One of the greatest casualties in the last 20 months has simply been the ability to ask questions.
Simply put, questions are not longer welcome. One is not to question any statement or fact made by someone in authority or bearing credentials. This is simply beyond the pale of what can be expected anymore.
We now live in the era of "Experts" in literally every field. Our government is run by experts, our wars are run by experts, our foreign policy and economic policy is run by experts, our science and medicine are run by experts, our social policy is run by experts, our entertainment is run by experts. Everything, everywhere, is now run by experts.
And experts, of course, inevitably and always know best.
In the ideal world of Our Political And Social Betters (OPASB), any press conference, article, or story would simply be a presenter and group of information takers whose job is not to report and question the presentation, but simply to ask questions to help the presenter further make their point: "You said X; how will this make our lives better?"; "Your discussion of Y will allow how much more good to happen?"; "How do we get Z to the people faster?"
You may ask yourself - and it is a rational question - what would be the point of thinking, opinions, and indeed the very role of individuals in such a society?
OPASB would of course tell you that welcome the sort of deep, inquisitive questions that drive societies and progress - but only in appropriate circumstances. The really big, heavy sorts of decisions will be handled by those appropriately educated and experienced to do so. They, in turn, can help guide the appropriate avenues of inquiry for everyone else - in fact, by helping to corral those troublesome thoughts, they are really doing everyone else a favor by saving them wasted time and effort.
Opinions are the same, of course. OPASB value the opinion of every individual, but again only around specific things. Having an opinion about your favorite flavor of ice cream or if you prefer Spring or Autumn is perfectly acceptable; having an opinion about any issue which impacts anyone else is not. Again, experts and those appropriately educated are those only ones really qualified to have opinions on such matters.
And the individual? OPASB would say that the individual is of high value - but only an element in the larger social picture. What really makes for an ideal and good individual is one that never ask questions and never expresses opinions. When informed of policies or indeed even what their opinions should be, they quiescently nod and smile. Their very best, most important thing is to quietly do whatever jobs the OPASB feel are of the greatest value and diligent act as earners to help better themselves, their government, and everyone else around them.
If you feel my description of such a society is reminiscent of some that we have known in our political present or past, you would in fact be correct. Because this is where such a society of the Experts and OPASB always end up, just before they usually end up in full blown tyranny. Why tyranny? Because without anyone questioning them and no-one challenging their opinions, there is nothing to prevent them from acting on their every whim and bad idea.
I am sure I would have an opinion on all of this, but the OPASB are informing me that as a layman, I really should not and after all, my best contribution is the narrow area in which my life seems to be assigned. After all, having thoughts and opinions that lead to questions are too big for such a small person such as I.
Awwwwww. Our esteemed blog host has committed his first thought crime! 😂👍
ReplyDeleteI shouldn’t make fun, TB. But I am glad. The Crime Of Noticing is the first step on a long and spiritual/political journey. You’re dabbling in other thought crimes such as Questioning. The dissident conservatives that I currently favour refer to this traumatic process as ‘taking the red pill’. You start to see your nation, your faith and your leaders in a different light. You realize your nation is gone and it’s not coming back. Typically the red pill process is triggered by some kind of traumatic event like a divorce, or a family collapse or a crisis of the faith. It’s a nasty and necessary process.
None of this is new, TB, it has been going on for at least 20 years. Many of us don’t see it because we are either too deeply immersed in it, or we are too insulated from it. This is just my feeling… but the older and more affluent boomers and christians have the hardest time with the red pill process. Many still think America and Canada can just keep going along and that the stuff we are seeing like this - is nothing to worry about and that normalcy will return. We can keep running massive ballooning debts, we can keep flooding the country with third world immigrants, we can keep fragmenting families and communities by attacking the values they are founded on.
I am 50/50 on the future. North America may survive…but it may not too. If it is to survive, drastic changes need to be enacted, and given the people driving current events, some necks will need to be stretched. That in turn could entail a civil war, who knows.
This all gets very political so I’ll just leave off with this:the next thing you will notice is that it’s only certain people that are forbidden to notice things and ask questions. And only certain groups that can.
God bless us all.
Heh heh. Look at me Glen: a keyboard rebel late in life. Will wonders never cease.
