Freedom: The Case For Open Borders - Joss Sheldon - Introduction

It’s the 16th of June, back in 2015. Donald Trump is riding an escalator in the Manhattan tower he’s named after himself. The skin beneath his chin is sagging over a generic red tie. His face is reddish-purple. He holds his left hand aloft, and offers a thumbs-up to the press. In the background, a couple of dozen people are standing on the level from which Trump is descending, pressed up against a golden handrail. Some wave at the reality TV star, whilst others snap photos on their phones. A few of these spectators have wandered in off the street; curious to see what’s afoot. Others are being paid $50 to attend. Trump follows his wife, Melania, who is sporting a white dress and a stoic face. He clambers up onto a makeshift stage, positions himself, and begins in the style to which the world will soon become accustomed: 

“Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time. “When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time. “When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically. 

“The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. “Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. “But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. 

“It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably... probably... from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop.”

These were the opening remarks from the speech that launched Trump’s campaign for office. He’d started as he meant to go on. Less than two weeks later, when NBC dumped Trump for “Derogatory statements... regarding immigrants,” the future president doubled down, claiming: “We must have strong borders and not let illegal immigrants enter the United States… Public reports routinely state great amounts of crime are being committed by illegal immigrants.” Trump insisted that the solution was a border wall: “I will build a great wall. And nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. And I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” 

And Trump took things to the next level, in December of that year – saying he’d implement a “Total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”: “Our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Things were pretty dire, for a significant number of Americans... Jobs had been shipped off abroad, wages had stagnated, and living costs were spiralling out of control. The aftermath of the Global Economic Crash had been devastating for everyday folk: Around ten million Americans had lost their homes, nine million had lost their jobs, and over 45 million had been plunged into poverty. (Shallby, 2018). Trump was tapping into this seam of discontent, and offering a deliciously simple answer: It’s the immigrants! They’re the bogeymen. They’re the ones who are pillaging your prosperity. But that malaise hadn’t been caused by immigrants. It was caused by the policies of Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. They were the ones who’d put corporate profits before the welfare of the American people – cutting regulation, abolishing trade barriers, and reducing union power. (Gerstle, 2022). 

And the Global Economic Crash wasn’t caused by immigrants either. It was the work of unscrupulous investment bankers, the credit agencies that gave triple-A ratings to subprime loans, and successive governments, who’d rolled back the very legislation which was designed to prevent that type of meltdown. Most of the bankers at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns weren’t immigrants. Most of the politicians who put profit before people, were born and raised in the States. It wasn’t immigrants who closed around seventy thousand American factories, and outsourced five million manufacturing jobs. Those decisions were made by fat cat chief executives. And it wasn’t immigrants who profited from the slash-and-burn approach to managing the economy. It was a tiny cabal of shareholders. (Scott et al, 2022). 

But none of that mattered. In politics, the truth is secondary. Narrative wins the day. If you can pick at people’s discontent, work your audience into a frenzy, say you’ve identified the issue, say you have the solutions, and promise to make life better – then you’ll rack up the votes. Donald Trump did that. Hillary Clinton did not. 

