A couple of years ago I came up with the concept of the "coalition of the sane". I don't care if you are an Atheist/ Christian/ Muslim/ gay/ straight... whatever, but can you think and act in a moral reality? If you can admit when you are wrong, learn from it and acknowledge the decency of people who you disagree with then you are in the coalition. It will be decent, sane people and free speech spaces like Substack that will undo the damage. Don't give up hope!
I hear you but the problem is that you need to establish, (re-establish actually) a moral code and that depends upon some type of Universal Principle. that was the role that religion played, but us smart people, (don't look at all of the mentally ill drug addicts camped on our streets) don't need that anymore. And if you bring up a Universal Principle, let along religion, you will be shouted down by the Lefties. they know what Dostoevsky warned us about. "Without God, everything is permitted," and are happy about it.
That's the problem Douglas Murray identified. At the time an atheist, not sure if he still is, he saw the beneficial role that organized religion played in society regarding this and other things. (Of course the benefits became apparent when they disappeared.) i love the guy but his solution was pretty stupid which was basically to create a stand in/empty religion for the masses, which is what the Anglican church is already, lol. And it was pretty much a scheme to control the masses. "you guys go to church and, you know be good and stuff, Im doing my part sleeping in." I think he has backed off.
I also do not believe in appeals to man's rationality and reason. any married person knows there is no such thing.
You make a lot of good points and I agree with literally everything you said.
In my humble opinion it will have to be a bottom up intellectual revolution because of the state of rot in our institutions, including the churches. The first step for individuals is a recognition of a reality outside of the self/ ego. That anti-narcissistic mental framework naturally leads a person to religion, philosophy, or even a basic concept of civic responsibility. I.e., a moral code. We never had an entirely religious society in America, but we did have a functionally moral one. Not perfect, not righteous, but functional. That's as good as we can hope for IMO.
And thank you for that last line about marriage, which was hilarious!
"Coalition: A temporary alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action"
It's kind of in the definition. If you don't agree you're not in it.
As far as decent goes, it means being honest and arguing in good faith and respect. It does not mean agreement.
As an example, I will provide an anecdote from my own life. Two nights ago I met up with a one of my best friends in the world. He's a published author and visual artist and general weirdo and we agree on literally nothing when it comes to politics and religion. Somehow, we've maintained a friendship for over 20 years.
I know what a coalition is. "Joint action" is my problem. If we agree on goals but differ on methods I've found that the Left acts as though I don't want to pursue the goals because I want to use different methods. I'd need to explore the proposed methods before joining a coalition.
I was eventually driven out of an internet chat group; I objected to the famous Oregon cake baker case resolution. The baker refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding, and was bankrupted by the state. I agreed that the baker broke the law and should be punished; use of the ultimate punishment for a trivial issue sets a bad and dangerous precedent. What do you do to punish someone for a more serious infraction, such as refusal to rent or even refusal to provide medical care? If every violation gets the death penalty, there is no deterrent to deciding to commit the most heinous of actions if all actions carry the same penalty. That was interpreted as "You're fine with refusing to bake the cake because you're a homophobe."
I use different words to describe what you call decent; we're agreed on the concept.
I wish the Kendi and Gay scandals would make a dent in the DEI industry but it's going strong in K-12. The Massachusetts teachers' union is hosting virtual forums sponsored by the anti racism task force on "Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your School and Community." As if these poisonous ideas haven't done enough harm already, teaching people to stereotype each other by color and hate the US. But they are not slowing down and anyone who opposes them is a racist, Nazi, transphobe, redneck, Karen, boomer, dinosaur or other slur (but it's not racist unless it's towards a marginalized group!) The takeover feels very generational among teachers, which means that the young teachers, who the teenagers tend to admire, are mostly on team rainbow flag & keffiyeh. They win the popularity contest and get to hand out the little red books. This struggle is far from over.
Grift is synonymous with criminal activity such as theft, extortion, fraud etc., are you a practicing lawyer?
