BECOME AN “EDUCATED” AMERICAN PATRIOT
[The following edited essay was originally composed in February, 2005]
ARE YOU PATRIOTIC?
We have seen a collective change in America's consciousness since the horrendous terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Everywhere people are flying the flag and pledging allegiance to it. Bumper stickers on countless automobiles broadcast proud slogans: “God Bless America”;“Stay Brave, Stay Free”; “9/11, We Will Never Forget”; “Support The Troops”; and “United We Stand”. Americans all across our once-great Nation are filled with a patriotic fervor unmatched since World War II. Unfortunately, this is only a highly superficial patriotism. Why do I say that? Because in order to really support one's country, a person must first know what their country stands for and why it deserves support. Equally important, a person is required to be able to recognize the concepts that are enemies to their country's belief system. Before we start waving the flag and proclaiming the greatness of our nation, we had better have a true understanding of just what it is about our nation that indeed makes it unique and great!
Sadly, most Americans have almost no knowledge at all about the principles upon which their country was founded. Oh sure, they know when the next episode of the TV programs ‘THE BIG BANG THEORY’ and ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ will air, but they don't know what the BILL OF RIGHTS is and why it was conceived. Americans know who got kicked off ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ last week, but they can't tell you who GEORGE MASON was. Americans are made ecstatic by an offer of 1,000 free, anytime cell phone minutes, but they're not the least bit disturbed that they are constantly being denied the freedoms secured for them by the TENTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. CONSTITUTION. As long as their stock portfolio is healthy, they have cable TV in every room, and their professional sports team of choice makes the post-season playoffs, most Americans are quite content. Never mind that what little greatness remains in the United States is but the final vestiges of the Founders' handiwork, and more of it dissipates with each passing year!
Nothing impacts our lives both individually and collectively to the degree that religion and politics do, and therefore no other topics are more worthy of conversation than these. Unfortunately, these are the two subjects that are most likely to be avoided by conversing Americans. "I NEVER DISCUSS RELIGION AND POLITICS" has nearly become an American maxim. I am convinced that the reason for this lies in the average American's dismal knowledge in these areas. Joe is so concerned that Dave will discover how uninformed he is, that he refuses to discuss these subjects at all. Ironically, Dave is ducking the subjects with Joe for the same reason! What a shame that people don't simply educate themselves so that these most significant topics could be discussed and better understood by all. A little less TV and more scholarly reading would do the trick.
Now I have a confession to make: 18 years ago I was the most politically and religiously ignorant man in America! Why? Partially because like most of America's youth, I had been deliberately "dumbed-down" by our Federal education system. (Ignorant people are easier to manipulate and control!) But at the age of 30 or 31, I became aware of (and embarrassed by) my ignorance and decided to educate myself. I turned off the Boob Tube, and after 18 years of an intensive reading program, I elevated myself to a status of adequacy in terms of American history and government. At the least, I can now articulate what it was about America that made Her great, who it was that brought Her down, and why.
If America's greatness can be recovered at all, it will be accomplished only through SELF-EDUCATION; loud, non-violent protest; and STRICT CONSTITUTIONALISTS being elected to Congress. Engaging in this plan of action is your duty as an American citizen and true patriot. It is also what you owe your children and grandchildren if you are serious about leaving them decent living conditions as an inheritance.
THE PATRIOT'S LIBRARY
The following books will be invaluable in the self-education process. Some of the titles are actually links to reviews I’ve posted for the book:
‘THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION’
by Kevin R. C. Gutzman, Ph.D.
An excellent primer, showing us what the Constitution really says and how we went wrong, allowing judges and politicians to violate, fold, spindle and mutilate it. The book includes The Declaration Of Independence and The Constitution Of The United States in their entirety.
‘WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS: A Reverent Review Of The U.S. Constitution’
by Congressman Lawrence McDonald
If you've actually read the U.S. Constitution and come away thinking it was an enigma because American legislation doesn't seem to jibe with what you read, you can be sure that there's nothing wrong with your powers of comprehension. It's just that our entire way of life is now un-Constitutional, meanwhile the dogs of Socialism run freely through our house, howling.
