I think dear old Kendi should explain how he arrived at his initial statement, "To love capitalism is to end up loving racism". It seems to me that his arguments go round and round in circles, with no particular principle anchored in reality.
I imagine Kendi responding, "Of course my arguments go around in circles. With each circle, the strength of the assertions is increased!" That would be about the level of clarity of his thinking.
It's heartening that there seems to be a trend toward rejecting race-hustlers, even among people who have succumbed to being guilt-tripped by them for decades.
Barry that was nicely written and very thought provoking. There is a clear trend towards the deliberate removal of freedoms and the introduction of controlling mechanisms that Stalin would be proud of. Your essay should be required reading and study in every educational institution least we have to endure yet again the bitter experiences of history.
Kendi's comment "to love capitalism is to end up loving racism" is pure political propaganda designed to embed victimhood status along racial lines against monopolistic enterprise.
BLM, Climate Change, and Pandemics teach us there are powerful global forces converging and conspiring to manipulate the gullible to give up their freedom 'for the benefit of the whole'. So it would seem they are taking advantage of human nature where roughly a third of the population can be convinced to follow a certain sheeplike pattern to attach themselves to a populous band wagon and enjoy the opportunistic fruits of the ride until the wheels fall off. Another third will be ambivalent and go with the flow, while the remainder exercise critical thinking and stand against the trends.
We must therefore encourage the freedom to exercise critical thinking to ensure the survival of our species.
I'm old enough to remember when people referred to America as "The land of the free" without irony. Now, though that line is still sung (usually badly) at the start of athletic events, it has become empty, and I think that in their hearts, most people KNOW that it's empty. Government has gradually seduced us into thinking of it as Infinite Provider for all our ever-expanding list of needs. The fact that it has to bleed us dry, saddle our grandchildren with unpayable debt, and boss us around like slaves in order be the perfect Provider can be brushed off by skilled politicians, especially if they're backed by major media. Like a spouse in an abusive relationship, we may sense that there's a serious problem, yet be too frightened to break free, accepting the semi-security of the known rather than the feeling of absence of security of the unknown.
When the situation gets so bad that people are willing to make a major break, it's usually so bad that chaos ensues. The original American Revolution was a major exception, and whether that trick can be repeated is an open question.
Thanks for pointing the way to understanding the importance of freedom. Pushers of government-run everything claim their hearts are full of compassion, but the opposite is true. Genuine compassion is expressed in voluntary giving, which can happen only with freedom.
JdL, Thank you. Your comments are poignant and insightful! I wonder too if we can avoid chaos. I fear we won't but with enough of a shift in thinking we will.
As someone said, "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." A self-reinforcing feedback loop can work for good just as it can for evil.
I think dear old Kendi should explain how he arrived at his initial statement, "To love capitalism is to end up loving racism". It seems to me that his arguments go round and round in circles, with no particular principle anchored in reality.
I imagine Kendi responding, "Of course my arguments go around in circles. With each circle, the strength of the assertions is increased!" That would be about the level of clarity of his thinking.
It's heartening that there seems to be a trend toward rejecting race-hustlers, even among people who have succumbed to being guilt-tripped by them for decades.
Excellent essay. If everyone valued and was so inspired by freedom as these 2 writers, it would never be lost.
Celestra, Thank you for the kind and generous words!
Barry that was nicely written and very thought provoking. There is a clear trend towards the deliberate removal of freedoms and the introduction of controlling mechanisms that Stalin would be proud of. Your essay should be required reading and study in every educational institution least we have to endure yet again the bitter experiences of history.
Kendi's comment "to love capitalism is to end up loving racism" is pure political propaganda designed to embed victimhood status along racial lines against monopolistic enterprise.
BLM, Climate Change, and Pandemics teach us there are powerful global forces converging and conspiring to manipulate the gullible to give up their freedom 'for the benefit of the whole'. So it would seem they are taking advantage of human nature where roughly a third of the population can be convinced to follow a certain sheeplike pattern to attach themselves to a populous band wagon and enjoy the opportunistic fruits of the ride until the wheels fall off. Another third will be ambivalent and go with the flow, while the remainder exercise critical thinking and stand against the trends.
We must therefore encourage the freedom to exercise critical thinking to ensure the survival of our species.
Thank you for the kind words and thank you for adding your wisdom!
I'm old enough to remember when people referred to America as "The land of the free" without irony. Now, though that line is still sung (usually badly) at the start of athletic events, it has become empty, and I think that in their hearts, most people KNOW that it's empty. Government has gradually seduced us into thinking of it as Infinite Provider for all our ever-expanding list of needs. The fact that it has to bleed us dry, saddle our grandchildren with unpayable debt, and boss us around like slaves in order be the perfect Provider can be brushed off by skilled politicians, especially if they're backed by major media. Like a spouse in an abusive relationship, we may sense that there's a serious problem, yet be too frightened to break free, accepting the semi-security of the known rather than the feeling of absence of security of the unknown.
When the situation gets so bad that people are willing to make a major break, it's usually so bad that chaos ensues. The original American Revolution was a major exception, and whether that trick can be repeated is an open question.
Thanks for pointing the way to understanding the importance of freedom. Pushers of government-run everything claim their hearts are full of compassion, but the opposite is true. Genuine compassion is expressed in voluntary giving, which can happen only with freedom.
JdL, Thank you. Your comments are poignant and insightful! I wonder too if we can avoid chaos. I fear we won't but with enough of a shift in thinking we will.
As someone said, "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." A self-reinforcing feedback loop can work for good just as it can for evil.
This is a wonderful essay on a Virtuous Cycle: https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/1223/248.html?