The Shrew View: New Year, New Perspective

2023 is a year to lean back. All through 2022 I heard the term from main stream media (MSM) and progressive leaders to “lean in”.

What does it mean to lean into something?

From Wiktionary…To embrace; to experience fully or respond to wholeheartedly. quotations ▼ To take on or embrace something difficult or unpleasant, usually through determination or perseverance; to find a way to benefit from, or alleviate the harm of, risk, uncertainty and difficult situations. quotations ▼

As you can see, the term is meant to encourage a person to use their energy, skills and knowledge to turn a bad situation to better. But today’s MSM and progressives abuse the term by politicizing it. For example; they use politics (aka “equity “) to encourage social/cultural change because the “old way” of doing things to “alleviate harm of risk and difficulty” they believe only benefits the already “privileged”. Leaning in allows a progressive mindset to disrupt the old way and force a new way that changes familiar systems to better benefit “marginalized groups”. Trouble comes however when this change enforces “re-education” tactics that are tyrannical in practice. Leaning in removes questioning and debate both of which are cornerstone principles of a free society/culture.

Leaning back preserves questioning and debate. Conservatives know this to be true which is why our Constitution is full of checks and balances to limit the possibility of tyranny. Liberals used to believe these same principles as the foundation of States rights, but their quest for power has blindsided them. By relying on the progressive agenda for Democrat political power, liberals have lost sight of their own strength of being part of the power balance which is shared by individuals of different beliefs and backgrounds.

Conservatives in the 118th House of Representatives got it right! They leaned back on formerly accepted methods of congressional rules to force the Speaker into being more mindful of The People’s Business. No longer can this one person in a position of power force an action through Congress without proper time allowances and debate. “But,” you say, “the process will slow down work for The People!” Of course it will! Not all bills, laws or use of taxpayer funds are deemed appropriate by every elected representative. Each representative has a perspective and a voice which is guided by their constituents, not by the elite swamp of Washington D.C. or the political party in the majority. This is true for State legislators too.

As a former city councilor I was privileged to see this perspective, and in all honesty I can tell you that help for the individual in a community begins with this relationship especially if a person has not been able to build a strong family or faith community foundation. The Federal Government will never have your best interests at heart because it is much too big a swamp of ulterior motives to see your specific needs and all too often mismanages the bureaucracy. For example; when my city had a serious problem with many homes, streets and shoreline destroyed and lost due to shore erosion that the Federal Government admitted to starting by building a poorly implemented Army Corps of Engineers project, it took decades for our representatives in D.C. to have our voice heard. Wouldn’t you know that funding wasn’t in the huge infrastructure bill, better known as the climate change bill (of which this project would have certainly qualified)…Our swamp Republican Senate representative was later swayed to vote for the huge omnibus spending bill in December because the swamp elites who put the bill together added our erosion project funding to it! We shall see if the project ever really starts. How many other projects were funded in this way? Meanwhile some of our citizens struggle with inflation because of these poorly designed spending bills. Who wins? Think about it…

So lean back this 2023. All we need is right there for us if we would only question and debate the merits of a bill, policy or anything for that matter. Risk, uncertainty and difficult situations are learning opportunities that should lead to growth and mentorship, not ignorance and dependency.

Testing for Substance

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.

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.

The Autonomy Illusion

Definition of autonomy from Mariam-Webster dictionary

1: the quality or state of being self-governing especially : the right of self-government.

2: self-directing freedom and especially moral independence-personal autonomy

3: a self-governing state

The current transformation toward World “Liberal” Governance will destroy our US Constitution and the protections we enjoy for our individual autonomy. This is “No joke” as President Biden would say…In fact his current administrative State supports this proposition!

A “Liberal” according to the same Mariam-Webster dictionary is one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways. When the term is used politically it is a philosophy based on the belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, the autonomy of the individual, and government as a crucial instrument for the protection of political and civil liberties. Sounds great doesn’t it! However this definition isn’t exactly what the U.S. is bargaining for with a “Liberal” World Government. Our traditions are being transformed, but to what? Are our political and civil liberties really being protected? And if the human race is essentially good, why even bother with checks and balances or defining what it is to be “bad”? Is my morality also like your morality?

For autonomy to work well, morals must be front and center. Morals are relayed in several ways…Biblically, traditionally and authoritatively. Many times one way will build off of another to help reinforce morals. Success is most often achieved through early life lessons. Otherwise obtaining and maintaining a new moral system can be exceptionally difficult, in fact doing this can become quite tyrannical.

Education is the next extremely important ingredient for autonomy. We are all imperfect and make mistakes, but there are people and events that have come before us that can provide excellent examples to educate ourselves to do what is right and kind rather than what is wrong and mean. History can repeat itself whether it’s yours or a society’s. We must learn from these examples in order to progress to that which is better. The Bible, our shared cultural traditions, and our system of law and order are American anchors of stability which the authority (aka tyranny) of a New World Order will not accept.

