We live in an age of what is called, REASON. Supposedly we have become so very smart that there is no longer a need for faith in any God or gods, no need for superstition or even wishful thinking. We have the handmaid of reason: SCIENCE. No one can confuse us with un-testable “mumbo-jumbo.” We can rely on science, and science is based on evidence, experimentation and repeatable observations. No mysteries for us; all of our beliefs and decisions are science-based, evidence-based, expert-based. Since we aren’t all scientists or mathematicians, EXPERTS hold an important place in our reason-fed society.
Yes, we still honor some religious leaders and we still respect the ancient founders of religions… well, some of them: the ones that science can prove actually existed. And we still revere the great teachings of these ancient religion-founders… at least the ones that science can prove were actually taught by the scientifically-accepted founders. Reason teaches all of us that questioning the fables that surround Mohammed could result in damages or death. Muslims not only believe but take offense, too.
In any case, we don’t have to accept the mythologies of other religions, especially Christianity, until science confirms them.
Science, one can easily see, is connected intimately with TRUTH. This makes so much sense that reasonable people think that science and truth are obviously the same thing. Basing our decisions, our votes, our very governance on truth will certainly avoid a host of problems that derive from lies and myths and false ideas. We’ve seen a whole lot of that in our political history. The political movement that is based on truth, evidence and science is unquestionably the one to follow and support.
Truth, however, has proven elusive, science notwithstanding. How can this be so? People who believe in science and truth would never lie, would they? The fly in that ointment is that science, during its best efforts, can only approach truth. Truthful scientists never claim to understand absolute truth; science is the quest for truth. Granted, there are a lot of things scientists are pretty sure of, sometimes so much so that very little additional research is done on those matters. But, every day, and particularly when a new disease is encountered, there are more questions than answers, and scientists are generally very careful to not proclaim answers that may soon be rendered untrue. Lies can creep in. Well, there are advantages to lying, as humans have learned, and this truth has found its way into political planning and campaigns… and even into science. Who knew?
The basic difference between individual freedom and responsibility as a governing philosophy, and all the other governing models, is that the alternatives to freedom can only gain ascendancy by convincing people of lies. The greatest of these is the fundament of what we know as socialism: that controlled people will be MORE free if they can shuck off the burdens of responsibility, merit, attainment and, interestingly, religion.
The above is a bold claim. There had better be some proven truth that backs up such a claim. All that defenders of freedom have is the history of socialism since it appeared. It always fails and, in every case, manifests the deaths of millions of people it controls in order to install ever-“purer” forms of the revolution that installed socialists into power. Only then will the planned future the people were promised, be possible. Unfortunately, socialist regimes never run out of enemies of the “people” who are preventing the completion of the revolution. This is due, in no small part, to the inability of planned economies to produce sufficient productive surplus to finance the growth and improved standards of living necessary to serve everyone and defend the nation. There is always too little surplus to destroy debt – also known as “investment in the future” – as well.
Eventually, socialism consumes all of its people’s money and a lot of other people’s money. This, unfortunately, is where the United States is, now. We have swallowed a lot of socialist bull-bleep and find ourselves $27 Trillion in debt. As we argue over Covid-19, our time is spent expanding the socialist aspects of government, and expanding that debt. Fortunately, there is still enough freedom in the American system to encourage and allow substantial productive surplus. In theory our economy can destroy that debt. Unfortunately, we are politically unable to stop outspending our productive surplus… socialistically.
Truth exists, known or not, and science, if honestly applied, will keep approaching it. The rest of us will, according to those so enamored, keep running our lives, our personal economics and our government accordingly. That scenario is superior to how we do those things, now. It’s because of competing belief structures. Truth… reality… is dashed on the rocks of belief every day. Worse, we seem to be able to consider COMPETING TRUTHS!
A perfect example is the current fascination and promulgation of trans-genderism. Our august politicians have created legal structures around the theory that believing in transgenderism makes it true, or real in some way. It is not, of course, although the feelings – emotions – that cause someone to deny the responsibilities of his or her biology are certainly real. Yet those who oppose encouraging transgenderism are held to be “deny-ers” and literally on the wrong side of the law. The same happens with socialism and anti-Americanism. Both modes of belief are replete with untruths and distortions so skewed as to be utter lies. Yet their adherents believe their “facts” (beliefs) are true.
There is no compromise. We have cleverly talked ourselves into legislating official defense of competing “truths.”
Politicians, elected mayors, governors, district attorneys, certain presidential and vice-presidential candidates and more, defend anarchists’ “right” to riot in proclamation of their “truths.” It’s a stretch, and illegal. The destruction of civil rights now defends civil rights of certain others. These same bemoan the “fact” that the Trump administration failed to follow “the science” at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.
And so, the left has managed to weaponize truth. Once abortion was converted from ending the life of a baby to promoting the lives of women, we were solidly on this path. Our tax dollars pay for much of it and the wealthiest people and corporations in the world “donate” huge sums to subsidize the only movements who ACT on hatreds, and who promote the destruction of America and of the idea of America.
What is wrong with this picture? What is wrong with us?