A Blog of politically "incorrect" opinion and commentary on culture, politics and spirituality by a woman who challenges the traditional feminist ideals with bold curiosity and refreshing insight.
How about that! The majority of voters want some common sense brought back to our federal government. This common sense has nothing to do with sexism, racism, homophobia or whatever other “ism” one can “imagine” that covers the whole woke spectrum.
People are tired of the nastiness being played amongst us. So much has been done by the political establishment to create a country of “us vs them” and it didn’t work. It will never work because we actually love each other as a beautiful and complicated family of Americans.
This bride will go on the create another loving American family.
As I retire from a career that has been both a blessing and a curse to manage through the good times and bad, I see that ultimately my experience was a joy because the people who needed my services relied on my expertise and they appreciated it. My work had value. Their dreams of looking their absolute best for the “big day” were fulfilled. Each individual I helped had their own story. I played a part, but yet their story remained their own.
As a country moving on to a new administration, let us all retire the nastiness of the past. No matter how much each of us played in the electoral drama, we must remember our American story remains the same…To pursue life, liberty and happiness as individuals and not as groups. An administration doesn’t give these things, our Creator does. Your God given ambition makes it possible. What career of value can you create that others will appreciate?
Isn’t it interesting that the harvest aligns with our campaign season? What fruits will the next federal election bear? Only God knows at this point.
I see the current administration using a lot of tactics to control the dynamics of this election. Maybe you haven’t. But my point is simple, you reap what you sow.
Don’t get me wrong. This current administration includes a whole slew of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who are legitimizing a system of governance similar to the pit of despair that Harry Harlow contrived. This was not the experiment of self governance that our founders intended, yet it is a result that the founders foresaw because we have moved away from the creation story and God’s plan.
Not to worry! Our American experiment may be suffering a little too much from the influence of socialism right now, but it will most certainly self correct. All we need is an adjustment to the governance recipe. As with our own traditional apple pie recipe which came to America with European settlers and improved over time with various spices and crusts, our self governing system improved with time because of our willingness to try new methods of integration. This is very apparent when we understand how our political parties have evolved over time.
At the start of our two party system we had the Constitution inspired Federalist party and the anti-central government anti-Federalist party (also known as the Democratic-Republican party). By 1828 the term Democrat referred to the Federalist party and Republican referred to the opposition party that later became the Whig party. Democrats supported the supremacy of the Presidency while the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the Presidency. During the time when slavery came into question, the Whig party splintered into two factions and later became simply the Republican party which opposed slavery. After the defeat of the Confederacy, the Republicans consisted of businessmen, shop owners, skilled craftsmen, clerks, and the newly enfranchised African Americans. Democrats were agrarian oriented and repressive to the newly enfranchised African Americans.
Oh really 😉
After the Progressive era and New Deal initiatives, Democrats became the party of big government and Republicans became Constitutionally conservative. The Republican lead Congress pushed for and achieved African American civil rights legislation. Democrats courted the black vote with big government promises.
Today, both parties are in much disarray. Congress has given up their power to a bureaucratic mess of unbridled control over the people, and the Presidency has become a lever of political poison. Our American apple pie is now bureaucratic apple sauce. How can we adjust this recipe back to good old We The People apple pie? Hold onto your pie crust because I think we are about to find out!
It’s definitely general election season! The political hate mongering is here, and thanks to social media it can spread like a wildfire.
The baseline for the hate is the same as ever…One “side” must lose. Unfortunately the narrative of hate from the left “side” has created a must die situation. How on earth did we get here?
Trick or treat!
Is it only the left side? Certainly not. Let’s get real about the situation. The right has just as much complicity.
The old expression ‘You reap what you sow’ comes to mind. Our web connected devices have become portals to soulless content created by careless individuals who spread the seeds of accusations and gossip to reap clicks and shares. The Shrew finds it interesting that so many people are entertained by these weeds that become entangled in our culture. Aren’t we smarter than this? Apparently not. So many people have allowed the weeds of destruction to grow.
How grim are the times that we are living in today? Is it reversible? The optimist in me believes that yes, we can scythe out the hatred. All it takes is transparency and an enlightened mindset. What is truly interesting to me is how an individual can take information without having direct experience of a given situation to arrive at an assumption and then call it a fact. This activity is neither transparent nor enlightening. Instead, it is pure ignorance.
The amber waves of grain…
Our new culture of ignorance is what we must lose. This is not a political “left” side or “right” side issue. It is a human issue. Civility in our society can only be restored when we all recognize the problem. Only then will we reap real sustenance.
These are some very dark days. How does your ideology help you to cope?