You’ll learn a ton of valuable information from this very small book which also includes The Declaration and The Constitution in their entirety.
by G. Edward Griffin
Perhaps the most important tome ever published on contemporary American politics and economics! A fascinating story filled with intrigue! Despite the subject matter, this is NOT dry reading.
by James Perloff
Ever wondered who REALLY makes the decisions that come from the White House and Capitol Hill? Ever wanted to know who’s really running this show?
‘THE NAKED CAPITALIST: A Review And Commentary On Dr. Carroll Quigley’s book ‘Tragedy And Hope’
by W. Cleon Skousen
Skousen's "The Naked Capitalist" begins by asking "WHY? Why do some of the richest people in the world support Communism and Socialism? Why would they support what appears to be the pathway to their own destruction?” His answers to the above questions may astonish you.
‘THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO’
by Karl Marx
Know your enemy!
“Abolition of the family! …The bourgeois claptrap about the family and education, about the hallowed co-relation of parent and child…” … “The Communists are further reproached with desiring to abolish countries and nationalities.” Ah-Ha! There it is! That last sentence is why you MUST read…
by John Stormer
Absolutely essential reading! This classic covers a lot of ground, including the heartbreaking and nauseating truth about our government's love affair with Communism. For those who lost loved ones in the Korean or Vietnam "police actions" this book will be particularly disturbing. As Mr. Stormer accurately states: "Every communist country in the world literally has a 'Made In The U.S.A.' stamp.”
‘ECONOMICS IN ONE LESSON’
by Henry Hazlitt
If you’re only going to read one book on Economics, this should probably be the one.
‘THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO THE BIBLE’
by Robert J. Hutchinson
As a longtime dedicated student of The Holy Bible, I wasn’t expecting a great deal from this book, but because I liked several other titles in this book series, I read it anyway. HOKEY-SMOKE! What a great publication! It touches on so many related topics and I love the author’s feisty personality. Chapter 11, titled “Endowed By Their Creator With Certain Unalienable Rights”, alone is worth the purchase price. Anything about that chapter title make you think of The Declaration Of Independence?
PEOPLE, THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS BECAUSE . . .
‘1984’ by George Orwell describes America's destiny if we don't wake up and become responsible patriots pretty darn quick! Read the book again and see if we aren't already two-thirds of the way there! (*Who are we scheduled to be warring with next year, East Asia, Russia, or some dirt-poor country in the Middle East?) The only thing Orwell missed was the timing. Forget the Democrat and Republican parties, they're BOTH deceiving you!
Kill your BOOB TUBE and TALK RADIO and learn the TRUTH for yourself by… READING!
Below is a link to a (hopefully) humorous tongue-in-cheek Political / Social Studies quiz I created in 2008. It has the distinction of being partially responsible for me being “blacklisted” by Amazon.com. (I’m rather proud of my “blacklisting” and wear it like a feather in my red, white and blue cap.)
Link:
EDJUCATION-R-US: “We B Edjucatin’ U.” [Issue #1: Polatics & Soshial Studies]
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
I've read Stephen's blogs before and from the offset in reading his blog you can tell he's an extremely intelligent man with a lot to say unlike myself, and this guest post does much to back this up. I'd love to check out his books and it's cool to see that he's actually the person who got you into blogging in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI'd say I steer clear of a discussion of religion and politics not because I can't carry on intelligent discourse about it, but because most people today are too easily offended by beliefs that are contrary to their own.
ReplyDeleteI recently listened to an friendly debate on television about the 2nd Amendment, which would make any NRA member's blood boil.
I believe we should discuss politics and religion often. But people (in general) can't do it without becoming emotional.
There is a lot of food for thought here. It's funny. We are a patriotic family. Love our country and the roots it was founded on, but I concentrate more on my local issues. The fact that special needs education was cut, but athletics remains with full budget. Sometimes there is so much going on it is difficult to even reach the over all picture. I enjoyed reading this. It definitely has me thinking.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure what to comment here other than that this is a losing battle. People just don't care. I'm really sure how to go about getting them to care, either.
