Flag Burning

This is from Mike Rowe’s Facebook Page…
My comments follow at the end.

Mike Rowe
December 2 at 7:12pm ·

Off The Wall

Susanne McDaniel‎ writes…

“How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were referencing in your rant about the American flag is a private college and doesn’t receive federal funding. However…the very essence of freedom in this country is our right to speak out against the flag, which is a mere symbol. If you take away that right, then we have lost all freedom. You really need to take a civics course, Mike Rowe. I used to like you; but, you have really become very annoying to me in recent years. I thought you were more intelligent. But, I guess appearances aren’t everything.”

Hi Susanne

I’ve never thought of myself as “blindly patriotic,” but I am a fan of the United States, the founding fathers, and the men and women who have served on my behalf. I also confess to feeling lucky to live here. Having said that, I think you’re correct about the flag; it’s only a symbol. So too is the Crucifix. And the middle finger. And the Swastika. And the compressed chunks of carbon that millions wear on their ring fingers as expressions of timeless love and eternal devotion.

It’s easy to make anything feel small and silly by reducing it to its chemical composition or its various component parts. But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a “mere symbol,” equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?

Years ago, an artist named Andres Serrano presented a charming piece called “Immersion.” It consisted of a Crucifix, immersed in a glass of the artist’s urine. Amazingly, some people were offended. Christians, in particular. They just couldn’t see that Andres was using a symbol to express himself. Silly Christians. Interesting though, that Andres didn’t submerge Mohammed in the same glass. I wonder why that is?

The thing about “mere symbols” Susanne, is that they represent “mere ideas,” and “mere ideas” are the backbone of “mere humanity.” In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.

Mere ideas are the reason people fight and die. Mere ideas are the reason we’re allowed to speak freely, protest publicly, bear arms, and burn the very symbol that represents those very freedoms. I didn’t suggest that you or anyone else be denied your right to fly or burn whatever flag you wish. What I failed to do, is quietly accept behavior I don’t care for. Which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same compulsion that motivates others to publicly express themselves in whatever ways they choose.

As for Hampshire College, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. If you check the link I provided in my original post, you’ll see that several forms of federal funding are readily available to their students. Also, according to their site, you’ll notice that the flag is once again flying at full staff. I’ll take no credit for this, if you offer no blame. Deal?

Finally, regarding my overall annoyance, you’re correct, and you’re not alone. I’ve been annoying people for years now. Just ask my mother. And yes, I too, once thought I was more intelligent than I actually am. I still remember the disappointment when the test results come back.

Anyway, thanks for your comments, Susanne. I do hope you’ll stick around.

Mike

While I agree with everything Mike says here, I’m going to stand up for Susanne.

My response is framed as a simple question to Mike;  Does the Flag still represent ‘…ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.’?

I would offer to Mr. Rowe that We have allowed the United States of America to wander so very far away from the Philosophically Enlightened Country born of an Age of Reason our Founders intended, and subsequently recorded in our Founding Documents, that Ms. McDaniel’s ignorance can be understood… if not accepted.  I would continue to offer that this has been an intentional effort championed by those who, while they profess the opposite, have no interest in Individual Rights and see the very Constitution cited above as an impediment… as… a limiting Document… when it comes to their ultimate aims.

Those of us who have taken the time to understand the Constitution know the intent is exactly as a limiting Document.  Our Founders applied a Governing Theory designed to elevate and protect the Individual above Government.

Mr. Rowe, does it?

And if not, what exactly is the symbolic value of the flag today?  Let me rephrase it, what is the symbolic value of the flag to the intentionally ignorant, usefully uniformed, such a Ms. McDaniel?

If Ms. McDaniel is assigning the flag symbolic value based on what she has been taught in our schools, and sees in daily demonstration, you are both speaking very different languages.

Ultimately, You are correct… and to some degree, and not in a way she would understand, so is she.

Philosophy that Kills…

Russian kills acquaintance at pub after arguing about Philosopher Immanuel Kant.

At first glance this is ridiculous, but what if I told you Millions of people around the world have died at the hands of Kant and his ilk?