Sadly I see that many turn to activism. However, there are two types of activism we must be aware of.
The first type is personal … It’s plan of action is rooted in direct experience and uses principles that have been proven to work among close relationships with family, friends, and local community members. The system is designed for success to help the most people possible without disenfranchising others.
The second type of activism is what I call “tangential”… It’s plan of action is rooted in empathy and uses emotions as swords for justice. It’s appeal is not based in principle at all. The hook is projected outward from a guttural and primitive perspective. The system is designed for chaos and mass psychosis.
Do they really know what they want?
While personal activism is grounded in Truth, tangential activism has no grounding. If there is no grounding then the activism is nihilistic. Nihilism rejects all moral and religious principles in the belief that life is meaningless. Today’s group activism in the streets and meeting places is replete with catchphrases and chants yet has no solution. How is this activity useful for coping? Think about it.
To bring light into these dark times we must reject the fatalism of the tangential activism that we are witnessing around us. The goal of this activism is to eliminate the useful systems that have brought human prosperity. Yet, no matter how difficult the situation may become there are always people who work together willingly and freely to protect the lives of individuals. This light is the Creator’s promise of life everlasting in our world.
Why should we have a Constitution and why should our elected leaders swear an oath to abide by it? The easy answer is that the leaders who work in government need rules to govern our republic and they must say out loud that they will abide by those rules. Interestingly, we the citizens who are not elected must put our faith in those whom we elect. But who among us really understands what that faith can and cannot do?
I put faith in the process and not in the elected officials. Process is the rules…Just like a football or baseball game, teams compete and fans pray that their team’s talent along with a little luck can win the game. Rules keep the outcome fair. Yet, politics is another game altogether! The rules are very hard to follow. The DNC and the RNC give off the impression of fairness, but their ultimate goal is the acquisition of power and so the representation of we the people seems to take a back seat. These political “teams” involve many power brokers that offer little transparency to the voters. It is this lack of transparency that removes fairness from the process. Faith therefore is fleeting because personalities have been deemed more important than the rules.
Neptune
These personalities believe themselves to be as gods. Just like the many gods who were worshipped in ancient times, these personalities consider themselves “gifted” with their own abilities of transformation. Unfortunately for we the people the transformation is not always part of a shared vision. It is as if the ancient war of the gods has returned to modern times as a revolution without a clear cause. How will the war end?
Governing bodies that use loose rules tend to usurp power for their own benefit. It doesn’t matter if the body being governed is a State or your own body. If the practice being used becomes unhealthy then there is a problem. Those being governed know the problem exists but are limited to interventions…It’s easy to see then how the power addiction turns into chaos (war).
Our Judeo-Christian God has the best process from which to draw faith. That which is real and objective, ie those things He created, hold the Truth. Therefore through God all things are possible. Once a person or government is driven by hubris, greed or power their ego thwarts the humility necessary to reveal Truth and to then turn chaos into mature and rational human behavior and actions for the betterment of others.
Be vigilant and pray for our country as well as an honest peace in the world.
What does evil mean to you? When you perceive evil what are your next motivations? Is it possible to root out evil? If so, what then?
Evil is essentially the opposite of good. One requires the other in order to exist and have meaning. For instance, if human kind were able to transform our existence on earth to always be good, would human kind have rooted out all evil?OF COURSE NOT! There would always be an example of evil in order to define what is good. Otherwise good is simply that which IS.
As I read social media threads in response to political posts it is obvious to me that liberal contributors to these threads are more hostile to the conservative or moderate contributors. Why is this? Doesn’t it stand to reason that provoking anger from the opposition could lead to more hostility? Isn’t hostility a form of evil? Isn’t provoking someone evil? If one person provokes another, isn’t the natural human reaction to fight back? Therefore isn’t fighting back an evil action?
I hope you can see where I’m going with this…
If tomorrow we all agreed that those who govern us are doing good work to run the country and the world, then we would probably also all agree that our lives are equal and fair. Total and complete agreement requires no decent. Isn’t no decent a good thing? But that’s not the world that humans live in. Remember that God had to expel Adam and Eve from Eden because they didn’t obey His order. Even if you don’t believe in God or what is written in the Bible, Eden is a perfect example of a utopian system that could not really exist. Unless humanity removes the reality of our free will, our existence is always good vs evil, one vs the other, yes vs no, right vs wrong.
We must not allow ourselves to label any political party in the USA as evil or good. Political parties exist to organize as a platform of ideas that represent the free thought and beliefs of some people. When there is more than one political party then there are many ideas. When there is free debate and questioning of the ideas then the best ideas generally win, but only if a free press reports on the ideas in a bipartisan manner. It is not a crime to have an idea or belief.