I used a turn of phrase, but I did not diagnose anyone with NPD, ASPD, or any other clinical definition of mental illness. There are common terms expressed in informal environments and clinical diagnoses that have standardized criteria. Kinda different, lol.
Booker T Washington weighs in from beyond the grave:
“There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
So reading Marc Lamont Hill it makes me think of something Thomas sowell mentioned. Why do black intellectuals think its cool to talk alike appalachian hillbillies?
Thank you so much for the links. I read through Yale's Grade Inflation and The Good News They Won't Tell You... The latter is convincing with hard data backing up his claims - what an awesome article. I don't know quite what to make about the Yale story. I suppose the grade inflation is irrelevant if being applied to students who are naturally curious and learn through class and on their own. Cynically, I wonder if the critical (e.g. biochemistry for a future doctor) stuff is really being learned when the student gets an A- in a challenging class graded by the curve.
Im not going to see a dr under 40 who is not chinese or Indian. This is what you get when you start selecting by immutable chracteristics not talent.. Just saw an article about building more diversty in pilots. I am not against it ceteris paribus but can someone tell me how diversity improves piloting? We have left the realm of sanity.
Meritocracy is the new ism. Any ism. It’s racism. It’s homophobiaism. It’s Islamophobiaism. Name it. If you gain and move upward through merit, it’s because of an ism. If you are justly compensated because you have more melanin than the next, regardless of how much of a fucking imbecile you may be, ( see Obeyme) all is right with the world. Who cares about merit?
Meritocracy is part of White Culture and thus White Supremacy.
Seriously its getting pretty crazy. The mask is off. But the problem is those folks have a lot of power and are not leaving without a fight. In addition to that, the DEI and CRT folks are still seen as the "leaders" of the oppressed. (Obama has his fingerprints allover this.) They dominate the institutions and organizations, have the sympathy of the press, and the all of one political party and the support, often through intimidation, of the other (wimpy) one. this is the same problem the gay community has. They may say, "they dont represent us" but that is how they vote.
I hear you, DMC. Unless there's good reason to believe otherwise, I'll assume that any kid (of any ethnic background) who enrolled in a US medical school, and anyone on the faculty, and anyone employed by a hospital in 2021-2023, has been multiply jabbed. Multiply jabbed: That means they do not comprehend the basics of immunology and/or didn't do their research about an experimental injection, and/or were willing to gamble with their own health under pressure. And promote or at least remain silent about injecting pregnant women. Thanks, but I'll take a pass on that checkup and following whatever the dr. sez. Ship of Fools.
As for what passes for US academia these days, I try not to think about it, my Kleenex supply ran out.
I follow the strategy Tug McGraw mapped out when he got new contract. "I plan to spend 90% of my money on good times, Irish Whiskey and chasing women. I'll probably blow the other 10%."
Judging by the first 16 quotes in your list, maybe it's time to close up the Western Liberalism Shop....and bring the shutters down....(but there was still a chink of light at 17).
Mara Gay does not criticize the resignations of the other presidents of the other universities that snidely defended their blatant antisemitism because they were white. So she would have us believe that that her attack is entirely devoid of blatant racism? What is it with this political force within our country that is so keen to divide our country whose name starts with “United”?
We are witnessing the intellectual destruction of an entire class of grifting, narcissistic sociopaths.
but they have caused a lot of damage that may never be repaired.
A couple of years ago I came up with the concept of the "coalition of the sane". I don't care if you are an Atheist/ Christian/ Muslim/ gay/ straight... whatever, but can you think and act in a moral reality? If you can admit when you are wrong, learn from it and acknowledge the decency of people who you disagree with then you are in the coalition. It will be decent, sane people and free speech spaces like Substack that will undo the damage. Don't give up hope!