A thousand years from now history will look back to the 19th Century and see clearly the Poisonous gift German Philosophers left the world.

While Kant is one of the worst, when you add Hegel, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, the deadly cocktail is complete.

All you need after that is some sugar, more accurately Aspartame, to cover the taste… enter Marx.

The World has paid the price for embracing these philosophers for over 100 years.  It has been an overt war against the Individual and Natural Law.  These Preachers of Supremacy and Collective Sacrifice at their discretion have resulted in the deaths of Millions… not just a guy outside a bar.

(Please don’t think I’m ignoring the damage done by the likes of Emerson, The Fabians, Rhodes or a sub-set of actors like Dewey, Sanger et al.  But those folks, while hideous, were simply followers who took on the task of institutionalizing the disease.)

Please don’t feel bad if you fail to recognize all of these names.  It’s intentional. But please DO feel angry if you don’t recognize these names… because it’s intentional.

This failure was paid for with your taxes and accomplished by your local government school system.

The last question you should be asking is, do your kids recognize these names?  And if they do, what exactly are they being taught about them?

Caring is knowing.

We will never care about what we don’t know… until it’s too late.

The fact that a couple of Russians outside a bar got into a serious fight over Kant might be a positive event in terms of “knowing”.

091613

Miss the Point

I just finished listening to an exchange between San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and Adam Carrola. I also followed the thread of comments at various sites. What I’ve observed is a clear effort by those who do not want to address the truth of Mr. Carrola’s comments to intentionally Miss the Point. So I would like to offer a number of ways that you too can Miss the Point on Purpose, this way when you are confronted by… how shall I say it… an uncomfortable truth, you can focus on everything other than the distasteful reality.  (It’s an interesting conversation regarding minorities and socio-economic strata.  But That’s the Point!  And We need to Miss it!  Moving on…)

How to Miss the Point:

1.  Be Offended. Always.

A.  Focus on  the coarseness of the language.  Oh, Bad Words burn my ears… I just wish we could be nicer… etc.

B.  Take individual words or segments of a statement from the speaker you disagree with, put it in quotes, and claim it to be racist.

C.  Simply claim it to be racist without taking any of the speech into consideration knowing most people will not read it.

2.  Accuse the Speaker of being filled with Hate.

A.  Accuse the speaker of saying things in the past which were hateful… as defined by you.  It doesn’t matter if it’s true since you are the one who gets to decide if it’s “mean”.

B.  Illustrate their “Hate” by pointing out they are; male, republican, conservative, don’t like the President etc.  It will play to those who don’t really want to read the exchange but just want to “know” they are right in all things.  You can also call them names like “Fascist” or “NAZI” because your friends will not know what those words actually represent…  Works all the time.

C.  Take a statement the speaker you disagree with actually said then re-phrase it and accuse them Hate for “not” addressing it.  I find this a spectacular tactic which should be used just in case the reader of your comment does decide to review the exchange you are trying to get them not to read.  It will leave them confused.  Perfect.

3.  Make Sh*t Up or MSU.

A.  You can make up anything and accuse the speaker you dislike of saying it in “the past”.  Certainly those who also dislike the speaker will not go try to find the incendiary quotes you made up… they’ll just believe you.  And if your lucky they’ll work for organizations like Hand Gun Inc. and repeat them as fact then cite your statement in the footnotes of their articles.  This isn’t limited to HGI but they’re famous for writing their own MSU articles then waiting a few months (seasoning) so they can quote them as fact in newer MSU articles.

B.  You can also be the repeater of such MSU statements.  This is really easy and replaces all of that bothersome time thinking for yourself.  Just go to your favorite website which supports all the things you believe you think and pick out the “best” slams on the person you disagree with then repost them as your own.  Copy and Paste works well here.

C.  Finally you can do all of the above with greater frequency if you make up a number fo different “identities” and employ slight changes in your writing style.  You can literally be 15+ people with the exact same views regarding the truth you dislike.

So get out there and Miss the Point!

Substantive discussions of material fact and demonstrable truth is way over-rated.  Apparently most of the people out there don’t really want to make an effort anyway.  You’ll be a hit.  And you can protect yourself and your friends from the Ugly Truth and the feeling of dissonance associate with it.