Politicized evil is rooted in controlled messaging whether this narrative is put out by the press, social media platforms, partisan politicians or woke churches. We know that large sums of money often accompany the controlled messaging in some way. The only way to root out politicized evil is by uncovering the truth which can only be arrived at by questioning the narrative. When questions are shut down, ignored, diverted or dismissed then there is immaturity and complicity to the evil.
It takes courage and maturity to fight back and question the narrative…This is good for our Republic! I care about other’s ideas and beliefs which is why I will always ask questions about their ideas and beliefs. I would expect the same in return. And just like that, evil is neutralized 😉
We all do this…Put an idea (policy or theory) out to people around us to gage the response and then take a new action accordingly. Those new actions can have a variety of intentions affecting culture, race, politics, history or anything really. They can even affect an individual’s life.
When an idea isn’t well received this doesn’t necessarily mean that it fails. In fact, hubris can actually cause an unfettered attachment to it, especially if the idea hasn’t been thoroughly tested for positives and negatives. People in positions of power can often display this type of hubris, making them assert their rejected idea more forcefully. Also, they might even “leak” bogus information to media platforms in order to distract from their efforts or inject soft science in order to bolster agreement among under-educated advocates.
Positive and negative feedback can come in many forms: polls, surveys, votes, debates, public comments, letters to the editor, social media posts, etc. But what happens when an idea (policy or theory) is pushed without any thought to the feedback? What happens when an idea has been developed to the point of its implementation and its negative consequences are allowed to run amuck?
Enter the whistle blower. These people typically are those who have first hand knowledge of the people implementing the idea because they are either working with them or for them. Because of their insider knowledge and their job being on the line, many whistle blowers are not protected from retribution. Sometimes whistle blower information will reach the public too late and few people might believe the information to be true…An investigation, usually by trusted reporters, is then critical.
But whom do you trust with investigative power? There is no easy answer to this especially if you haven’t been practicing your own discernment skills. Discernment and intuition are God given attributes meant to offset an overzealous trust. Otherwise you can be easily lead down a path of harm physically, economically and/or psychologically. Vulnerable people are often the victims of a power hungry person or group and the ideas that they profess. This is why it’s important to have a logical test for the substance of an idea.
Know the history!
The following are a few current ideas that I believe needed testing for substance before being enacted…Spend trillions of taxpayer dollars to “end” inflation; Allow children to choose their gender; Curb fossil fuel production before green energy alternatives are fool proof and ready for mass use; Feed a war machine against Putin rather than encouraging diplomacy. Each of these ideas has the capability of harming thousands of people.
Here is my test for substance:
1) Remove personalities and name calling from the equation. This allows you to focus on the idea.
2) What are the sources of the idea’s information? Gathering the hard data and original source articles can be instrumental for getting to a logical conclusion.
3) Is there any history of past examples? If so, what were the outcomes? History often repeats itself.
4) Do the values of the idea align with the welfare of each individual involved with the outcome? “Inclusive” can sometimes be exclusive. Seldom does an idea that is designed for a group benefit all the individuals involved. If this is the case, can the idea be remedied to be more beneficial?
5) Is there sufficient debate and compromise happening in the process? Diversity of opinion is more important than tunnel vision.
6) Remove the politics and lobbying. The correct decision should not be heavily influenced by outside pressures.
7) Is there a way to correct any negative effects after the idea has been implemented? Make sure this corrective process is in writing and easily available.
8) Trust your intuition and stop the process if you believe that any of the above steps have been compromised. Ask relevant questions to draw out the deceptive practices of others.
These are your powers. Use them, hone them and teach them. Truth is available, but only if you test for substance. Don’t allow yourself to be told what to believe or that your testing has no merit. God has blessed you to do this work.
Our government seems to be conditioning its citizens into believing that those who were elected to represent them are actually working on their behalf. I’m not talking about how the government “gets things done”. Those “things” are probably not at all needed by the citizens of a Liberty-minded nation. Every one of those “things” must be measured within the context of the Constitution and existing law…Capitol Hill’s charter. I’m talking about how the government enriches itself by using its power to manipulate legislation according to the demands of the corporate donor class.