DeleteIt is interesting - and probably worthy of another post - that in meaningful ways, I have not believed that the country was ever coming back. I have no illusions - as any good historian should - about how societies work. There are very few examples of a society effectively regenerating itself, and even then it is only for a time. We cannot continue to spend as if there is no tomorrow. We cannot effectively hollow out our ability to make anything, become dependent on everyone else for critical items (or really anything at all). We cannot become a society so dedicated to leisure and not doing productive work. We have examples of this in history. They all end badly.
Interestingly Glen, I do not believe it to be political as such (but thanks for staying in the guard rails). In that sense, most parties involved will continue to act the same regardless because they have an underlying belief. But more on that tomorrow.
And yes, we are already seeing that questions can be shrugged off or ignored. Only a matter of time before they are to be shut down entirely.
Indeed, God Bless Us All.
You mean God HELP us all.
DeleteVaL E., I will happily take either at this point as we seem to only be careening into His wrath.
DeleteThank you for stopping by!
Indeed, TB, this was what "the Matrix" movies were trying to illustrate. The people who took the "blue pill" went about their days thinking that everything was fine, when in fact they were nothing more than animals being milked for their energy. Those that took the "red pill" saw things for what they were and fought against TPTB. They were also DEMONIZED by TPTB. 'Sound familiar? We've been going down this road for quite some time now, what, with all of the rules at work and at school saying "You MUST" and "You MUST NOT." It's permeated our society to the point where people don't even notice anymore, and that's where the danger lies.
ReplyDeleteI don't see an answer for this, but God does...
Spot on Pete, as usual. And I disagree with our esteemed blog host - the vast majority of this lunacy is politically driven. But the red pill/blue pill analogy has limitations. In the show, the pills were a choice. In reality, they are not. In present day America you MUST take that blue pill. You must believe what you're told to - even if it is blatantly false and an insult to your intelligence to do so.
DeleteReality and belief are colliding and when they do... reality always wins.
Pete - Do we get the cool moves from Keanu Reeves? Because that would be awesome.
DeleteI would agree you are right - it feels like we got here "all at once", but more than likely has been much more gradual than I, at least have been aware of. Unfortunately, the hook seems set now and things are accelerating, or at least appear to be.
Glen - Apologies if I was not clear. I was trying to argue that it is not politically driven in that both major parties are pushing the same agenda of greater government control and authority. One can argue the degrees to which they are, but is not as if I have any belief that the current party in power was exchanged for the other party, there would be this miraculous flourishing of freedom.
DeleteI agree with you on the party exchange, TB. When Trump was in office, his executive orders were greeting by lawsuits left and right, even though what he was doing was well within his job description. Now that Biden is in office and overreaching his authority at every turn, ...crickets from the GOP. The one thing that sticks out for me the most id illegal immigration. Trump was challenged in court for UPHODLING EXISTING IMMIGRATION LAW. Biden comes in and basically props the border gates open, and there's no retort from the GOP. No, my take on our current "government" is that it's professional wrestling on a grand scale. Everyone knows it's all an act, but they watch it anyway...
DeleteMy take; when decorated 17-year Marines start expecting accountability and are fired for voicing it, you can expect parts to start flying off the machine at any time...
That’s right, guys.
DeleteI dunno what to think of that Lt. Colonel though, Pete. The guys he wants accountability from are in the same boat he is. If they demand clarity and accountability from their superiors, they will get canned too!
I am personally convinced that any remaining sanity in the command structure has mustered out. The military is being given impossible mandates fro the Uniparty… and I won’t be surprised if they are the first ones to fall apart as our ruling class gets ever more at odds with reality…
I do note that the Office of Naval Intelligence put out a statement specifically reminding active and retired officers that per the UCMJ code, it is illegal to criticize or voice public political opinions about the Current Occupant, Vice Occupant, Secretaries of the Occupant, Military Leaders, etc. While I admire the Lt. Colonel's outspokenness, it was foreordained that there would be a harsh and swift reaction.
DeletePerhaps not unsurprisingly, whistleblowers and inside critics will neither be welcomed nor publicized as they have been in years past.
TB, competence matters.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO8pyNTHN3Q
Anonymous - I very much agree, as does training, education, and expertise. I think where I begin to have problems is when such things are used as bludgeons to stop people from having opinions and asking questions.
DeleteThanks for the video - very enjoyable! And thanks for stopping by!