Stop Believing

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson was asked to create a draft for a founding document for what was to become the United States.

In his second paragraph, he said.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So firm was the vision of America’s founding fathers that this statement represented their collective belief, that the twenty-eight signatories accepted it without any change in wording.

Could the same be said today? Do Americans possess a collective belief today?

Do Americans perceive the word “rights” collectively? How about “liberty?” Would a random sampling of Americans generate the same definition of such words?

Or, considering that most Americans who are unable to answer such simple questions as, “What state is New Your City in,” how many Americans would respond to a request to define these words with no more than a blank stare?

But why should this be?

Only a generation or two ago, Americans enjoyed educational standards that were exemplary in the world, yet today, it’s universally accepted that Americans have been dramatically “dumbed-down,” to such an extend that a majority of high school graduates are not even proficient in simple math and grammar skills.

More worrisome is the fact that the basic beliefs of Americans have been transformed from relative certainty to being both arbitrary and confused.

Let’s look at a few of these:

Religious faith:

Most people imagine that they possess a basic understanding of right and wrong. Yet Americans will often readily excuse Muslims for crimes against women, as they are merely “practicing their religion.” Similarly, rap artists can be forgiven for misogyny, as their endorsement of abuse is classified as “cultural.” Therefore, religious “conviction” actually becomes flexible depending upon whom it applies to.

Further, although roughly three-quarters of Americans see themselves as Christians, merely identifying oneself as a Christian may be sufficient to be accused of being antisemitic, or racist. No logic is needed to explain this accusation; to be accused is to be guilty.

Family:

For decades, welfare has helped to eliminate marriage, as a woman receives more welfare if there is no man present. During the COVID pandemic, parents discovered that their children are being indoctrinated by schools, in ways that parents never approved. Further, they were routinely told that the schools had greater authority of choice of information than parents. Parents are responsible for paying the expenses of the child, but the school is responsible for deciding what the child believes.

Biology:

Here, belief becomes even more confused. Americans are told that men can be women and vice versa. All that’s required is to “identify” as the opposite gender, and it becomes accepted fact.

But it doesn’t stop there. There are no longer two genders; there are scores of them – so many that no one can remember them all, yet young people are continually fearful that they may refer to one of their classmates as one gender, mistaking the classmate’s self-perception and inviting shame from other classmates.

LBGTQ+ has become a nightmare of confusion – an ever-morphing labyrinth that literally no one can get correct at this point.

Equality:

Possibly one of the loftiest of beliefs is that of equality. Yes, we are all different in countless ways, but the concept of equality suggests that all people should have equal opportunity. It’s then up to the individual what he does with that opportunity.

But equity inserts the word “fair.” In practice, what this has come to mean is that, in order to be fair, we must ignore equality and embrace preference and prejudice.

Those with darker skin must receive greater entitlement and those with lighter skin must experience shame. Those who are male must be diminished socially unless they identify as women, in which case, they may enjoy an advantage in sporting competitions. Those who are from a racial or ethnic minority must be given preference, or even sole access to designated job opportunities.

As George Orwell famously stated in his book, Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

So, what’s happening here? Is it simply that people are questioning traditional beliefs more than before? Are they becoming more open-minded and willing to consider alternative perceptions?

Well, no. If that were true, then those who held a conventional view would not be shamed by those who did not. Students who defend conventional beliefs are expelled from their schools. Employees who defend conventional beliefs have been fired from their jobs, merely for thinking “incorrect” thoughts. Those who decide not to get vaxxed can expect to have their basic rights removed..

There is a concerted movement, led by the media, but supported by much of the public, to not just question conventional beliefs, but to eliminate them.

So, is there a new set of beliefs that are meant to supplant the old beliefs? Well, not really. Last week, there were 52 genders; this week there are 74. How about next week?

At this point, the average individual, try as he may (I hope that’s an acceptable pronoun), is likely to say, “Jeez, I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

And there we have it… the entire point of the re-education of belief. The point is to create such a level of confusion that people not only cease to voice their beliefs, but eventually, do away with their beliefs, agreeing with whatever they’re told to believe… for the moment.

In doing so, a compliant populace is created. If totalitarian rule is to be accomplished, people must, above all, be compliant. They must willingly (and immediately) agree with whatever belief is being foisted upon them.

But, for what purpose?

Well, without belief, the individual is, in fact, not an individual. He is merely a useful tool of the state.

Let that thought sink in a bit.

This is the point at which it becomes necessary to step back and take in the big picture. When any state has reached the point that it grooms its people to cease to have beliefs, it has already gone far beyond the point of validity.

At such a point, the populace is faced with a very unpleasant choice of possible ways forward: The first is to rebel against the state in some form. The second is to bail out – to leave one’s country, in hopes of finding greener pastures elsewhere.

If both of these choices are too daunting to consider, there is a third choice.

Submit.