disabled or otherwise unfit.”

““Elimination of the unfit,” Sanger argued, could not be fully achieved without widespread access to birth control.”  Margaret Sanger started Planned Parenthood. 

·      My new favorite word is “Panderverse”.  Thank you South Park. 

·      Thank you to the friends who helped craft the above message. 

“Stupid people can create problems, but it often takes brilliant people to create a real catastrophe. They have already done that enough times— and in enough different ways— for us to reconsider, before joining their latest stampedes, led by self-congratulatory elites, deaf to argument and immune to evidence.”  Thomas Sowell

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Thou Shalt Lie

America on Shaky Ground, Part 5

Have we descended into a fact free culture?  A time where outrageously false pronouncements are commonplace?  Yes. Truth is the sacrificial lamb in our “thou shalt lie” society.  Why do we tolerate this insult to our intelligence?  

While a book could be filled with examples from this and previous administrations, let’s examine a few recent whoppers:  

During his election campaign after the Kenosha riot, President Biden implied that Kyle Rittenhouse was a racist white supremacist in a tweeted video condemning President Trump. The media joined in.  Not surprisingly folks only learned the facts if they watched the actual trial.  Racism played no role and those who stated it did were lying.  

On January 6, 2022, Vice President Harris stated: “The violent assault that took place here, the very fact of how close we came to an election overturned — that reflects the fragility of democracy.”  At no point was the election in danger of being overturned.  To characterize the January 6 riot as a coup is political theater at its worst.  Another lie uttered by yet another morally bankrupt politician.  

During his second public address after Kabul fell, President Biden said:  “Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home.” The President also made the assertion that if we needed to remain in Afghanistan beyond the end of the month to continue to evacuate Americans we would.  Clearly a lie.  

In reference to the trumped up kerfuffle over border agents on horseback, President Biden stated: “To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped – it’s outrageous.  I promise you, those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”  Deflection? Probably. Lie? Definitely.  

During President Biden’s speech in Atlanta regarding his proposed bill to federalize election law, he stated: “Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion. It’s no longer about who gets to vote; it’s about making it harder to vote. It’s about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all.  It’s not hyperbole; this is a fact.”  It is hyperbole and it is a lie.  For an excellent summation, consider this editorial from the WSJ. 

And how about the Biden administration talking point, “inflation is transitory”.  Gross incompetence?  Yes.  Lie?  Yes.  

Other than sporadic Washington Post Pinocchios, there appears to be a bizarre indifference to the incessant lying as evidenced by empty excuses such as “all politicians lie” or more often “at least Trump is gone”.  Our silence is permission.  

Not only do we encourage lying politicians and their propagandists with our silence, very few ask why they bombard us with one obvious lie after another.  Has our curiosity been dulled by years of unethical politicians?  Are we too lazy to ask why?  Too busy?  We certainly are not too stupid.  We must reengage and examine the liars’ motive. 

Some motives are obvious.  As evidenced above, much of the lying seeks to divide us on racial lines spawning resentment and anger between groups causing the citizens to turn on each other.  Clearly division and resultant destabilization is one goal.  Another goal appears to be the consolidation of the liar’s power.  Divide and conquer is an axiom for a reason.  

Consolidation of power also requires an erosion of our Federalist system of government which distributes power between the States and the central government.  Not surprisingly we have recently witnessed an uptick in proposals to shift power away from the States, such schemes fueled by blatant lies.  Why do they lie in this case?  To gain popular support.  We should reject all efforts to concentrate power at the federal level and loudly denounce the lies. Our system of checks and balances offers us protection from tyranny and limits the power of unethical individuals who manage to win elections or lurk in the shadows controlling an incompetent figurehead.

We tolerate the manipulative behavior of politicians and their propagandists at our own peril.  Our rational democrat, republican, black, brown, yellow and white neighbors are not the enemy as they would have us believe.  The liars are the enemy.  Regardless of their rhetoric to the contrary, these dishonest politicians do not care about us, the constitution, our democracy, voting rights, poverty or racism.  They only care about themselves, their power and money.  

Our country desperately needs ethical, competent men and women at the helm who will uphold our brilliant constitution.  We need leaders who respect our intelligence with the truth and do not propagate false narratives for their own gain.  It is up to us, we the people, to demand the best and stop accepting politicians who put America on dangerously shaky ground.  

Shaky Ground Summary

As a reminder we will only examine what is happening and leave why unasked for now.  Below is a summary of destabilizing factors addressed in this and previous articles in the America on Shaky Ground series.  

  • Part 1 – Division and distrust caused by the prohibition of gathering.
  • Part 2 – Division and distrust caused by categorizing women and men into victims and oppressors.  
  • Part 3 – Division and distrust caused by racial segregation via victim/oppressor ideology.
  • Part 4 – Destabilize the populace by undermining the constitutional right of self-defense. 
  • Part 5 – Propagation of false narratives designed to destabilize the populace and consolidate power. 

Notes

  • The thoughts above are not intended to be solely a Democrat bashing session. There are Republican politicians who have been equally guilty of lying and creating division. I chose to focus on the present lies and avoid the distraction that any discussion of Trump always brings. Republicans were virtually silent about Trump’s lies and Democrats are virtually silent about Biden’s lies. This contributes to the division in our country. We can no longer be silent regardless of party.
  • Lately everything seems to be a “threat to democracy”.  This is head spinning material considering that the same folks who use that talking point are also leading efforts to consolidate power at the federal level.  Concentration of power opens the door to future tyranny, which is a very real threat to democracy.  
  • Considering the lies and rhetoric, a review of our federalist form of government is in order.  There are many articles such as https://oxgs.org/a-brief-overview-of-the-american-model-of-federalism/,https://www.britannica.com/topic/federalism.
  • Federal encroachment on State’s rights is not new.  There has been steady creep for years.  For an overview, read this Heritage Foundation article.  https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/report/federalism-crisis-urgent-action-required-preserve-self-government
  • Here is a Daily Mail article that summarizes a CATO institute study which assessed each of the 50 states under 23 different categories and produced an overall freedom ranking. The most and least free states are unchanged – New York being the least free, followed by Hawaii and California, and New Hampshire, Florida and Nevada being the most free.
  • Since so many false narratives involve race, it behooves us to reacquaint ourselves with the global history of slavery.  Thomas Sowell outlines much needed facts in his essay “The Real History of Slavery” found in his excellent book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”.  
  • The lies and rhetoric that surround HR1 are beyond belief. Read the full text of the Georgia law here. Schumer is the latest in a long line of politicians to enter the fray. This WSJ editorial demonstrates what Schumer really cares about and its not voting rights.
  • Biden took the opportunity during his press conference on January 19, 2022 to divide the country further by suggesting that the 2022 elections could be illegitimate unless his federal voting rights bill is passed. Haven’t we had enough talk about illegitimate election results from would be and elected Presidents? I encourage the entire country to watch Biden speak on this issue. Do we really want to put control of elections in the hands of this man and his handlers, Trump or any other future President?
  • There is always a kernel of truth in a good lie. This WSJ editorial attempts to find that kernel in the distorted justifications supporting federalized election law.

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