Category: Independence Day

End Collective Hatred

It’s happening and it won’t be easy to stop. “It” is the hatred coursing through America today. All generations and demographics are exhibiting this hatred, and much of it is quite misplaced.

But not everyone is buying into it. You must have a certain type of collective mindset in order to really be permanently invested. For instance, I find it fascinating to watch dozens of young people on campuses wearing keffiyeh scarves and chanting hateful slogans about their Jewish classmates and Zionism in general. Why aren’t the Jewish students chanting hateful rhetoric back at their classmates and Palestinians? I suspect it’s because the hateful people have been taught either in university or by online influencers about the “oppressive” class. What is this oppression about?

AI defines oppression as: “the prolonged, unjust, or cruel exercise of power and authority. It occurs when a dominant group or institution uses systemic power to marginalize, restrict, or burden another group, stripping them of agency, freedom, or equal opportunities. Understanding oppression requires examining its different forms, contexts, and psychological impacts…”

The actual and honestly the only definition is located in the first sentence, the prolonged, unjust, or cruel exercise of power and authority. The rest of the paragraph is new language that has been developed in our universities over the last 20+ years. It is no wonder that our young people have been collectivized in this way.

Real oppression happens when authority dictates what you can and cannot do, and hands out punishments that do not equal the corresponding infraction when you don’t comply with authority. Today’s oppression seems to be based on grievance, real or imagined, that may or may not exist, and much of which is “understood” through critical race theory (CRT) instruction. For instance, I am a white woman. Because of my “whiteness” I have advantages over a person of color even if that person has had my same opportunities and has achieved the same status as I have in income and position in the workplace. My race automatically gives me more “advantages” in our civilization, so the person of color should be afforded all current opportunities in the workplace over me. AND I am supposed to accept this as a consequence of my “whiteness”. BULL!!

Collective hate builds when we pit races against each other. This is the same for the sexes. Masking sexual preference with the term “identity” forms the human race into groups that have nothing to do with gender and everything to do with societal division. At some point all these differences lead to a chaos that produces a breakdown in cultural norms. No country can sustain this shift for long. Family ties unwind, morality decays and allegiance to the nation becomes meaningless.

What about collective hate towards the President of the United States of America? This hate is part of a deeper divide. Hating President Trump is simply an excuse to bash our democratically elected leader who is actually following our norms of democracy in our republic. The haters will call him a threat to democracy, but their only solution is to destroy democracy to take him out. Make it make sense!

We will sustain our 251st year as a constitutional republic. We must turn any hate we have toward a constructive introspection of our God given individual rights and neighborly responsibilities. The framework has already been established and the civics must be taught in earnest without race or identity as its focus. We the people can do this.

Blessings and amen.

The Shrew View on Dependence

As we celebrate Independence Day 2024, the Shrew believes it is time for our nation to reflect on what it truly means to be independent. In the United States each state is governed independently, each town or city within each state is governed independently, and each citizen 18 years of age and older governs their own lives independently. No single person or group within our nation can demand allegiance. Instead, we each pledge allegiance to the republic. A pledge is a solemn promise and in this respect we each promise to be loyal to the founding principles dedicated to the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of each individual.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands…”

Consequently we use the democratic process to elect representatives who further swear an oath to a constitution that limits their power. Independence in this way conforms somewhat with dependence. It has to do this because we naturally understand that no man or woman is an island. People must choose to bond in right relationship, and therefore it’s important to remember that all relationships require some dependency.

But sometimes dependency can be unhealthy. Are we now growing more dependent on a federal government that is making our lives, liberty and happiness unhealthy? Absolutely!!

The federal government is now printing money for increased spending in health insurance coverage, college loan forgiveness, migrant resettlement programs, green new deal initiatives, and forever wars. All of this spending is a huge tax burden on the poor and middle classes who make up the majority of our citizens. What is the policy goal of the federal government based upon the aforementioned practices? Reality shows that causing great discomfort to the majority can and will result in a cry for help. A reliance on help from government sources leads to dependence on the government. This is not the American way to life, liberty and happiness…Instead the goal is a Marxist way to authoritarianism.

Unfortunately we now have a tug of war going on at the highest levels of our government. This war does not end with maximum liberty for American citizens. Social issues and economic issues are always divisive and therefore are better solved by people at the most local level. Congress will never solve abortion, transgender therapy, race relations or financial inequality unless an authoritarian ruler is in charge. Understand that legislation is not the American way to life, liberty and happiness, yet social unrest is the Marxist way to authoritarianism.

We now see that a divided government is the best government. Why? Because it shows us that we can only really solve our problems on our own. This brings the focus back to individual life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Freedom of expression is unique to each of us and dependent on no one. Pledge allegiance to our nation’s flag…Not to a political party and not to a special interest group.

Always remember that your Creator who is the Great Liberator has your soul in His hands. He cares about your pursuit of happiness in this life and beyond as long as you love kindness and treat yourself and your neighbors with compassion. He depends upon this commitment from human kind. Now that’s a dependency that works!!