It Is What It Isn’t

They say money makes the world go round. Actually the world makes money go round.

They say the truth will set you free. Ask Julian Assange about that.

Liberals are the messengers of a progressive vision for the future, which is why they embrace war, promote lies about Russia and China, and look to the CIA and other intelligence agencies for guidance and protection.

Conservatives believe in the rock-solid principles of individuality, less government interference and control, and fiscal responsibility, as they demand the government run up colossal deficits to subsidize them and protect their businesses from competition.

The U.S. is the beacon of democracy, respect for the rule of law, self-determination and citizen empowerment in the world, which is why it topples other governments, removes democratically-elected leaders and replaces them with despots.

We have policing by media watchdogs to stamp out fake news, and that effort has itself become fake news.

We must go to war to guarantee the peace. Do I even have to unpack that one to show how patently absurd it is?

I could go on. But the point is, any and all interaction or communication among individuals is predicated on the idea that everyone is acting in good faith, that to the best of their abilities, people are being forthright and honest. Absolutely nothing can be discussed or agreed upon if the parties to the discussion are lying.

Yet, the bar has sunk so low, we now ASSUME others are being deceptive. The idea of an honest politician is an oxymoron. We expect everyone to be bending the truth as far as they can get away with it. We are considered foolish and reckless if we’re not constantly on guard, incredulous, suspicious, always looking for the “angle”, trying to figure out what’s really being said, or what the hidden agenda is. In more innocent times, we could easily spot the exaggeration, the “white lie”, the “friendly persuasion” going down. White lies are now every shade of gray, and public announcements a blurry opaque fog, a smoke screen in a house of mirrors.

Yes, we’re buried in mountains of bullsh*t, propaganda, fake this, fake that, deep fakes, false flags, manufactured crises. Lies are flaunted openly with brash impudence and total impunity, even celebrated. Being a great liar, if not openly lauded, seems to be quietly admired. There are best-selling books on how to jockey, manipulate, deceive, con your way to the top. Success justifies anything it takes to get there. When our “The Art of the Deal” 45th POTUS was caught telling 504 lies in a single day, I frankly wasn’t sure how we were supposed to react. Frown? Get angry? Shake our heads in disbelief? Nod and chuckle? Shrug and check the sports page?

Which makes what I do truly a thankless task, an exercise in futility. I actually try to the best of my ability to be truthful, accurate, informative. As do a host of others whom I religiously follow and admire. Most of the criticism I get are attacks on my integrity, questions about my “real motives”, speculations about my hidden agenda, allegations questioning my affiliations and loyalties. No one bothers to talk about the ideas.

That’s the world we live in. It is what it isn’t. It’s probably not what it appears to be. Truth is relative. Facts belong to the highest bidder.

Tragically, I concede: it’s not harsh to criticize someone for not believing anything anymore. At one time, being so closed-minded, so obdurate, so impregnable, so pig-headed, would be judged cynical, negative, pessimistic. Now it’s considered practical, necessary for survival, the only way to deal with the reality of post-modern dystopia.

Truth is negotiable.

A man’s word is worthless.

Scientists and politicians are for sale.

And good luck trying to fix it.

Because you’re on your own.

Seriously, who can you trust?

So … is there a solution to this mess? Anything we can do to reverse this descent into cognitive chaos?

If I told you, would you believe me?

I might just be peddling a bunch of lies.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

It Is What It Isn’t | John Rachel

Negotiating With A Rapist

 

I get this all of the time . . .

"You're too extreme. Too inflexible. Democracy is about compromise. It's about give and take."

Well, I hate to break it to these weak, waffling ambassadors of abdication: Wake up! There are things which are not up for negotiation. Things which we are so valued, compromise is not possible. Values we don't devalue and mark down at a discount.


An armed thug breaks into your house. He ties you up and has your wife and
13-year old daughter at gunpoint. The thug intends to rape them. You get
to watch.

So . . .

You say to him:  "Listen, I'm opposed to your plans but let's try to work something out. 
How about ..."

You talk it over and come to an agreement on some acceptable amount of rape.

Sound ridiculous? That's because it is.

What's my point?

My point is that there are some things about which we don't negotiate. There are
some situations that are too abusive to the human spirit, too sick to contemplate,
simply too offensive and just plain wrong, such that compromises __ any
adjustments of degree or intensity __ are not and should never be on
the table. There are policies, value systems, beliefs, individual acts,
priorities, tactics, strategies, world views, which are so insidious,
trying to find some 'middle ground' is not even a possibility.
What exactly is an acceptable level of child molesting? Or slavery? How
much torture is just about right? Or to bring up a current horrifying
example, how much beheading nails the sweet-spot happy-medium for public beheading?

You get the idea.

Yet a lot of heinous acts, criminality, even outright sociopathic and psychopathic
behavior, gets a pass these days, if not the implied imprimatur of our
allegedly ineluctable, shared complicity. It's a pandemic of
wink-and-a-nod fatalism, succumbing to being "practical", surrendering
to the "realities" of our difficult times, or conceding the
inevitabilities of human nature and the practical limits of politics and
social organization.

Talk about a cop-out!

Talk about intellectual laziness!

Talk about moral failure on a national scale!

Talk about failing our society, ourselves and our children!

Who decided that the best possible education for our children was no longer available?

Who decided that the best health care for American citizens was a privilege for the few, rather than a universal right __ as in the constitutional mandate to "promote the general welfare"?

Who decided that healthy drinkable water was not a basic human need, that we'd have to pay for such a "luxury"?

How did America become a nation which imprisons .5% of its population __ the highest incarceration rate in the world __ mostly the poor and people of color?

When did it become acceptable for the wealthy to be above the law and beyond being prosecuted for their crimes?

How did we become a nation which violates the Geneva Conventions, which tortures?

When did America become nation which starves hundreds of thousands of innocent children to make some incomprehensible political point?

When did it become okay for America to be run entirely by corporate oligarchs and ultra-wealthy profiteers?

When did America, allegedly a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people, decide its people should be kept in the dark about what its government is doing?

How did we become a nation which promotes chaos and fear across the globe?

How did we go from democracy to plutocracy in just a few short decades?

When did we as the citizens of the richest country in the world become unwilling to draw a non-negotiable line in the sand on these and other critical issues?

When did we decide that fighting for a decent life for ourselves and future generations was impractical or too much trouble?

The quick answer is that we made little compromises along the way __ bent a bit
here, maybe a bit more there, made some "necessary adjustments", showed
flexibility, and all too often caved in outright when we knew damn well
we shouldn't.

The point is we shouldn't have compromised at all.

Some things should not have been and still are not negotiable.

We need to learn from this pathetic record of equivocation and glib surrender . . .

Enough is enough!

We can't redo the past.

But we can redo our country for the future.

No more than you negotiate with a rapist, you don't negotiate and compromise with those who have proven to be deceptive, self-serving, sometimes malevolent fools who serve the selfish greed of the 1% at the expense of the vast majority of American people.

Most of us know what's right and what needs to be done.

We need to stand our ground.

No apologies.

No excuses.

No fear.


 [ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]