Critical Theory Can’t Compete With Our Diversity

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!

A Memorial Day Pledge

Which group is your group? To whom do you pledge allegiance? When your little world falls apart, where do you turn next?

These questions are easy for many people to answer, however there are just as many people who are unable to answer one or more of them. I for instance would rather not have one group be my group because I would find that my little world would not be very interesting. My God given curiosity would never allow for me to stop learning, questioning and voicing my opinion.

Imagine that I never left my family unit until I was forced to marry into a different family and that my entire education was formed by what society intended for my outcome. Imagine further that this outcome meant that my offspring would be bound by their roles, males bear all responsibility of ensuring their family remains a growing generational unit, females marry into a new family and nurture all members to fulfill their respective roles. It seems to me that this patriarchal system would effectively need to keep me in its allegiance because my limited education did not allow for my potential to grow beyond my usefulness as a nurturer. Also, males in the family unit would be limited in their education because their outcome and allegiance dictates that only they can control the established order. Education becomes a means to an end…The end of which is patriarchal control established in law, religion and governance. But isn’t this our system in the USA? Of course not!! Yet many groups forming in this country like Antifa, BLM, Democratic Socialists and the Poor People’s Campaign actually believe it is the system and they want to take it down, destroying the Constitution and all systems of law and order. I believe these groups are made up of nothing more than tyrannical Marxist revolutionaries working on behalf of fringe elements who hate life.

The diversity of people and thought in the USA is exceptional and therefore we must never allow Marxism to permanently take over this great country. Groups here are encouraged to form around a community purpose but not around hateful genocide. Individuals can belong to more than one group and have many facets to their beliefs and ideals. Educational standards are grounded in facts and are merit based because we know that ALL people are blessed intellectually in ways which are special to them. Our freedoms are based on natural rights and allow each one of us to discover our unique purpose in our own time. Our Constitutional protections allow each one of us to keep what we earn. It is our family of choice who we turn to when our little world falls apart, traditional or not traditional. Ultimately the rule of law offers us protection from patriarchy and interminable chaos. Ours is the only system of its kind and this means we must continually strive to keep our Liberty from falling into the hands of tyranny. God bless the men and women who died in battle to preserve this exceptional country!

Our Authentic Awakening

There has been a comical willingness for citizens to hand over to the government their inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Critical Race Nonsense

CRT is a disingenuous practice of brainwashing through story telling and sensationalism while manipulating data, leaving out competing narratives, and linking loosely related material.

The Enemies in Public Office

US Congress Oath of Office: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

“…enemies, foreign and domestic…” Who are these “enemies” and how is this phrase applied to the work of our US Representatives?

I believe the first sentence of the oath is clear that Congress supports and defends the Constitution against these “enemies”. It does not say that Congress supports and defends democracy or even an ideology against these “enemies”.

Democracy is defined as control of an organization by the majority of its members.*

An ideology is a system of ideas that aspires both to explain the world and to change it.**

A constitution is a body of fundamental principles to which an organization is acknowledged to be governed.*

In the US Constitution the control is defined and enumerated among three distinct branches of government, and ideology is best left to the individual as a right of belief.

Given all the above definitions we can easily see that Congress today is leading from a perspective of CONTROL and IDEOLOGY. This is not their charge!! Congress has moved so far from their Constitutional powers that they have in fact become a domestic enemy. Their efforts to have a political party assume majority powers has made them believe that they can impose their political ideology AND that they have the moral authority to do this. Over the past twenty years I have seen the decay of Congressional leadership…No more compromise or negotiation toward bills that incorporate the best ideas from all sides of an issue. The best ideas are where we achieve the greatest form of diversity and move our country toward progress…A diversity NOT based on gender, race or ethnicity!

I believe Congress’ domestic enemy status has perpetuated the unfortunate circumstance of allowing foreign enemies to invade our soil through a porous border and the relaxed policing standards within our states. One party rule has meant that our Republic is no longer functioning as it should. Our representatives in the Senate and the House must be sent a daily message that We the People will not stand for their tyrannical behavior. Call, email or write your representatives in Washington DC. Tell them that they do not honor their oath by not working across the isle with the minority…This is the way it has been in the past and must continue to be. God help us all!

*Google dictionary; **britannica.com

Evil of A New Magnitude

If the United Sates Constitution is simply words on a page then how could these words bind us as a nation to follow their charge? Are the words mere words or do the words carry the burden of ownership? The document is clear…It is ALL the people who live under the scope of this document that MUST commit to its meaning. Government officials swear an oath to God to follow it, citizens have the right to hold their government accountable to it and non-citizens aspire to become citizens because of it. Our Creator (not government) is the ultimate judge of us all which is why we have freedom of conscience in this Constitutional Republic. But what if a bias is imposed as to how everyone MUST think or act in this country? Does bias supersede our Constitution?

