It took every page of these books to understand what was in ’em. I didn’t skip to chapter two in calculus and start crying:
I don’t understand — all these functions are so confusingly formatted!
We went to war on manufactured lies formatted to your liking — nice and linear, easy to swallow, short and simple, and effortless to spread:
Bonding in bumper sticker branding
So when someone comes along and says:
Wait a minute — there’s a ton more to this story
You’re all torqued up to tap a Tweet on what you’ve been told for 20 years.
And all those precious virtues you promote on a daily basis in the Facts Over Feelings Parade — are rolled right over with your feelings.
As you cry . . .
I don’t understand — I don’t understand!
Well try this on for size
On this story, 10 pages of reading trumps 10,000 hours of TV.
That’s not hyperbole! Let’s say you watched around 3 hours of news every day over the last decade. All the networks combined wouldn’t come close to what The Washington Post wrote in its August 10th, 2003 article called — Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence.
“His name was Joe” are the first four words.
— Richard W. Memmer: Act IV
And I had access — to everything
Who cares about 10 pages when “You Can’t Believe Everything You Read”?
Same standard to snub someone who’s read 10,000 — on world-altering affairs you snicker at.
And I noticed “You can’t believe everything you read” only applies to words you don’t like.
If I did cartwheels on TikTok to tell this story — you’d take issue with my form. We’ve created a culture where constant complaining has become a virtue — where everything of value is in the gain you get in the moment:
And easy is all the rage!
Anyone entering this discussion with sincerity — would come away realizing that there is no debate, and there never was.
They just made it up . . .
Making it Up as You Go
You think I wanted to chop up my doc into clips to accommodate America’s attention span? I put it all on a silver platter, but you wouldn’t spend 160 seconds to consider anything — let alone 160 minutes.
But just quietly moving along in your lack of interest would never enter your mind — you gotta be dutiful and deliver your derision in the Gutter Games of Government.
And in each instance, you further calcify habits that are at the other end of the spectrum from these.
I’ve always thought there’s something wildly out of whack with pursuing values in a manner devoid of virtue. In one form or another, inevitably there are consequences for convictions unguided by conscience.
Look around
You see a culture that looks anything like those habits above? You’ve all been doing it your way for decades — and look at the results. Yet your answer to America’s problems:
More of the same
Since the labyrinth that lies below isn’t really working out for anyone, seems like it’d be worth a shot to try something else. But that’s me.
If you think one party is to blame for this Charlie Foxtrot of a country we’ve become: You’re not part of the solution — you’re part of the problem.
[W]e must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it.
In a nation that endlessly blames and complains (seemingly for sport) — no one’s taking responsibility for anything. If we don’t right this ship, we will not see a return to some semblance of recognizing reality in our lifetime.
Mark my words
Your ways will seal that fate . . .
The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance. . . . [W]e’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything.
It is a new Declaration of Independence: no longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that aren’t true. All things are knowable and every opinion on any subject is as good as any other.
We no longer have those principled and informed arguments. The foundational knowledge of the average American is now so low that it has crashed through the floor of “uninformed,” passed “misinformed” on the way down, and is now plummeting to “aggressively wrong.” People don’t just believe dumb things; they actively resist further learning rather than let go of those beliefs.
I was not alive in the Middle Ages, so I cannot say it is unprecedented, but within my living memory I’ve never seen anything like it.
I know the feeling!
There’s no willingness to say, “I’m wrong.” I mean, you have to take a 2×4 to these people, basically — to get ’em to, sorta, knock ’em down and admit they were wrong.
When it comes to ascertaining the truth, I don’t care what your cause is, who’s in the White House, who controls Congress or the courts.
I learned early on in life that what you want gets in the way of what you see.
From where I sit, we owe all those who came before us who had to fight in ways we’ll never have to. They handed us so much to build on — and this is how we honor their sacrifice:
Land of the Free and Home of the Brave
- Rather than read and digest, people scan and dismiss — frantically seeking any fragment they can frame in their favor.
- Sensible arguments are snubbed with meaningless replies that are utterly absent of thought — mercilessly torturing reason with trite talking points.
- Even against overwhelming evidence served on a silver platter — they will swat it away in disdain without so much as glancing at the goods.
- Any sound bite that can be manipulated to their liking will be repeated in endless cycles of certitude.
- Always at the ready — they’ll gleefully “inform” you with 60 seconds of “research” — compiled by copying & pasting material disseminated by the equally uninformed.
- They’ll look away from a mountain of evidence against their side — while nitpicking over pebbles to pounce on the other.
Yeah, that’s a country goin’ places
What’s the harm is just considering what someone has to say — and sincerely asking a few questions before you make up your mind?
If you’ve got the goods to back up your beliefs — shouldn’t they be able to withstand scrutiny? Maybe you’re right in some aspects of what you see, but being open to criticism can sharpen your views on what you don’t.
You can always decline to take the advice, but do this first — and maybe you won’t . . .
You can rattle off personalities you perceive as fair-minded, no doubt.
But how many of you have dealt with any of them one-on-one? And of that group, how many have put their principles to the test on matters practically woven into their DNA?
Stick around — and you’ll see how some household names of the fair-minded behaved in the face of irrefutable fact.
So I will ask you once again . . .
How do you expose the whole charade — when bona fide fair-mindedness is not welcome here?
When you figure that out
Lemme know — but in the meantime . . .
Forget the mile — I’ll settle for just putting on the shoes.
Think of what you’re saying
You can get it wrong and still you think that it’s alright
Think of what I’m saying
We can work it out and get it straight, or say goodnight . . .Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There’s a chance that we might fall apart before too long . . .
One Voice Became Two 