ReplyDeleteBeing a patriot or patriotic has a whole new meaning today. And by 'THEIR' definition, I do not want to be called one.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, bringing so many of this reading material to our attention. Now, I hope the people will bring it to their hearts and minds.
I would say 'orange'. Yeah, that's my assessment. ORANGE!
Great hijack posting! I agree that many Americans seem to be dumbed down to the real issues happening. :/ I have read Stephen's blog in the past- great blogger! Thanks for sharing this enjoyed reading!
ReplyDeleteI currently live on the left coast where there is only one pc way to think about politics. Literally, you are not safe if you dare to espouse any other possible political views. I might actually put out posts dealing with more political content if I thought I wouldn't be ripped limb from limb and emotionally raped for it. It's just gotten to a point where people yell 'racist' and determine that you have a low IQ if you are at all interested in protecting constitutional ideals.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? I don't feel equipped to battle with this abuse on a daily basis. I have done it for 38 years now and I am done. I am moving to Texas asap. It's not a perfect place, and yet people are so much more open to ideas and willing to actually listen.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
― Benjamin Franklin
a very timely post--i am the opposite of your guest today--when i was much younger i was very political---your list of books is appreciated, i think i will try to read some of them :)
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to dismiss the beliefs, patriotism, values, etc. of other people as be ill-founded or based in ignorance. It would also be easy for me to condemn this dismissal as self-indulgent and snobbish. The truth is that most people don't care so long as politics, religion, etc. don't interfere with their lives.
ReplyDeleteWhen I served in Vietnam, we (the troops) became upset at the seeming indifference that we found among the population there. Why don't they stand up for themselves, we asked. Why don't they fight their own war? Why are we dying for them?
The truth is that life was good from their point of view. They raised their rice and their children. They loved and gossiped. They were unaware of the Communist invasion that was threatening to overwhelm them. All they saw were Americans in uniform with guns and assumed that we were there to subjugate them as the French had.
Americans today are in a similar position. They look at the progressives who smile benignly and provide free handouts in the spirit of egalitarianism. They wonder at the rancor of conservatives spitting with fury. It's all very confusing to them.
So, would you educate them? Good luck with that.
In every revolution there are three sides: the one-third who want "change," the one-third who resist "change," and the on-third who wonder what all the fuss is about.
Now, your reading list is good for one-third of the population, to arm them in their fight to either resist or support "change." Don't expect the passive one-third to take up your challenge. They don't understand it.
Finally, let me offer one more book, the most important one written today: Intellectuals and Society, by Thomas Sowell. It will not only provide insight into the battle in which two-thirds of our population is now engaged, but also it will provide you with a vocabulary to fight.
Some good book recommendations.
ReplyDeleteEvery taken that test they proposed for American citizenship? They say most Americans can't get even half of the questions right. Sad. (I took it and yes, I passed easy.)
Astute post. Unfortunately a common thread in both the post and the comments is that a substantial percentage of Americans either don't care or spout verbatim what they hear on the one or two news source they actually pay attention to.
ReplyDeleteI think the reality is that nobody with fingers in the pudding of power really wants us to. The corporations in general just want us to by whatever they toss onto the market. The lobbyists only want caring from the people who are free with their checkbooks.
And - the government officials and middle managers have found it easier to make connections, keep the career on an upward slope, and keep the revenue coming in if the general public just doesn't give a damn.
People who don't care will always get screwed, one way or another -- and too many of them will passively enjoy the screwing.
A very thought-provoking post, Lee. Stephen McCarthy does tell it like it is. Generally speaking, as Americans we are complacent. We don't take our citizenship seriously. Pledging allegiance to the flag doesn't mean anything. It's constructive action, and criticism that will bring about needed changes. Personal accountability and responsibility is needed both by the citizens and by the government. Knowledge is power. Turning off "the boob tube" and reading IS the way to go, as McCarthy says. I appreciate this list of books. I recently bought one by Cleon Skousen called The Cleansing of America. Many years ago I tried to read Karl Marx. I was a teenager during the Fifties when Communism was a huge issue. Yes, Know your enemy! This is important on many levels. Economics in One Lesson is probably my speed. The "ordinary" masses do need books they can understand. I get useful information from historical books written for youth!