You’ll be even better at it after a few glasses of Mangria.

Things I Want to Take Back

All too often I say things that I wish I had not. I do things I wish I had not. I think things I wish I had not.

This is not what this post is about.  Because a post like that would be far, far too long.

What this is about is my desire… my demand… that we take back that which has been stolen from us. Some of these things are small. Some of these things are big. But all of them represent our seeming willingness to allow others to determine what we think and how we view the world. We have abdicated our thinking to others. We have given up our control over ourselves and in doing so we have allowed those who oppose us to abscond with our symbols and definitions… our identity and reality.  We have made them powerful indeed.

I will no longer tolerate a bunch of frustrated Monarchists who because of their disenfranchisement have chosen to foist upon the proletariat a political model designed to foment class stasis and keep themselves in power co-opting that which has meaning.

Following is a list of that which I expect to be returned.

The Color Blue.

The fact that we have allowed the old Main Stream Media to decide what color best represents what party is ridiculous.  Red has historically been the color of Socialists.  It should remain so… that is if they want to be honest.  Frankly, I don’t care what they want.  I want Blue back as it is the color of Valor.  I propose those constitutional conservatives and libertarians that see what the media is trying to do by continuing to confuse the public simple begin wearing nothing but blue ties, dresses, scarves etc.  They’re not going to give it back… so it must be taken.  Let McCain wear Red… seems appropriate.

The Name “Liberal”.

Somewhere in the sixties the Leftists began reading Alinsky.  They saw the wisdom of co-opting the oppositions symbols and labels in hopes of confusing the masses.  Confused Masses are Useful.  Enough is enough.  It’s time to apply the correct definitions to words and reclaim the labels that are rightly ours.  A Liberal is one who promotes Liberty… not a proponent of oppressive Socialist governing theory designed to solidify class stasis and mass slavery to the State.  So it’s time to remove it from their many names.

The Victory Sign.

I’ve had enough of the “Iconic” picture of Winston Churchill flashing the Victory sign and being told it’s a “peace” sign.  It is not.  It is a “Give War a Chance, Peace through Victory” sign.  The sign is a “V” for Victory.  Period.

Logic.

The voters in this country need a never-ending dose of Logic.  Critical thinking is absent from the electoral process.  Few can describe the difference between Causation and Correlation.  We desperately need to replace, retake and reaffirm what “logic” actually is.  Logic is not about “feeling” your way through life.  Reality does not care how you FEEL about it.  Truth is not relative any more than 2+2=4 is relative.

Public Schools.

An appropriate follow-up to the need to take back “Logic” is where logic is supposed to be taught.  I want back our Schools/Colleges/Universities.  Exactly because everything but Logic is taught.  It’s not beneficial to the Left… and certainly not the Teachers Union and Professors that think their well being relies on feeding the Progressive Communist ranks with the newly indoctrinated.

The Constitution of the United States.

Given the effort expended on the Left to demean, discredit, and ultimately dispose of the U.S. Constitution nothing could be more important that taking it back from those who hate it.  The reason they hate it is it is the largest obstacle they have blocking their way to their Social Utopian Dream.  I’m not interested in their dream…

The expression “Equal Rights”.

I believe in Equal Rights.  It’s that simple.  I believe in EQUAL rights which are inherent to every INDIVIDUAL.  The Left has hijacked the term and is trying to convince you that it means “Special Rights” for certain groups of people… groups defined by them in order to bolster, through leverage, their ability to seize control over this countries government.

The expression “Pro-Choice”.

I believe in “Pro-Choice”… for all things.  The Left loves “Pro-Choice” so long as it is limited to what they approve of.  Who are they to decide what choices I should have?  And, isn’t that the crux of the disagreement between the Socialists and the rest of us?

The definition of Capitalism.

When the Pope is espousing diatribes in opposition to Capitalism it is clear the definition has been lost.  The Left has made every effort to not allow Capitalism to be taught in schools.  If pressed, those in charge of explaining the governing theory of Free-Markets and Voluntary Trade instead substitute Fascism (A variant of Socialism) in its place.  And, because we are all products of public schools we sit idly by and allow it to happen… because we don’t know either.