Finally, a world system of governance would be fraught with failure. We can see this in some of our own federally run programs. Waste, fraud and corruption are easily hidden in the labyrinth of unionized government employment and bureaucracy. Blow a whistle and you will lose your job and status. Hold the line and make no waves and you will receive a kickback. Ethics and morals are out the window! Self-governance happens best when implemented small and local. I know this because I’ve served as a city councilor after being part of a community “watchdog” group to rein in astronomical property tax increases. When government officials actually have the opportunity to meet their constituents then it’s easier to hold these officials accountable. How the heck would you or I be able to hold a world bureaucracy accountable when we can’t even get our elected representatives to solve our nation’s problems? Bigger government leads to more unaccountable incompetence.

Local control of elected and appointed officials is critical to America’s success as a nation.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This preamble had you and me in mind when it was written by men who yearned to be free from religious and political tyranny. We must not allow our individual autonomy to be made an illusion by the current men and women who yearn to create a world that is free from want while forgetting that their self aggrandizement has a sub-optimal effect on others. Tyranny is sure to follow and Liberty will be hard to win back again. Liberal World Government will bring division rather than unity, war rather than peace, and secrecy rather than transparency. How moral is that!?

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.

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

Shrew U: The Great Society Bust

My last blog post “Progress vs Progressivism” attempted to explain that progress is a condition of our U.S. Constitution and Progressivism is a construct that hinders such progress. I used examples from the Civil War and Reconstruction era to show the difference.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was also an important time of progress in our history. Not all activists of the 60’s can be considered hero’s for the changes they wished to achieve. I am currently reading Great Society by Amity Shlaes. I would like to relate to you why the details in this book have affirmed my conclusions about why our society’s current focus on Progressivism lead by a “Social Democrat Party” is bad for our culture…But first some historical context:

Since about 1880 Jim Crow Laws were enacted in the southern states by white Democrat-dominated state legislatures. The Supreme Court decision Plessey vs Ferguson (1892) upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. Jim Crow Laws were Progressive actions that resulted in commonplace separate public accommodations based on race (see my blog Progress vs Progressivism for definitions). Today we look back on such laws as absurd, but the governmental leadership at the time and throughout the seven or eight decades since were allowing powerful Democrat political forces to dictate cultural norms. Republican insistence on States’ Rights made this no better…Civil Rights as it pertained to individuals and races were just beginning to be understood.

Timeline of these decades:

1870 to 1914…2nd Industrial Revolution leap forward in technology and society (people lead actions)

1914 to 1918…World War 1 (government lead action)

1920…Congress passes the 19th Amendment – Women’s right to vote (people lead action)

1920 to 1929…The Roaring Twenties time of prosperity (people lead action)

1929 to1933…The Great Depression (spurred on by government greed in the twenties)

1933 to 1939…The New Deal (government intervention)

1939 to 1945…World War 2 (government lead action)

1945 to 1989…Post war economic expansion (people lead action)

1961 to 1975…Vietnam War draft era (government lead action)

What we notice in this timeline is that during the 2nd Industrial Revolution the formation of groups such as the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Suffragettes were instrumental in obtaining crucial reforms to working conditions and the women’s right to vote. These reforms needed to be lead by the critical mass of non-political people lead actions in order for hearts and minds to change and common sense to prevail in Congress. This was progress!

Wars and the Depression however were instigated by government lead actions. The timeline shows an interesting back and forth between non-political action (changes made by people) and political action (initiatives made by governments). By the time of the Post World War 2 economic expansion, the U.S. was ready for another critical mass of non-political people lead activity, namely the Civil Rights Movement. It was helpful that this movement aligned with the Vietnam anti-war people lead activism. Individuals would not be “used” by their government’s activities any longer!

It was Reverend Martin Luther King JR who lead the people toward necessary civil rights changes. Society needed the common place Jim Crow laws to be eliminated, and this could only happen with a ground-swell of people power. Under this pressure, President Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights act that eliminated Jim Crow laws and the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Ending our involvement in the Vietnam War would prove to be more difficult.

In Great Society we learn that during the late 50’s and early 60’s companies like General Electric and Ford Motor Company were employing, expanding, and creating with great speed. The AFL which had now become the AFL-CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) along with progressive leaders like Walter Reuther (United Auto Workers) and anti war political activists like Tom Hayden were working their powerful influence on government systems to help President Lyndon Bains Johnson (LBJ) form his anti-poverty programs…After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, LBJ as the new President, began to implement a plan with Reuther and Hayden to end poverty in America. His “Great Society” vision was the center of his 1965 election bid. What I found most interesting about LBJ during this bid for election was that in order to obtain the African American vote he promised them that they could caucus at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) so that they would have delegates appointed for the election process. This did not happen because the (racist) DNC would not allow it. LBJ was courting the African American voters with programs and promises aka “Progressivism”. LBJ managed to retain their votes anyway and won the 1965 Presidency in a landslide.

By this time it was apparent to the Democrat majority that more government programs were the way to maintain leadership power. With the help of Union Leaders and Progressive Activist Leaders the federal government worked to replace the authority of mayors and local leaders…Federal funds flowed to jobs program oriented organizations. Locally elected leaders were instructed to add community activists to these organizational boards. These activists liked to stir up tension on city streets. Eventually the mayors and local leaders caved to federal pressures and ever since then the federal government has procured more authority over social benefit programs at State and Municipal levels.