ReplyDeleteI think it all comes down to families and education.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing post! Thanks for the suggested reading materials. I've lived long enough to remember the communists we had in our government during WW2. And I remember how patriotism was fostered through our school systems, as was spiritual belief. No one was afraid to say a prayer or two if they felt like it.
ReplyDeleteOur educational system has been taken over by the proponents of the Humanist Manifesto, and long before the present administration. The lack of historical knowledge in most students of today is frightening. Since knowledge is power, we are indeed on a very slippery slope. The advent of abortion in this country opened Pandora's box. How do you go/get back from that?
Part 1 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to thank my McBuddy ARLEE BIRD for allowing me to hijack his blog today.
Thanks, BOIDMAN! You really have a great eye for formatting a blog bit. The way you put this together with the photos is excellent - it really looks good! I’m also grateful for your willingness to let me address what some people might think of as a touchy subject. You dun good, Boidman.
Next, I want to thank every single person who took the time to comment here. This blog bit acquired a good deal more comments than I had anticipated it would. And some really good comments, too!
‘YELLOW ROSE’ JASMINE – Great Franklin quote! I’ve used that one a few times myself.
JACK DURISH – Thanks for commenting. You wrote: “The truth is that most people don't care so long as politics, religion, etc. don't interfere with their lives.” The problem with that attitude is that those things – particularly politics – are ALWAYS impacting a person’s life, whether they’re informed enough to realize that or not.
I have not read that particular Thomas Sowell book, however, I have encountered some of his other writings many times and I do appreciate the man’s insight. Awhile back, I posted the following on my political blog:
Thomas Sowell said a very quotable thing. This comes from the latest issue of The New American magazine: How to combat America’s problems? Stop doing what we’ve been doing. Thomas Sowell, an economist and political commentator, says everything the government did wrong in the past is being repeated and escalated. Case in point: “The recent so-called financial reform act left out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” two institutions that brought on the housing bubble and led the way into recession.
In an interview appearing in Investor’s Business Daily, Sowell adds: “People ask me sometimes why politicians continue to make the same mistakes. Don’t they ever learn? And I reply, ‘They do learn! They learn that they can get away with it. That’s what they learn’.”
I like Sowell. My issue, however, with political commentators and journalists who generally give wholehearted support to one major political party or the other is that they rarely (if ever) zero in on the truly biggest problems that ought to be addressed first. Example: Rather than asking if we should raise the debt ceiling, a much better question would be, “Why is the U.S. Government borrowing money from the Federal Reserve, a system devised by private, international bankers for the benefit of private, international bankers?”
Continued Below...
Part 2 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteWhile the American people bicker from their standard Republican or Democrat party viewpoint, the biggest problems are going entirely unaddressed by the two mainstream parties. While we argue over stale leftovers, a Super-Elite is incrementally destroying our Constitutionally guaranteed liberties and surrendering our nation’s sovereignty in favor of what will ultimately be a totalitarian World Government, as the following small sample of quotes illustrates:
“National sovereignty is no longer a viable concept.” We ought to be aiming for “the goal of world government.”
~ Zbigniew Brzezinski (Council on Foreign Relations member; ‘National Security Advisor’ under president Carter; ) from his own book ‘Between Two Ages’ published in 1970.
"The house of world order will have to be built from the bottom up rather than from the top down...an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish more than the old-fashioned frontal assault."
~ Richard Gardner (a top advisor to President Jimmy Carter; Ambassador to Italy) writing in the April 1974 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, the official journal of the Council On Foreign Relations.
"Nationhood as we know it will be obsolete, all states will recognize a single, global authority...national sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all."
