Volume 5, Issue 42
Because the concerned public and our children deserve better.
What then is the psychological characteristic determining such intellectual discord? Segments of society and their championed leaders have become so intent on their point of view that they are oblivious to the facts of a counter-argument. Truth is never sought as the basis of conflict cure. In fact, truth becomes an antagonism if it challenges obdurate conclusions. Recently, a national media spokeswoman, when asked about what it would take to change the environment in Hollywood to avoid any more Harvey Weinsteins, replied, “The removal of Donald Trump from office.” The incredulous interviewer asked her to further explain. She continued saying that Donald Trump got elected bragging about his dominance over women, and nothing would change culturally in reference to gender equality and respect until he is out of office.
Really?
The tragic Weinstein episodes exposed Hollywood elites for the hypocrites they are. They were outraged over Donald Trump’s behavior, while in their own sphere of influence, they tolerated the demeaning of women. The victims now coming forward illustrate that this noxious atmosphere has been tolerated for decades. To blame Donald Trump without addressing all the facts and the total truth is perception blindness. The viewpoint itself becomes dominant and the purpose of projection of the individual’s worldview.
This attitude of disregard for the total truth is exacerbated when emotion is allowed into the equation. Uncontrolled personal feelings can play to one’s ego, convincing them that their worldview is right, regardless of any facts that confront the claim. Advocating single-payer national health care, while denying the consequences of longer lines and fewer options for health care services, is blind emotion.
Blind perception plus blind emotion results in blind ambition.
Blind Ambition was the title of John Dean’s book describing the Nixon White House. All involved in the Watergate scandal pursued policy, unchecked, through all means legal or illegal, to achieve one’s perception of their worldview. In President Nixon’s case, the dominant influential force was less ideological than presidential character. But the result was the same, actions and decisions were contumaciously made based upon half-truths rather than eternal principles.
The national press admonishes the public that it is not only their obligation, but their legitimate right, to keep a President in check. They ignore the question, in check for what? The new slang term by the national press for President Trump is the “Disrupter in Chief.” They claim that he disrupts without providing solutions.
Maybe.
They fail to address the situation that if disruption is not achieved, then business as usual prevails. Which is worse? We know as a fact that the current budget of the federal government, as structured, is unsustainable. So why is business as usual better than a disruptive force? Could it be that progressives realize that business as usual incrementally creeps toward socialism? If nothing changes over the course of time, their worldview is implemented. The talking heads now go so far as to say that President Trump is the first president who is willing to hurt Americans to get his way. How is this different than maintaining business as usual if it is unsustainable?
A recent survey by a liberal organization concluded that there is common pain in America without common purpose. Further, there is even a lack of common facts. There is an old adage that one has a right to his own opinion, but not his own facts. What we need as a country is a common fear, a fear of losing our freedoms.
This concept of blind perception takes on different definitions, depending upon the group engaging. Liberals/progressives/Democrats believe that more government is the answer to most of society’s problems. They take no account for a citizen’s responsibility or the attributes of free enterprise. Conservatives/Republicans lack confidence that Americans will embrace the truth about the dangers of socialism. The Steve Bannon disenfranchised are willing to support disruption without a transitional safety net. The media and press purport to be fair arbiters of fact without ever addressing the consequences of unsustainability. Hollywood elites advocate a utopia to which only they can relate. Their blindness to the cultural facts surrounding their environment has discredited them for a generation. The Establishment, which includes certain elected officials and corporate conglomerates, sees only in the moment and remains blind to the long term.
And most curiously, the evangelical leaders are totally and completely ignored by the national press. They do so even though they represent one-third of the thought processes and evaluations of all Americans. They are not interviewed. Their events are not covered. Their epistles are discounted. It’s as if they don’t exist. The national press, in their perception blindness, commits journalistic negligence by not embracing their own research as to why Donald Trump won the last election. They cover environmentalists. They cover the LGBTQ community. Yet these two segments of society combined represent less of the public than evangelicals.
As far as the national political parties are measured, the Democrats don’t care about the consequences of their viewpoint. Republicans at times don’t believe in their own convictions. Democrats seldom tell the whole truth. Republicans seldom defend the whole truth.
The reality in our national debate today is that the truth is betrayed.
Truth and Principle Applied
What then does all this mean for the issues facing our great country today?
- Secure the borders immediately. The truth is that we have the technology to do this. Drones, laser fences, and seismic detectors can determine any movement at any time any place. Do it. If a wall is required, there is nothing wrong with it because there is nothing wrong with securing our borders. Measuring the flow of people through controlled checkpoints is a moral principle reserved for sovereigns. This isn’t a question of not being open to immigrants. But our country has a right to know who is coming in for what reasons. It is silly to suggest that our healthcare and educational systems are not subject to threat because of peoples coming illegally into the United States.
- The cost of healthcare should be determined as a national priority to stabilize the national budget. More free enterprise and less business mandated healthcare is the answer. Personal responsibility and accountability for one’s own wellness and healthcare costs should be included as part of the strategy. Eighty percent of the American public would personally address just fine their own health insurance needs through a free market structure. The other twenty percent may be subsidized directly to provide a standardized health insurance packaged for all Americans. All healthcare procedures should be priced pursuant to the free market system, including doctors’ services. It is ludicrous that one cannot go to a MRI lab and purchase a MRI scan without insurance. Everything is so skewed today, that the lab doesn’t know what an individual scan costs.
- Tax reform should be based on producing economic activity, not just on the needs of the government for more money. It is time to quit attacking the rich who pay over 80% of all federal taxes when 50% of Americans pay little or no federal taxes. Either we believe in freedom or we believe in socialism. A case can be made for either. But the difference should be explained to the people. Quit telling citizens that fewer and fewer citizens should pay more and more taxes. And that the government can print and borrow money forever.
- Citizens should be challenged to pursue personal responsibility.
- It’s time to balance the federal budget. Currently the United States government is in debt 110% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Approximately the government takes in $3.7 trillion and spends $4.5 trillion. The economy is growing at about 2% or $400 billion annually. The annual deficit is $800 billion. Therefore, we are going further into debt and increasing the total debt as a percent of the GDP.
- Fact: Even the United States cannot increase its debt indefinitely.
- Principle: It is immoral to deliver this debt, this unsustainable budget, and its consequences to our children.
- The United States of America is the only hope the world has for the constitutional rights of freedom. It is our military, our banking system, and our currency that hold the world together and facilitates the interchanges of nations. It may be a burden, but it is our obligation, and I would submit, our privilege, to defend the tenets of freedom for the world.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?