Colin Powell got off easy — as did Donald Rumsfeld. But they had help from Sowell — a professional know-it-all who sold out to sell himself as something he is not.
What would you call someone who shoots their mouth off without addressing the evidence — but banks on their fabricated reputation to create the impression that they did?
He’s far from the worst Rollo Tomassi, but his cult-like following makes him more dangerous than most.
Not because of him — but because of them (for turning a fraud into a deity).
I’m regularly ridiculed by people promoting principles I followed to find he didn’t. His fanatical followers flood the internet with his words then act like animals to honor him.
One Tweet is all it should take:
He & his followers preach
Follow the facts . . .
Well there they are right at your fingertips:
But the Tweet below tells the story of what I almost invariably face in telling the story above.
To claim that Iraq WMD wasn’t a lie should be like saying we didn’t land on the moon. In denying that reality, half the country helped create a culture where denying reality is now the norm.
I point you to a 7-part, 2 hours and 40 minutes doc — that distills a story that demanded a massive amount of effort, thought, research, and writing: And you tap a Tweet with a talking point or two — thinking you can inform me.
In the film, Larry Elder describes Sowell as the “greatest contemporary living philosopher and notes that he causes people to “rethink their assumptions.” Rethinking and questioning our assumptions has long been en vogue in the academy, and if you really listen to what he has to say, few scholars will make you rethink your assumptions like Sowell will. If you’re looking for a one-hour introduction to one of the great minds of the last century, Common Sense in a Senseless World is exactly that.
— Art Carden
Next to zero
Number of Sowell’s followers willing to “rethink their assumptions” — about the “greatest contemporary living philosopher” who “causes people to ‘rethink their assumptions.’”
Who could argue with that?
People protecting their interests — even as they do cosmic damage to them. At the core of why my efforts don’t compute — is that my mission is not driven by changing your values, but rather the manner in which you pursue them.
You’d understand that if you didn’t fly off the handle the second you see Sowell being scrutinized — slinging assumptions about my “hatred” of him so you can deny the undeniable.
Never mind that’s in gross breach of Thomas Sowell’s tenets:
Some circles are not burdened by squaring their walk with their talk. They seem to think that advertising virtue equates to embodying it.
It’s all window dressing
- You thirst for critical thinking — as long it doesn’t challenge what you believe
- You follow the facts — so long as they’re going in the direction you desire
- You demand accountability — as long you & yours aren’t being held accountable
- You preach responsibility — as long as it fits the formula that works for you
- You love the idea of talking about ideas — so long as there’s no work involved that would interrupt your incessant Tweeting about your concerns
- And that idea damn sure better be about exposing the enemy — because you sure as hell have no role in who’s to blame
Just where do I go to find the genuine article?
Where your record reflects your claims.
[W]e must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it . . .
— M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
In a nation that incessantly blames and complains (seemingly for sport) — no one’s taking responsibility for anything. The ever-rising ocean of partisan pettiness is gluttony under the guise of concern.
What would you call untold millions marching to a Twitter-rage parade on WMD — dishing on the deaths of Rumsfeld and Powell (and whatever anniversary marks the moment):
But too lazy to take the time to look at what we can do about it.
Of course, that would require holding their own accountable as well:
So there’s that
Happy 20th Anniversary!
Seize the day to be jacked up on fuel to fire off your fury and excuses in a nation that never learns — but loves to light it up in lip service to virtues.
Ever-so bold behind force fields of fallacy that butcher those “beliefs.“
Anyone wanting to know the truth — would not behave in ways that ensure they never will. I wrote this poem 19 years ago about people like that.
“The Genius of Thomas Sowell”
Is that he’ll be immortalized for the follower of facts he is not. Alas, you’ll never know that you had an opportunity to turn him into something authentic and far greater than the illusion he fabricated for himself.
And all you had to do — was do what you say you do.
The poem I’d write today would be about all of America denying reality on a daily basis — proudly refusing to listen and learn as you hide behind your own Rollo Tomassi ways.
Ed Exley: Rollo Tomassi
Dudley Smith: Who is he?
Ed Exley: You are. You’re the guy who gets away with it
— L.A. Confidential
One Voice Became Two 