~ Strobe Talbott (U.S. Deputy Secretary Of State; Council On Foreign Relations member) writing in Time magazine, July 20, 1992.
"Today, I say that no nation in the world need be left out of the global system we are constructing."
~ Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary Of State, speaking at the Harvard University commencement, 1997.
Again, my thanks to y’all.
Off to work I go.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
I steer clear of politics and religion because it has no place in my public persona. It has nothing to do with ignorance.
ReplyDeleteStephen, I often prefer to avoid conversations about religion and politics because so often they turn into situations known as "playing chess with pigeons" -- people are so firmly set in their "beliefs" that they are not actually open to intelligent conversation and the conversation quickly devolves into personal attacks and hurt feelings.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky in my education, and I think you are painting public education with an extremely broad brush when you said that most of America's youth have been "deliberately 'dumbed-down' by our Federal education system." In fact, I am pretty sure the individual states control education and education standards, so I'm not sure what you mean by the Federal education system. However, I learned a lot about the origins of American government, democracy in America, and the Constitution and Bill of Rights in my many high school classes in Government, History, and English. I am no Constitutional scholar, but I can hold my own in a *rational* conversation.
I do agree that there's a misunderstanding of what it is to be patriotic, and we could stand to educate the public and try to move away from the rah-rah-America mindlessness. But I disagree that the Federal government is setting out to dumb down the populace into mindless sheeple. It's unfortunate that was your experience, and it's good that you've remedied the problem on your own, but some of your claims sound a bit conspiracy-theoristic.
However, I do think I could stand to understand more of the situation with the banks and the large corporations, and would appreciate any reading tips in that direction.
ReplyDeleteStephen-
ReplyDeleteLet's see....according to this post.
18 years ago...you started your self education at age 30...
AHEM!
Sumpin ain't addin' up!
Plus, you're gonna need a new shirt!
Well-writ, and to the typical reader of this blog, I would say why don't you try to work in some of these books among what you normally read?
Nothing wrong with fiction....nothing wrong with TV....but your brain needs to be fed, too!
Disc Doctor
Stephen-
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, you commented:
"Rather than asking if we should raise the debt ceiling, a much better question would be, “Why is the U.S. Government borrowing money from the Federal Reserve, a system devised by private, international bankers for the benefit of private, international bankers?”
I would propose that an even BETTER question would be-what is the purpose that we are borrowing that money to spend on?
Follow-up question #1-are we spending too much?
Follow-up #2-Does the Federal Government have the authority to spend money for this purpose?
And that brings us back to your orginal post-most Americans are not really versed in what the Federal government is allowed to do.
I agree with the way Mr. Durish classifies Americans, but want to say a little stronger than you did-in my opinion the passive one third ARE the problem.
At least the one third who resist change are profiting from the current system (either through the handouts or because they're getting wealthy at the expense of those who do not know the truth).
The passive group need to man up and stand for something!
A lot of good discussion here-much more than I expected.
Part 1 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteCALLIE ~
Thanks for commenting. To address a couple of items you raised…
>>...I think you are painting public education with an extremely broad brush when you said that most of America's youth have been "deliberately 'dumbed-down' by our Federal education system."
You are correct that there is still some autonomy amongst the states when it comes to education; there is even some autonomy within individual school districts. However, it’s important to note that the Federal government frequently funnels money to schools for various needs and projects, and as is always the case, the person or entity that funds a thing also controls it.
One of several good sources of information that I can recommend pertaining to this topic is ‘NONE DARE CALL IT EDUCATION’ by John Stormer (the same author of ‘None Dare Call It Treason’ mentioned in the blog bit above).
On page 217, Stormer writes: “Since about 1985 the NEA (National Education Association) has been working in concert with the Carnegie Corporation to control teacher certification in the United States.”
The work of various International Business Foundations such as Carnegie and Rockefeller have been determined by Congressional investigation to be responsible for a great deal of dumbing-down and social engineering in the USA (See, ‘FOUNDATIONS: Their Power And Influence’ by Rene Wormser).