Bias is natural to humans…It helps us form our opinions and questions. Without bias we are merely automatons all thinking and behaving alike. But God does not make automatons, only people do. How? Through manipulation. One such tool being used for this manipulation is the computer or any other web device that most humans now own. These devices can cause an automatic dependency for goods, services and information. They are helpful and fun, but the Artificial (or “automated”) Intelligence (AI) employed in them does not have a conscience. AI is a tool used by the developer to understand habits and potentially to train actions. It can gear the mind toward need and want, joy and sorrow, outrage and shame, all the while being unaccountable for the user. Some typical user actions can be:

Purchasing above your means,
Feeling depressed or anxious,
Having hatred for those you don’t even know personally,
Being hated by people who don’t even know you personally,
Being a slave to the device’s abilities,
The list goes on…

But the worst action imaginable is the manipulation toward a bias which may never have been held before. Being fed a series of images and verbal hedges without truly knowing the source is Evil of a new magnitude. Combine this manipulation with the absence of being taught critical thinking skills of discernment, and the social fabric can be changed dramatically. The Evil is AI.

The good news is that this Evil can be pointed out as having a definite source. Just like the snake in the Garden of Eden, Evil had to make itself known in the physical sense in order to service its ends. AI is the snake in the web of information manipulating us to be it’s means toward societal evil. We question our own conscience instead of verifying the information directly, and by doing so we give up on our God given gift of discernment. God did not leave Adam and Eve alone in the garden after the snake had its way with them…God instead gave them pain to remind them of their transgression. Life would never be easy again. Trust but verify or face the unintended consequences.

AI is a means to a manipulated Utopia and it relies on us distancing ourselves from our relationship to God…The end game is a stream of bias for a unified Marxist solution toward enforced world peace and climate stability, making us slaves to elitist tyrants that tell us it is they who know what is best for us. Evil is real, always present, and waiting to deceive. Try as hard as we might to remove our pain the only cure is to accept that it exists in many forms, use fact-based knowledge which reveals truth (not bias), and help each other through whatever painful events are sure to exist. Preparedness is key…Only the individual has the power to understand their obstacles, prepare for their security, and place their faith in a justice loving God.

If our representatives swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic then who are the enemies? This is the topic of my next blog post…

Deplatformed!

Without freedom we have no choices! Tyranny comes in many forms

Political Constructs

”To err is human…” – Alexander Pope

Being human takes a lot of thought. We humans don’t know this until life embarks on its discontented journey…We each have our own road, and if we are thoughtful enough, we use our free will to make some good choices. These thought skills take time and practice to perfect.

Freedom enables the best use of our free will. Even if we take for granted this freedom, our free will aught to be used with ample discretion. But humans rarely understand the many boundaries that exist within life’s framework to use discretion properly which is why communities of humans have rules.

When a human breaks the smallest of community rules there is need for justice. How many of us will honestly apply this standard on a daily basis, be thoughtful about it, and understand the burden of repairing each rule we break with humility? Probably quite a few of us practice it regularly. Yet we cannot assume that everyone will. As Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human…”

Rules usually apply in family, workplace, and organized group situations. We get good practice in these settings. Penalties for rule breaking are meant to cause brief shame. Our chance for redemption is pretty high if a sincere apology is accepted and we correct ourselves through active example. Shame becomes respect in this way.

Laws, however, are much more strict. This is necessary in the broader context of human interaction because we gave up tribalism long ago…Systems of governance are used between and among towns, counties, states and nations so that all people can move about and interact peacefully. The development of laws takes time and practice, and thoughtful governments try to improve upon their implementation continually which is the basis of justice.

Currently I see many people turning to tribalism to obtain “justice”. Law and order has been eroding which undermines any form of peaceful process toward desired justice. Dignity must be bestowed upon all humans no matter their race, religion, gender, sexual preference and even job choice. Harm directed at one of us is harm to all of us. Over the past centuries humans have already done too much harm to each other in the name of justice when in actuality the ulterior motives were more or less “spiteful revenge”. Where does this spiteful revenge come from? I believe that political forces cause us to lose sight of our human capacity to be our best selves.

In our goal to seek proper justice we must use empathy and humility. Peaceful protest in the public common is a fine start, but leadership must be identified and goals must be adopted. Positive change is a result of carefully measured action steps through our democratic process, otherwise we can fall prey to tribes using vengeful tactics.

Realize this though, political leadership quite often enjoys the use of oppression and injustice through political constructivism. If your intuition suspects that your government is not working for you or your community’s best interest, you have the power to change things! It is not your government’s responsibility to make change because if it was then we would always be waiting for change…Sound familiar?

What have politicians or other people in positions of power (this can include church figures too) constructed for you? Emotional and tribal barriers are burdensome to the soul. When a politician says that they can “change the soul” of your community, watch out! That is a political construct using their will to manipulate your free will…It crushes souls and demeans the spirit. Laws are then changed to suit their purpose of power over you. They will push examples of social, gender, and racial constructs to justify their use of power to take away freedoms.

What burden does your soul and spirit carry within you? Does it reflect the barriers that exist outside of you? You are responsible for discovering the truth that sets you free…Do not delegate it to a tribe or a politician. Forgive yourself for not understanding this before, and move forward in your life in humble purpose that includes all your acquaintances. Your light will reflect onto them and harmony with each other will be achieved.

