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Few people have understood the importance of language to the health of a society as did George Orwell. In his 'Politics and the English Language' Orwell makes a convincing case that many of society's ills can only be corrected by restoring the English language to its proper usage. I think he has it exactly right. In my experience, people who use the English language poorly are most often those also on the wrong side of important issues. I don't believe this is a coincidence.
Language usage and foolish thinking reinforce one another in a vicious cycle. The more our language is debased and corrupted, the more foolish we become and the more foolish we become, the more debased and corrupted our language becomes. And so, on and on it goes.
One can only wonder if it is possible to have fruitful political or policy discussions when most people have never learned or been taught to think for themselves but have instead been taught what to think.
The use of phrases such as 'follow the science' and 'listen to the experts' ratcheted up dramatically during the Covid-19 psyop.
The concept is far from new however. Its earliest iteration was probably Plato's 'Philosopher Kings' concept which he laid out in 'The Republic'.
These were people groomed to be experts in the rule of people and were to be given absolute control over the population.
In all such cases the 'will' of the people is little, if at all considered.
Instead the purported...
We hear a good deal today regarding 'sustainability', by which is meant 'the ability to maintain or support a condition, process, or system over time, defined by meeting present needs without compromising future generations, balancing environmental health, economic viability, and social equity (the three pillars) to ensure long-term thriving for people and the planet.'
I think the term and its purported intentions are laudable.
As is the case so often however, the devil is in the...
I ran across an interesting concept earlier today, 'Stereotype threat'. Essentially it means that people often underperform because there are negative stereotypes of their ethnic or racial group.
And, while the construct is illegitimate, it is popular among academics who consider themselves social justice crusaders.
“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. “Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does.” They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect...
Diversity is one of those words which demands a specific context to be evaluated. The type of diversity the authoritarians favor is superficial, innate and inherent.
Freedom lovers favor diversity of opinion and positions on social matters.
Only the later type is worthy of honoring.
Diversity is most certainly not a strength of the west. Quite the opposite in fact. It should rather be considered a dilution of the merits of the west (which enabled it to surpass all other cultures) by the introduction of inferior people and their culture.
One needn't be a tin foil hatted conspiracy theorist to conclude that the wars in Ukraine and other places provide a convenient distraction intended to prevent the predominantly white populations of the west from noticing how their societies and their civilization at large are being hollowed out and destroyed by domestic public policy decisions.
I believe it was Milton Friedman who observed that you cannot have a welfare state and open borders if you wish to survive as a nation.
This is precisely the predicament we find ourselves in today.
We have millions on welfare who are still allowed to vote, and consequently vote for more welfare, or redistribution.
In the last decade, and increasingly so under the Biden administration, millions of 3rd world people (certainly not the best or brightest) have entered the country illegally, obtained...
Nothing is better than an honest search for truth, and nothing is worse than the stubborn obsession with being right.
It never ceases to amaze me how often language is twisted in order to justify the most horrible policies.
Take for instance Obama's 'Restorative justice'.
It's certainly a harmless sounding phrase, but if one considers its practical application it is far from harmless. It means that blacks and Hispanics are not to be held to the same standards as whites and Asians when it comes to their behavior.
This is especially the case in public schools where Hispanics and more so blacks are given a pass...
It is not the most original or greatest ideas which change the world, but rather good ideas which are acted upon.
The perception others hold of us is the emotional aggregate of all the impressions, direct or indirect they have received regarding us. Long after the facts, details or particulars of those impressions are forgotten people retain their emotional evaluation.
One of the primary benefits of questions is their ability to raise our level of awareness, and bring into the light of conscious focus that which has lingered in the shadows which encircle our attention.
Most people behave as though they were castaways, adrift in tiny rowboats tossed about by the winds and waves of circumstances rather than captains of mighty vessels plowing ahead towards exciting ports of call.
Awash in a sea of information we are drowning under the weight of ignorance. We do not invest the effort required to understand what goes on around us. We consequently suffer from unnecessary anxieties, disappointments, and lost opportunities.
Consider ridding yourself of high maintenance, low satisfaction possessions, habits, career choices and relationships.