Congressman Ron Paul pretty well nails it in his excellent little book ‘The Revolution - A Manifesto’:
“A federal Department of Education, for example, is an insult to the American people, who are more than capable of running their own schools without being looted to support a national education bureaucracy. We would get by just fine without it, as indeed Americans did for most of the Twentieth Century, a period when – by just coincidence? – the population was far better educated than it is now. In fact, given the Department of Education’s sorry record, if I truly opposed learning and knowledge I would propose tripling its budget.”
Doctor Paul was obviously alluding to decades of falling SAT scores in that paragraph above. And of course the whole thing begs the question: “If the Federal Government does not have its fingers in the country’s Education Pie, then why is there a federal Department of Education?”
Callie, I have not read the book ‘FedEd: The New Federal Curriculum and How It's Enforced’, although I have undoubtedly encountered many of its arguments in my other studies. You might find the review of the book HERE to be worthwhile reading.
Continued Below...
Part 2 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteWhile I feel my 1970s public education was lacking, things have only gotten worse since then. Something like Lunch Scholars would be even funnier if it wasn’t so sad and scary.
And lest anyone think ‘Lunch Scholars’ is just some sort of Washington State aberration, be aware that there used to be a Talk Radio personality here in Phoenix who semi-regularly randomly interviewed high school seniors on local campuses with similar questions and the incorrect answers were just as shocking as they are in ‘Lunch Scholars’. (I’ll never forget the high school senior who couldn’t name the ocean that is less than 400 miles west of Phoenix!)
Again, Callie, I would recommend Stormer’s ‘NONE DARE CALL IT EDUCATION’ as a fine starting point on this topic.
>>...However, I do think I could stand to understand more of the situation with the banks and the large corporations, and would appreciate any reading tips in that direction.
For a really good nutshell overview, read [link:] ‘How The Monetary Mayhem Began’ by James Perloff.
If you want to dig even deeper, I recommend ‘THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND: A Second Look At The Federal Reserve’ by Griffin (see blog bit above). I have not read but I have heard really good things about Ron Paul’s book ‘End The Fed’. Dr. Paul is a genuine expert on economic matters, and you might find his condensed examination to be a bit more “reader-friendly” than ‘The Creature…’.
Me, I generally like to haul out the heavy artillery, which is why I’ll always mention ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’ first.
>>…some of your claims sound a bit conspiracy-theoristic.
Hey, I’m OK with that. Just please don’t ever refer to me as “a coincidence-theorist”. (I believe history vindicates me when I say I’m not a big believer in coincidences - at least not when it comes to politics. FDR has been quoted as having said: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happened, you can bet it was planned that way.”)
Thanks again for the comment.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
I have a book, 'Patriots, the men who started the American revolution'. If you can find it, I reccomend it.
ReplyDeletelove, LinnAnn Pike
http://linnannpike.blogspot.com
Stephen, thanks for your response. I'll check out those links. I am aware that governments seeking to dramatically mold their populace in a nonviolent manner have done so through schools. And there's a reason that science outreach programs often target schools and school-aged children. (And hence why we get court cases over teaching Creationism in science classrooms.) My friend did his thesis on China's integration (not quite the word I'm looking for) of its minorities, and schools played a significant part.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think the best thing the schools can do is teach students how to think, critically, analytically, about everything.
Oh and thanks for the reading recommendation re: the banks.
DISCCONNECTED ~
ReplyDelete>> . . . 18 years ago...you started your self education at age 30... AHEM! Sumpin ain't addin' up!
Ha! Well, first of all, you know how notoriously bad my math skills are. However… I’m actually referring to two different things there. My introduction to the N.W.O. occurred in probably 1990, however, I did not begin seriously studying that subject, reading extensively on it, until 1994. But I first began learning about the political realm from a mainstream Republican view when I was about 30. At that time I was listening a great deal to Dennis Prager, subscribing to his periodical, etc., etc.
So the educational process for me had two distinct eras: The pre-NWO mainstream studies at about age 30, and the NWO era beginning in earnest in 1994. (Good catch though! Only an accountant would have thought to crunch those numbers.)
