Let’s not get carried away with the use of fascism, lest we fall into the pit of depravity the Left already occupies. If every country that has some kind of industrial policy or uses government influence on private enterprise is fascist, then every country has been and will always be fascist; the term loses all meaning.
The greater issue is the elevation of economics above other considerations: Wirtschaft über alles. In this view, economics is the defining characteristic of everything, including the political system. Instead, economics is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Human flourishing should be the end of politics, with economics as the handmaid. Hence, if government (allegedly the will of the people) uses its power over the economy in service of human flourishing, it is merely doing its job. Yelling FACISM!!! doesn’t change that.
If the contention is that the government is not in service of the people, that is a problem with the system of government, not an issue with which tools the government uses. An emasculated bad government is preferable to an empowered bad government but both are inferior to a properly-functioning government. I might add that this is only possible in a relatively homogenous country with shared culture and norms but that is a subject for a different thread.
4 Likes
John Adams declared, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He argued that public virtue depends on private virtue, and that liberty cannot exist without moral discipline among citizens. - a correct quote from whatever AI inhabits Brave search engine. The Gramsci-esque long march succeeded at reducing the numbers of such individuals to less than a critical threshold. As well, the system’s ever-increasing corruption ensured that only power mad adherents to the religious cult of “social justice” self-selected for positions of power. Of course, those in such positions - in reality and despite high sounding pronouncements - seek only one thing: MORE POWER. Period. A sad unfolding of a noble experiment. The old story of the weakest link, inverted. Now, it is the sound link which is rare (and vehemently despised by the MSM).
4 Likes
I kinda had that quote in mind when I wrote the comment. It is the counterpoint to the propositional nation concept,* which is related to Magic Dirt Theory.** Adams’s quote shows that the framers did not believe in either, in spite of the high-sounding words of the Declaration of Independence.
*a nation founded not on shared ethnicity, culture, or ancestry, but on adherence to a set of abstract political principles —such as liberty, equality, and individual rights. [Brave AI]
**a satirical phrase used to critique the idea that environmental or cultural factors (like “the dirt” one stands on) alone can explain differences in societal outcomes between groups, rather than acknowledging inherent cultural or racial differences. [Brave AI]
3 Likes
As John Walker was fond of reminding us: Liberia copied the US Constitution yet, somehow, they had a different outcome. Without Adams’s “moral and religious people” the Constitution is just words on paper. That, in a nutshell, is the counterargument to the propositional nation.
4 Likes
Friedman is mostly right, of course. Little has changed since he made these remarks. The description under the video on YT claims that it is now nearby Loudon County. Does that sound familiar at all? Trannies in the wrong locker rooms and bathrooms. Parents protesting the sexual assaults resulting therefrom and the ‘educators’ subsequently labeling protesters as domestic terrorists. That’s Loudon County for you.
Friedman harbors a vain hope that, somehow, this can be turned around because “…it’s up to us as citizens to make that no longer true.” Sadly, in a democracy — and, yes, this republic is becoming a democracy — a majority of the people will vote for more government so they can loot the minority.
As I never tire of saying, democracy contains the seeds of its own destruction. As I also never tire of saying, we are not voting our way out of this.
4 Likes
I was at a group retreat in a big house recently, and a trans woman was placed in a male bedroom, and everyone was kind and friendly.
1 Like
Unlikely a trans woman will rape you in the middle of the night.
1 Like
I think there are a bunch of good people who are trans (and we can debate if attention-seeking benefits or hurts society, but it’s not a big deal) – and a few highly visible bad apples. Overgeneralization and superficial evaluation are the root of all evil.
Misgendering! Trans women are women!
3 Likes
I would not let any of them hang around my grandkids.
5 Likes
It wasn’t trans folks who ‘turned’ kids - it was far-left teachers who were fond of the idea, and surgeons out seeking profits.
2 Likes
Exposing children to perversion tells them perversion is OK. Whether a teacher does it or a parent allows it, it is still a trusted adult effectively endorsing it. Full stop.
7 Likes
Ummm, no. Those may be the root of some evil but not all, or even most, evil. The kind of hyperbole in the quoted sentence is also the root of some evil.
A quick look at what’s happening in Minneapolis lately gives a clue about some more important roots of evil — and they’re just getting warmed up.
4 Likes
The left has used this argument to the detriment of society. Is there or is there not a higher risk of a woman being raped by a biological male versus a biological man being raped by a biological woman?
The important difference isn’t whether you generalize, it is how you actually treat people. Individual behavior to another individual shouldn’t be dictated by generalizations, but if you do not use generalizations you will not understand the world in which you live.
I would never want any female that is important to me to sleep in the same room as a biological male I didn’t know or be alone in the same house with a biological male I didn’t know. That is a generalization of men (of which I am one). That doesn’t mean men are bad, it means that the probability is understood via populations which by definition are a generalizations.
Woman on men rape is very low relative to men on woman rape. I can only know that through generalizations.
6 Likes
To your point, here’s another generalization: men commit the vast majority of violent crimes, on the order of 90%. Furthermore, a small minority of males, those between the ages of 18 and 25, are greatly overrepresented among those violent criminals.
I’ve never known any man who committed a violent crime, nor does it mean most men are bad. Nevertheless, it is useful to know the data and adjust one’s risk assessment accordingly. Rational people do exactly that.
7 Likes
And they don’t dare state aloud the generalizations everyone makes - unless their name is Jesse Jackson. Nov. 22 1993 in Chicago - look it up (AI commentary includes historical revisionism, of course).
2 Likes
I remember that quote with fondness. Classic.
2 Likes
There is nothing more painful to me … than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.
Gemini after a couple prompts said:
Normally I can help with things like this, but I don’t seem to have access to that content. You can try again or ask me for something else.
ChatGPT also tried to censor me then I responded, I am quoting Jesse Jackson:
Got it — thanks for the check. You’re right to pause, and to be clear: quoting Jesse Jackson like this is absolutely allowed. You’re citing a historical figure’s own words in an analytical context, not endorsing or promoting a stereotype. That’s squarely within legitimate discussion of history, rhetoric, and public debate.
2 Likes
The left has been engaging in overgeneralization as well, especially through identity politics.
Furthermore, the left has been refusing to correctly generalize when there are indeed evaluations to be made.
The right should not engage in this type of fallacy either.
1 Like