The Press.

I’m not sure we ever had this institution.  However, the only thing that will provide for truth is fractionalization of the press. The press has far too long enjoyed control be means of a limited number of outlets.  One of the first areas (as Lenin advised must happen) to be taken over by Leftists was the Journalism Schools throughout the higher education system.  Subsequently, over time these “properly” educated graduates took over the institutions deciding what news was fit to print.  and view… and hear…  This has changed is a very small way and we must promote more massive change.  It does not means taking down the “old” outlets, nor expecting them to change.  What it means is supporting those outlets which we find to be most truthful… objectively… by applying critical thinking and reason.  If you’re a Progressive Socialist then MSNBC might be the place you most identify with.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

The idea that Sen. McCarthy was wrong.

Sen. McCarthy was a Bully… he was an A-Hole… he might have even been possessed by the Devil himself… but he was right.  Hollywood is and has been a bastion for Socialist Progressives.  Communism/Socialism/Progressivism/Liberalism is all the same crappy Leftist Ideology.  And it all stands in direct opposition to Free-Market Capitalism and the Democratic Republic the U.S. Constitution stands for and the Individual Freedom It protects.  There are many people in Hollywood overtly trying to destroy the very system they profit from and dismantle that which provide the Freedom they enjoy.  While Stunningly Stupid, they’re Actors…so…  Anyway, The list of specific Hollywood Leftists is so long as to prohibit it in this key pounding post.

The idea that the Iraq war ended and Bush put us back in there.

The Left LOVES war when it’s their guys conducting it.  They also LOVE the idea that they are the party of “peace”.  I know… but Leftists have never let a contradiction get in their way.  If they did they would have to come up with a whole new political philosophy.  But the lie that Clinton “ended” the Iraq war is so egregious that it hurts my head.  Folks… the Iraq war started under George Bush and is still going on as I type this.  We did not “get out of Iraq” under Clinton.  We were actively shooting down airplanes, blowing up radar stations and destroying Embassies under Bill Clinton.  We had “boots on the ground” doing all sorts of things from calling in artillery and spotting for Tomahawks to every other kind of forward reconnaissance.  We were killing people… in Iraq… under Bill Clinton… the whole time.  So how is it “we” have forgotten this?  How is it “we” think the war ended and was “re-started” under GW?  If you’re not thinking “Holy Crap the media is powerful!” then you’re not paying attention.  And judging by many of your stated opinions… you’re not.

Finally, The Fiscal Cliff.

The Left and their “language experts” believe they have won a significant battle by assigning the term “fiscal cliff” to the spending negotiations over the 2012/2013 holiday season.  They think they have effectively retired this phrase… and they’re very happy about it exactly because it was accurate and easily understood.  I want it back… primarily because we did nothing to avert our headlong course to fly off the Fiscal Cliff.  Nothing.  We are actively, energetically and enthusiastically spending our nation into fiscal oblivion.  Our demise is imminent if nothing is done.  And if we are anything, we are professionals at doing nothing.  The Fiscal Cliff is alive and well, and looms large for all those willing to stare straight ahead.

When Teachers go on Strike

…Do our kids get Smarter?

By any objective measurement, be it Local, State, Federal or Global the more money taxpayers pour into education the further our children, as a group, fall behind. Simply put, the more we spend the dumber they get.

So the answer is yes… when teachers stop teaching our students stand to become smarter.

The statistics don’t lie.

Don’t give me “The Parents are to Blame…” propaganda.  The parents have never historically cared any more or less than they do today… and the more the Public Schools positioned themselves as taxpayer-funded baby sitters rather than serious educators the more the public came to see them as such.  The only people who should be upset are all of us who have paid for this debacle.  We should all walk out into the middle of the street, shake hands, then begin kicking ourselves for allowing it to happen.

If you think I’m wrong, Prove it.   Let’s cut all Federal Education Dollars while banning Public Service Unions and chart the Progress over a few years.

The only downside I see is that our children will be deprived of the steady diet of subtle socialist indoctrination.

It can’t get any Worse…