>> . . . Follow-up question #1-are we spending too much? Follow-up #2-Does the Federal Government have the authority to spend money for this purpose?
Well, in a sense, these two questions are really one: If the Federal Government was spending ONLY what it was Constitutionally authorized to spend, it WOULDN’T be spending too much.
But really, the vast majority of America’s political problems would disappear quickly if the un-Constitutional Federal Reserve was abolished. So, to me, that is really the heart of the matter and always the first thing I would like Americans to study and question.
Good comment, man.
CALLIE ~
>> . . . Honestly I think the best thing the schools can do is teach students how to think, critically, analytically, about everything.
Agreed! The schools should be entirely state (or home) run; the Constitution does not grant the Federal Government the right to meddle in education. And what children should be primarily taught are the three “R’s” and a capacity for critical thinking.
As it too often is these days, students have little grasp of the three “R’s” and almost no critical-thinking ability. They do, however, feel very good about themselves because they are not allowed to fail their “self-esteem” courses.
Your mention of China interested me because in May of this year I was introduced to a couple of new American citizens fresh off a slow boat from China. Neither of them knew more than a smattering of English words, although they could understand some very basic English spoken to them.
Out of curiosity, I asked them: “Mao Tse-tung: good man or bad man?” They both answered immediately, “Good man!”
This really saddened and shocked me. We’re talking about a man who through a combination of murderous terror and terrible central planning of agriculture killed deliberately and sometimes accidentally close to 40 million people! I think it would be almost impossible to find a person living in China today who does not have a relative in their family tree who was not in one way or another killed as a result of Mao’s actions.
I felt sure the Chinese people themselves would remember that, and although they might not be able to voice their disgust with Mao while in China, secretly, in their heart of hearts they would KNOW what evil was done by their former Communist leader.
The two answers of “Good man”, while spoken in safety on American soil only goes to show just how thorough an effective brainwashing system can be when the state controls all the transmitted information.
Hitler supposedly said that if he were given complete authority over a country’s education system for five years, he could control that country indefinitely. I now believe it.
~ D-FensDogg
‘Loyal American Underground’
I love talking religion and politics...but only with people who A) have taken the time to educate themselves and B) allow for a different point of view. Regardless of the stance, be it opposite mine, or parallel mine, be informed if you're going to open your mouth! At least that's MY position! :)
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to Stephen T McCarthy for this post and for the outstanding follow-ups to the comments we received. Thanks to all of the readers, but especially to those who left some of the more extraordinary comments. This is the kind of interchange I enjoy seeing on my site.
ReplyDeleteLee
I have no problem discussing religion and politics - they're some of my favorite things to discuss (next to writing!). Maybe that comes with my age - young and idealistic.
ReplyDeleteBut on my blog I steer clear of politics. For one, I feel that it's something unnecessarily (for my blog) controversial - as in, something that I don't really care to divide people by, especially the type of people who read my blog. And two, I don't feel entirely justified in talking with authority on something like that. I have opinions - strong opinions - on politics, but that doesn't mean I'm going to voice them just because I have them.
I don't refrain from talking about my religion, though, because that is my identity. It can't be separated from who I am and what I'm doing. Politics (and political affiliation) can.
My undergrad and grad major was in history and my minor was in political science. I have certification to teach social studies, so you're preaching to the choir. I've been disheartened to see how little people know about the constitution. They have their things they stand for and will listen only to the rhetoric that supports their position. Our constitution made it so many voices could be heard and it would be messy. And it is.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHello everyone,
I'm a bit late to the party being busy with children, family, work, and looking into going back to school. I have had the honor of following Stephen on line since 2007 in our old Amazon days. Where I leaned his way politically I had no idea how bad it really was. I started to read (not half the books he's listed here). I started to question. Finally, I even used you tube to see if I could find them proclaiming these very things. Guess what, you can. If your willing to look, willing to be honest with yourself, and willing to face the facts you will find that you will agree with Stephen eighty to ninety percent of the time. I know I did.
Br'er Marc