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Ted McDonald said:
( September 22nd, 2018 @ 11:01 am )
The streets of Atlanta are soon to be renamed and statues are being removed by educated people. Thirty miles away educated people have more productive things to do than paint crosswalks with rainbow colors. I am just saying..
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I love this post for its clarity of expression of what governing means to you - the body politic and by the individual.
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The comment was extracted from a much longer article to myself as I tried to clarify my thinking on the subject. I will work on it and see if it passes my low threshold for publication.
"I write to clarify my thinking. After all the bars are not open that late!" Unknown Here is a link to the article based on this comment. beaufortcountynow.com |
Beautifully put B.T. Please make this into a post, modified or not, it would be a post of perfect truth.
We want to believe that what we do, or did was right, when survival was our greatest instinct; whether in war or just fighting our way through society. |
Thanks for a great article and great comment section:
I have long held the belief that humans are basically incapable of separating the warrior from the war. My own experience indicates that most soldiers enlist or answer the draft not for a cause but because of some sense of patriotism or duty to the rule of law. However, once in the battle they fight for each other and not some esoteric nuance of philosophy. They fight for survival. It is most difficult for even soldiers to separate the warrior from the war because if the war was wrong they must admit that their participation in it was wrong. World War II is one of the best examples that we have to show how a population must finally admit they were on the wrong side of history. Once they do that and admit to themselves and society, then they can put the events in proper perspective. It is also true that the artifacts of the losing side were systematically removed or placed in a proper historical context. It is my belief that the confederate monument issue is nothing more than two political viewpoints arguing over the long held basic issues and assigning too much significance to the artifact. Dehumanization of the enemy is a propaganda technique used by both sides. If you are not with me you are against me. I also believe that as a matter of practical techniques appropriating the symbols of the other side and re-define them in your own terms is often used by politicians and debaters. If you can successfully do that then you have neutered the opposition's symbols. If you can assign some extreme emotional content to the symbol then you can invigorate your followers. Human nature tends to reduce everything down to a basic stereotype based on appearance. There is no better example than the recent memorial services of Aretha Franklin and John McCain. Both were hijacked by charlatans who saw a chance to "not let a 'crisis' go to waste!" While I am in agreement with Diane, Stan and Alex on most of their points, I find it terribly disconcerting that we continue to place our faith in individuals rather than principles. Looking for a savior in the political arena is akin to looking for one in the pulpit. Both will end in despair, disappointment and perhaps damnation. |
Right you are Alex, no, very right you are.
This Democratic Republic is the people, and when The People become increasingly stupid, and put into elected office Ass Clowns like Corey Bookers and Kamala Harris, it just reminds me how fortunate we are to have the Electoral College for the election of president. The longevity of this Republic will always depend upon the intelligence of our People, and when stupidity reigns supremely, it will be close to over unless we have a second civil war. I know what side I will be on. I think it wise that we shepard our friends and families to that Right side, which will always be the right side of history. |
Your contention, “Remember, there are always two sides to every issue. The side that wins the day is the one that has the facts on its side” is the way it ought to be but I am afraid that the weight of the Internet and the one-sided functioning of our Main Stream Media is tipping the scales towards Progressive Thinking.
The first time I saw a screaming crowd cheering Bernie Sanders I knew we were in trouble. Ronald Reagan is dead, Margaret Thatcher is dead, Alexander Tyler is dead... At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish history professor at The University of Edinburgh) had this to say about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000 years prior. "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship." "The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From Bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage." We have survived longer than the average for Democracies but that does not mean we are not now in the process of losing the battle. Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid. |