I hear you but the problem is that you need to establish, (re-establish actually) a moral code and that depends upon some type of Universal Principle. that was the role that religion played, but us smart people, (don't look at all of the mentally ill drug addicts camped on our streets) don't need that anymore. And if you bring up a Universal Principle, let along religion, you will be shouted down by the Lefties. they know what Dostoevsky warned us about. "Without God, everything is permitted," and are happy about it.
That's the problem Douglas Murray identified. At the time an atheist, not sure if he still is, he saw the beneficial role that organized religion played in society regarding this and other things. (Of course the benefits became apparent when they disappeared.) i love the guy but his solution was pretty stupid which was basically to create a stand in/empty religion for the masses, which is what the Anglican church is already, lol. And it was pretty much a scheme to control the masses. "you guys go to church and, you know be good and stuff, Im doing my part sleeping in." I think he has backed off.
I also do not believe in appeals to man's rationality and reason. any married person knows there is no such thing.
You make a lot of good points and I agree with literally everything you said.
In my humble opinion it will have to be a bottom up intellectual revolution because of the state of rot in our institutions, including the churches. The first step for individuals is a recognition of a reality outside of the self/ ego. That anti-narcissistic mental framework naturally leads a person to religion, philosophy, or even a basic concept of civic responsibility. I.e., a moral code. We never had an entirely religious society in America, but we did have a functionally moral one. Not perfect, not righteous, but functional. That's as good as we can hope for IMO.
And thank you for that last line about marriage, which was hilarious!
glad i could crack you up!!
Married persons and parents of teenagers.
Don't I have to consent to be part of a coalition?
I'd enjoy learning how you define "decent?"
It will help to know that I'm a libertarian.
"Coalition: A temporary alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action"
It's kind of in the definition. If you don't agree you're not in it.
As far as decent goes, it means being honest and arguing in good faith and respect. It does not mean agreement.
As an example, I will provide an anecdote from my own life. Two nights ago I met up with a one of my best friends in the world. He's a published author and visual artist and general weirdo and we agree on literally nothing when it comes to politics and religion. Somehow, we've maintained a friendship for over 20 years.
That is being decent, at least in my book.
I know what a coalition is. "Joint action" is my problem. If we agree on goals but differ on methods I've found that the Left acts as though I don't want to pursue the goals because I want to use different methods. I'd need to explore the proposed methods before joining a coalition.
I was eventually driven out of an internet chat group; I objected to the famous Oregon cake baker case resolution. The baker refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding, and was bankrupted by the state. I agreed that the baker broke the law and should be punished; use of the ultimate punishment for a trivial issue sets a bad and dangerous precedent. What do you do to punish someone for a more serious infraction, such as refusal to rent or even refusal to provide medical care? If every violation gets the death penalty, there is no deterrent to deciding to commit the most heinous of actions if all actions carry the same penalty. That was interpreted as "You're fine with refusing to bake the cake because you're a homophobe."
I use different words to describe what you call decent; we're agreed on the concept.
If you agree that the baker should be punished, you are not a libertarian.
Not this one - I thin Brad is in charge here!! lol
I wish the Kendi and Gay scandals would make a dent in the DEI industry but it's going strong in K-12. The Massachusetts teachers' union is hosting virtual forums sponsored by the anti racism task force on "Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your School and Community." As if these poisonous ideas haven't done enough harm already, teaching people to stereotype each other by color and hate the US. But they are not slowing down and anyone who opposes them is a racist, Nazi, transphobe, redneck, Karen, boomer, dinosaur or other slur (but it's not racist unless it's towards a marginalized group!) The takeover feels very generational among teachers, which means that the young teachers, who the teenagers tend to admire, are mostly on team rainbow flag & keffiyeh. They win the popularity contest and get to hand out the little red books. This struggle is far from over.
Grifters, yes. Narcissistic and sociopath are medical diagnoses. Do you have a license to practice medicine?
Grift is synonymous with criminal activity such as theft, extortion, fraud etc., are you a practicing lawyer?