“To err is human, to forgive is Devine.” – Alexander Pope

Woke to Wickedness

Wicked, adjective – evil or morally wrong; intended to or capable of harming someone or something (Google dictionary)

Do you really want to know why certain people seem to be melting down over perceived differences as a nation?

I watch all news channels, listen to podcasts and radio programs from various sources, and read news clips and books from all authors on both sides of an issue. I like doing this because my questioning takes on a much deeper meaning…not everyone is right and not everyone is wrong, and, in point of fact, much material can seem to be simply glossed over or blatantly left out.

I’ve been following the chaos that has been developing since before the 2017 general election. I try to make sure that my research and sources have a very broad scope because I like to keep in mind my friends, family and acquaintances who are all very different people with diverse thoughts, ethnicities and group affiliations. I feel blessed to have come from a type of background which placed me in diverse situations when I was growing up because not everyone gets to see and experience what our large, complex, multi-ethnic, culturally diverse country has to offer, and, quite frankly, it is not until you are past the age of 50 can you appreciate the exposure.

“Wickedness was like food: once you got started it was hard to stop; the gut expanded to take in more and more.” – John Updike, The Witches of Eastwick

I believe the “wicked food” Updike is referring to is connected our egos as individuals. Lately we have been digesting this food at an alarming rate. We must make an effort to look outside ourselves and take smaller bites, chew the information a few more times and rinse it down with a heavy dose of calm reason. It is our ability to reason that will connect our mind to our heart and drive a wedge between wickedness and our ego.

Consider the wickedness of the Socialist/Marxist movement that’s been brewing. It does not believe in the individual’s capacity to succeed in a free market system, yet this movement does believe that a small group of elites have the capacity to tell each person what they can do, think, and be…

The harmful wickedness fed to people of all races by an elite few in America today is unquestionable. I present to you a few examples:

1) The rewriting of history (As in the 1916 Project) instead of adding more information that is fact based to improve upon its richness.

2) The removal of historic statues and plaques by force without considering their context and significance for a teachable moment.

3) Banning certain types of free speech no matter who might be either offended or positively inspired.

4) Condoning mob rule when such behavior infringes on the rights of others.

5) Reworking social interactions in order to remove the possibility of proper civil discourse.

6) Changing the meaning of words to abuse cultural norms instead of creating new words that might reflect better our human progression.

7) Segregating differences as a way to cause chaos instead of promoting our human capacity to allow for differences as a means to grow spiritually and intellectually.

You might be able to think of a few more examples.

Consider these solemn words from Jane Austin:

“When I look out on such a night as this, I feel as if there could be neither wickedness nor sorrow in the world; and there certainly would be less of both if the sublimity of Nature were more attended to, and people were carried more out of themselves by contemplating such a scene.”

All of us have the capacity to be individual ambassadors of good will in our pursuit of happiness in this land of liberty which is grounded in Judeo-Christian principles. Put the politics aside! Let wickedness reign no more…

Where Is My Church?

I left my faith two years ago. Before that time I was very committed to the faith of my birth, Unitarian Universalism. Ever since my children were born I served my church in various roles: teacher, membership chair, governing board member and past president, personnel committee chair, leadership facilitator, and docent of its historic site.

Unitarian Universalism is described as a liberal religion characterized by a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning”, open to all persons, and without a creed. Long before gay marriage became legal, we affirmed this right of passage and performed many of these unions. Born out of the Judeo-Christian traditions, the faith now preaches that Love is their doctrine.

I have come to see that my church has lost its way during this time of racial upheaval and that it is trapped in today’s climate of identity politics. It started after the 2017 presidential election when the Unitarian Universalist Association began to promote the “Resistance”. During that time the Faith in Action Committee became heavily focused on social justice issues like the Black Lives Matter movement and White Privilege re-education. Now they march for the Poor People’s Campaign, everyone’s right for employment, and sustainable living wages.

The members of Unitarian Universalism have a long tradition of being inclusive and justice seeking which aligns well with the faith’s democratic governance structure. This method of “doing church” helped me to ground myself in governance models that are inclusive and sensitive to just action. These models I easily applied to my role as a city councilor, and I was able to create needed change in my community of diverse hearts and minds. However, “doing church” and “creating communities of justice” is not the same as “worship”.

Worship is the feeling and expression of reverence for a deity. One should not worship money, a privilege, or a social cause in place of God…this will cause emotional suffering when one comes to understand that the object replacing the worship of God is fallible. I see this happening in our larger cities…Government is expected to solve all of humanity’s problems. The more troubling thing is that most if not all churches now are misguided in their worship practice.

Like Jesus turning the tables of the greedy and manipulative money changers at the Temple, we must shake ourselves awake to our true purpose as caring individuals spreading the Good News that God wants us all to know; our Creator loves us and our prayerful good deeds lead directly to Him. This would be my church and my proudest affiliation. Does this worship experience exist for me here on earth without racial creeds or social justice dogma? Like Jesus, each of us must find our direct link to The ever loving God.

Peace always.

The Shrew

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