For example; Federal “experts” redefined eminent domain laws to remove entire neighborhoods where low income families lived and worked in comfort, condemning these areas as “blighted”. The new wisdom was that federally built high rise low income housing projects would be more beneficial. However, there were consequences to these actions, mainly that whites decided to move to the suburbs thus leaving the struggling black population to remain…Struggling because there were few jobs available for black men in these cities due to union bias. Federal welfare programs during this time discouraged fathers to remain in these government subsidized housing projects…Fathers needed to be out of state in order for mothers and children to qualify. We now know the consequences of these “Great Society” actions. This begs the question of why weren’t the Great Society jobs programs helping. Well, they weren’t helping because these funds were pocketed by greedy, prejudiced, progressive union lead program officials…Progress for African American workers and families was stunted by these government actions.

In short, I believe that progress happens best when affected people unite through first understanding how government inspired systems shrink their civil liberties, then changing hearts and minds in the process, and ultimately solving problems in fair and sensible ways. Progressivism lead by government “experts” and corporate or union cronies is infused with unintended consequences…Or are they unintended? My next blog post will focus on this question.

Utopia?

The USA is not and can never be the United States of Utopia.

Individuals in a free society enjoy their liberty based on laws that reflect their personal right to prosper and be generous. The US Constitution guarantees this!

Under a Democrat controlled administration the IRS will become the Imperial Reckoning Source with the special privilege of controlling all tax dollars imposed broadly by an elitist class who claim moral superiority. You, the individual in this system, must come to enjoy these privileges bestowed on you with all thanks given to your provider…the Government.

If you know history, Western Civilization has been there before and it wasn’t a bed of roses!!

The Shrew View: Origins

I attended a workshop this past weekend put on by an organization known as Maine-Wananaki REACH. This group focuses on decolonization and restoration of Maine for Wabanaki people who are the Indiginous tribes with original ties to the state we know as Maine.

The workshop began with introductions as we sat in a circle. The two moderators have been working with this program for several years, going to many churches, civic groups and private places of learning. I believe one moderator said that she was part Native American. As we went around the circle we spoke about the place where we were born and whether we knew the name of the tribe associated with our birth place. Most folks had some idea of the tribe name, others were curious to know now that they had been asked and a couple folks shared that they had some Native American blood in their geniology. I shared that growing up in Dorchester, Massachusetts I knew that there were many tribes that shared the land there, but was curious to know why tribes aligned themselves as a Confederacy. The term confederacy describes a loose coalition of tribes having a shared government of power which is not highly organized as is the U.S. Constitution. A Native American Confederacy is made up of many tribes in a region, many of which acquired their names from the “colonizers” based upon the location of their habitat.

Colonizer is the term given to those people who came to tribal lands and controlled the lands on behalf of a European King or Queen. Curiously, in Ecology this term also refers to a plant or animal that establishes itself in an area. As we know, ecology is the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings…The word “colonizer” does not hold a negative connotation for me because I tend to understand the term as a processional step toward new cultural systems theory. More about that in a moment…
The workshop had all participants stand as representatives of the native Americans on a beautifully painted cloth map of the state of Maine. Depictions of plants, animals and symbols Indiginous to the state were on various puzzle pieces lying connected together. As the moderators narrated the story of colonization, pieces were removed and people were told to leave based upon conditions of disease, war, dis-honored treaties and child abduction with the native Americans until only less than 1% of the land and even less percent of the native Americans were left to see. By the end of the exercise several of the participants were moved to tears.

After we gathered back in our circle, we related how the exercise effected us individually. Many were astonished that they did not know any of the history that was related through the story telling. Others thought that it was important to keep the information centered in the context of the times. Many wanted to know how our state was making reparations if at all. One of the moderators told us that the U.S. Government had done too much in the wrong way to “help” the Native Americans and that the Native Americans really wanted the Government to simply stop imposing on them. I think this makes so much sense!

Discovery of the “New World” was bound to happen at some point in history. The fact that Europeans were industrious, curious and greedy was the product of centuries of colonization in that region and gave mankind endless possibilities of renewal within monstrous periods of distruction. This doesn’t make the power grabbers right, it actually points out that it is natural to our human condition. We are at a period now that allows us to put into perspective the wrongs of the past and endeavor to live in right relationship, but do we force that relationship to happen or do we understand the system and theory that brought us to this place in time so that we unite in a slow progression of wellness with each other? I believe that latter to be true! And which form of government allows the latter to happen? It is definitely a constitutional republic which honors the individual as the actuator of self determination under civil liberties and common law.

Watch out for the power grabbers. They will claim to have the moral upper hand when in actuality we know that morality is not rooted in power, morality is rooted and guided by principles which acknowledge the faults and aspirations of human nature. Watch how this is currently playing out in our political parties and much of our media…Are their actions forcing compliance or open to compromise? Are the foundational principles of our country honored or being ignored? Are you willing to go along to get along simply because it benefits your own situation? Or do you have the perspective and knowledge necessary to understand your role to ensure Liberty? You be the judge…

The Shrew

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