I used a turn of phrase, but I did not diagnose anyone with NPD, ASPD, or any other clinical definition of mental illness. There are common terms expressed in informal environments and clinical diagnoses that have standardized criteria. Kinda different, lol.
Id take his diagnosis ability over the most recent class at Harvard Med school.
Booker T Washington weighs in from beyond the grave:
“There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
March of Dimes made the classic mistake. Defining a clear goal, (ending polio.) some damn fool did it and there they are , right out of a job!!
They fixed their mission statement, that won't happen again.
They could have become the March of Dimes that Identify as Quarters!
What an emotional rollercoaster, cycling through the Quotes....rage, despair, hilarity, incomprehension, an intense weekly 'rush'.
So reading Marc Lamont Hill it makes me think of something Thomas sowell mentioned. Why do black intellectuals think its cool to talk alike appalachian hillbillies?
Whatever else one may think about Elon Musk, he can be a highly entertaining troll.
Thank you so much for the links. I read through Yale's Grade Inflation and The Good News They Won't Tell You... The latter is convincing with hard data backing up his claims - what an awesome article. I don't know quite what to make about the Yale story. I suppose the grade inflation is irrelevant if being applied to students who are naturally curious and learn through class and on their own. Cynically, I wonder if the critical (e.g. biochemistry for a future doctor) stuff is really being learned when the student gets an A- in a challenging class graded by the curve.
Im not going to see a dr under 40 who is not chinese or Indian. This is what you get when you start selecting by immutable chracteristics not talent.. Just saw an article about building more diversty in pilots. I am not against it ceteris paribus but can someone tell me how diversity improves piloting? We have left the realm of sanity.
Meritocracy is the new ism. Any ism. It’s racism. It’s homophobiaism. It’s Islamophobiaism. Name it. If you gain and move upward through merit, it’s because of an ism. If you are justly compensated because you have more melanin than the next, regardless of how much of a fucking imbecile you may be, ( see Obeyme) all is right with the world. Who cares about merit?
Meritocracy is part of White Culture and thus White Supremacy.
Seriously its getting pretty crazy. The mask is off. But the problem is those folks have a lot of power and are not leaving without a fight. In addition to that, the DEI and CRT folks are still seen as the "leaders" of the oppressed. (Obama has his fingerprints allover this.) They dominate the institutions and organizations, have the sympathy of the press, and the all of one political party and the support, often through intimidation, of the other (wimpy) one. this is the same problem the gay community has. They may say, "they dont represent us" but that is how they vote.
I hear you, DMC. Unless there's good reason to believe otherwise, I'll assume that any kid (of any ethnic background) who enrolled in a US medical school, and anyone on the faculty, and anyone employed by a hospital in 2021-2023, has been multiply jabbed. Multiply jabbed: That means they do not comprehend the basics of immunology and/or didn't do their research about an experimental injection, and/or were willing to gamble with their own health under pressure. And promote or at least remain silent about injecting pregnant women. Thanks, but I'll take a pass on that checkup and following whatever the dr. sez. Ship of Fools.
As for what passes for US academia these days, I try not to think about it, my Kleenex supply ran out.
problem is I'm 60! I m aging out on doctors lol
Getting old, not for sissies, as they say. Don't know about you but I'm planning on the apple-a-day strategy and having fun.
I follow the strategy Tug McGraw mapped out when he got new contract. "I plan to spend 90% of my money on good times, Irish Whiskey and chasing women. I'll probably blow the other 10%."
So far its working
Judging by the first 16 quotes in your list, maybe it's time to close up the Western Liberalism Shop....and bring the shutters down....(but there was still a chink of light at 17).
Mara Gay does not criticize the resignations of the other presidents of the other universities that snidely defended their blatant antisemitism because they were white. So she would have us believe that that her attack is entirely devoid of blatant racism? What is it with this political force within our country that is so keen to divide our country whose name starts with “United”?
Yikes!
Thank you for the link to the story of J.R. Harris in Afar Magazine. I didn’t know he had written a book. Another one to read!