Think about this, President Trump was very successful growing the economy and building workable treaties and agreements with and among nations. Most of his actions were challenged in the courts and this was fine…It’s one method of checks and balance in our system. When the economy grew, jobs were available, innovation was allowed to thrive, the tax base expanded and our CO2 emissions actually went down. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/greenhouse-gas-emissions-continue-decline-american-economy-flourishes-under-trump-0 … And, try as hard as they might, Congress was unable to remove a President that understood the underbelly of the corporate donor class. Trump was elected by we the people to represent middle class America and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Well, what does an elected ruling class like Congress do when their perceived power is interrupted by a successful President? Everything in their power of course. We saw this play out in almost every format available to these corporate brown nosers when mainstream media colluded by disseminating misinformation, social media canceled opposing opinions and a multitude of “crises” overwhelmed traditional systems.
Representative influence…One heaping pile 💩
Build Back Better is nothing but a Biden Administration term for corporate cronyism. His decades of time spent on Capitol Hill makes him a certified corporate brown noser. His track record of helping credit card companies over consumers’ best interests shows how compassionate he is to corporate banks which now under the global economy will impose ESG scores on businesses that don’t comply with new global “norms”… https://www.alva-group.com/blog/what-is-an-esg-score-and-how-is-it-calculated/ Free markets will be demolished.
It’s time for voters to take a serious and honest look at how their representatives (Nationally and locally) have used their power, understand that both political parties have abused their power, look closely at their records and listen to how they answer tough questions. What do they consider a real crisis and how do they plan to fix it? Does the plan focus on actionable measures with clearly defined results? Is there precedence to learn from before enacting such measures? Voters must focus on policies and not personalities…Anyone can seem like a nice person or be rough around the edges, but what are their results?
A government that isn’t willing to self reflect on their own abuses is not a government of, by and for the people. The commander in chief must hold their justice department accountable to those who are not in power and investigate the federal agencies; agencies that spend more and more taxpayer dollars to undermine taxpayer rights.
I’m waiting patiently for Congress to get a grip on themselves. This will only come when we the people elect representation that respects the rights of the individual and the entrepreneur. Anything else is cronyism and self serving.
In one of my previous blogs, https://shrewview.com/2021/04/17/critical-race-nonsense/, I wrote about how Critical Race Theory (CRT) was affecting the culture in the USA. Critical theory argues that societal structures and cultural assumptions influence social problems rather than individual and psychological effects. In the blog I point out among other things that CRT has no scientific research and evidentiary discovery behind it, instead the discovery is purely philosophical similar to a religious practice like Buddhism…beliefs and ideals describing behavior and thought. If this is the case, then shouldn’t it follow that teaching the deconstruction of the Constitution and cultural norms of the USA (as CRT does) would lead to a vacuum of serious thought (aka critical thinking) among our students and employers who are being fed this crap? And, once this vacuum is presented what then fills it? Tyranny of course.
No country other than the USA possesses a Constitution with a very thoughtful framework for governance intended to be by and for its citizens. Though far from perfect, our Constitution sets the table to uphold individual Liberty by a checks and balances system. Also, each state is allowed to possess its own constitution. I contend that what matters most is the local government experience which is typically the best barometer of Liberty’s success…Holding elected officials accountable is best done locally.
Now consider that the USA has the most ethnically diverse population of any other country. Granted, not all communities have a large amount of ethnic diversity, but those that do not will still have population diversity of another type be it socioeconomic, religious or even seasonal…There are numerous “melting pots “. Yet there is one thing that holds us all together, and that is our desire to understand our roots and educate each other about all the hard fought freedoms which were gained by extraordinary people in order to pass true Liberty on to each new generation no matter the race, creed or color of the people.
Critical Theory seeks to deconstruct systems without lighting a way toward unity. There can be no “United” States under this philosophy. Instead the action is toward chaos (aka disunity). For instance, the white supremacy mantra is a dog whistle used to create this chaos. We see it’s influence in some of our major cities that defund policing and push CRT in school curricula. But what is white supremacy? The term is used by Democrat leadership yet the definition is lacking. Does it mean a KKK style resurgence, a saturation of Caucasian culture or perhaps it means tyrannical behavior from the opposition political party? I believe that white supremacy is meant to mean whatever the person who hears it thinks it means to them, and the intention is to cause feelings of shame for some and feelings of anger for others. The intent is for driving destructive emotions, keeping some form of “Democrat” labeled political party in power, bringing solutions that only the federal government should administer, and reducing our great diversity to simple minded cogs in a wheel of slavery to the elite class.
I have faith that our diverse population will ultimately see through the CRT re-education ruse and teach an honest education of history with all its flaws and accomplishments. We must start locally where the rescue effort is most effective. The BIG LIE is CRT. The BIG TRUTH is to love your neighbor, stay Liberty minded and keep the next generation FREE!
The Shrew 