THE FACTS WHICH DISAPPEARED 

But what if Hillary had tried such an approach? What if she had acknowledged the suffering of the American people? What if she’d gone as far as to say that immigration policy was to blame? Imagine the scene, if you will… Clinton and Trump have won their parties’ nominations. Trump’s rhetoric is well-known. But Hillary has been fighting fire with fire--taking an unashamedly pro-immigration stance. Her campaign has been just as controversial as Trump’s...

~~~

Imagine, if you will, that Hillary Clinton had created her own, but exact opposite, of the campaign that was used during the 2016 election. The slogan would be "Immigrants make America Great" and ads, hats and even necklaces that could be hung around a woman's neck would be seen all around. Hillary would forget about trying to out-scream Trump and, instead, she would talk about sisterly support, how she was already working with thousands of women and charitable organizations that were aimed at meeting the needs of the poor and hungry...

Well, we already know that Clinton won the popular vote, especially after Trump's claim that he could grab the genitals of women and they wouldn't care... And all of those women who attended the large protest march at that time, had voted and asked that state representatives for her campaign would work with the electors of states, to ensure that they were singing the same tune that the majority of Americans had been singing... Clinton promises to help Immigrants from across the world, just like the Statue of Liberty guaranteed... She had recited the famous poem, "Give me your tired your poor..." followed by a rallying cry!

And now the banner can be seen – 

red, white and blue – star-spangled, 

with a three-word demand: 

“Open the borders!” The crowd cheers:

Open the borders! 

Make America the Land of the Free!

I had a chance to talk briefly with my mailman yesterday and we got into politics, somehow. He was laughing that Trump had won and would win again in 2024. I pointed out that Clinton had won the 2016 popular vote--that he had won... And I mentioned the Russian hackers... Again he roared in laughter. I asked him, Do you know what report documented those who had been convicted of interfering with the election? He looked at me. I could tell he didn't and mentioned the Mueller report. Again, a blank stare...

How I wish that the Democratic Party had realized or knew about all that we now know! But that is history which we cannot change, even though much of Trump's actions during his presidency has been regurgitated into entirely different statements of republican truth...

BUT, I want to quickly point out that this book has little to do with politics! As I was reading, I again realized that I was to read this book NOW. Because it was purely by a God Incident that I even discovered Joss' email--I had been routinely deleting email from the address I had used as a reviewer who accepted requests for reading books from authors. And, as I read, this song came to me...

Whether you approach the care of our world from a religious or scientific viewpoint, or both, like me, is really irrelevant. It is, frankly, common sense for all of us to be alert to, and be involved in any way we can help to care for Planet Earth, all of its occupants, and the heavens above... So why are republicans unwilling to support a Climate Control program...Again!?

Still, Sheldon is not quite finished with his Introduction of a story that began in 2015... He shares elaborate RHETORIC from rallies from Candidate Clinton... Talking about the fact that all of the creators of the Constitution were Immigrants! Then she moves on to people who came from various countries, such as those now working in health care. Noting that 1.5 Immigrants work in various positions such as doctors--and I immediately thought of my doctor who performed surgery to remove a tumor from my brain, who was an immigrant, perhaps 1st or 2nd generation... But I was thrilled with his caring concern and the success of that life-saving surgery. 

Wouldn't you like to have seen a rousing debate between the two candidates on the same subject, rather than how it did occur?! I sure would have. But, then, again, D. J. Trump would possibly never have been indicted on 91 criminal counts, and gone back to cheating the State of New York in various ways, starting with the creation of a charitable organization which was closed due to how the donated money was being used... With a statement that the Trump family would never be able to open a charitable fund in the future...

This week I will, with permission by the author, be sharing more than usual about this book, simply because it is a very important book...as well as because border problems are now in the forefront of our country. We need to consider our future in America and around the world... We need to realize that Freedom requires Attention and Action!

Joss Sheldon speaks of Free Open Borders! Can we, as President Biden demands of Congress, begin to at least get some type of rational program at our southern border approved and funded! Don't let the republican party continue to use thousands of potential immigrants as pawns in their political grab for power! Freedom Begins With Each of Us!

Tomorrow: Other Worlds Are Possible!

Coulda Been the President...What Difference Would It Have Made? Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich

We live in a post-truth environment. That’s a term I heard throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, long before anyone was talking about “alternative facts,” and it set me off. 

One of the reasons it bothered me, I think, was because it’s true. And I have to think that one of the reasons the expression has caught on the way it has—the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” the “international word of the year”—is because it points out a fault in our culture. It suggests that in politics, in government, in our national dialogue, the truth is no longer relevant. These days, the space between truth and half-truths and utter falsehoods is almost unrecognizable. 

What’s most concerning is the way these post-truths have seeped into the back-and-forth that now passes for political discourse. Too many of our politicians and elected officials have taken to saying whatever they want to in order to make their point, and it doesn’t seem to matter if what they’re saying is even close to true. What matters, apparently, is how such false or misleading statements make American voters feel, and how so-called or would-be leaders can fool us into believing that they themselves stand a little taller than they actually do. 

What people believe prevails over the truth. That’s a line from Sophocles, and he was on to something, I guess. In matters of the heart, or faith, or personal relationships, I suppose there’s value in this view. We’re human beings, after all. We’re wired in an emotional way. We tend to respond to certain situations with our guts instead of our heads. I get that. The ancient Greeks, they got that, too. But in a political campaign, I believe we should place the truth above all else. I don’t care what party you belong to or what office you’re seeking—you owe it to your constituents, to the people you’re looking to serve, to get it right. If you say something is so, then it ought to be so. 

You know, before I was elected to the Ohio Senate, there was a push to build a bridge in my district. My constituents were all for it, and wanted some assurances from me that this was something I could get done after I was elected. So, I went to then-Governor Jim Rhodes and asked him about it. I said, “Is this something we’re going to be able to do for these people?” 

He said, “Just tell them you’ll get it for them, and we’ll see what happens.” 

That was the way of things in politics, I was learning, and I didn’t like it. So, I stood against it. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. From the very beginning, when I gave people my word, I meant to keep it. This disconnect reminds me of the guy in that great Beatles song, “Nowhere Man,” who just sees what he wants to see. 

I guess Lennon and McCartney McCartney were on to something as well, recognizing that at times we can all turn a blind eye to what troubles or confuses us. This, too, is our nature. But in a presidential election cycle, I don’t think we have that luxury. Wishful thinking doesn’t cut it. We can’t pick and choose among half-truths and utter falsehoods and grab only at the ones that reinforce our preconceived notions or stoke our shared fears. We can’t live in our own reality—not if we hope to come together and attempt to solve the very real problems facing this great country. We owe it to ourselves, and to each other, to understand the world as it appears before us, not as we might remember it or hope it will be again. 
There’s a disconnect in America now, and it troubles me. Perhaps it troubles you. Maybe that’s one of the reasons you picked up this book—because, like me, you’ve become frustrated at the tone of our national conversation. How did this happen? When did this happen? And what are we going to do about it? We’ve got to do something, because it’s a worrisome and dangerous thing when we allow the post-truths that marked the 2016 presidential campaign to permeate our culture and (mis)inform our shared thinking, when we allow the truth to become beside the point. 
The truth shall set you free. Ah, now that’s a line from John 8:32, and I have to think he was on to something most of all, something we would all do well to keep in mind as we move forward. I think most of us can understand the impulse to hide our heads in the sand and look away from looming trouble. But our leaders shouldn’t prey on that impulse. In fact, they should help us recognize it, overcome it, and confront our troubles head-on. Because the truth, even a painful truth, is absolute. There is no path forward without it.

~~~

Two Paths:

America Divided or United

By John Kasich

Two Paths, a title that struck me as exactly where we are in today's world. In addition, each of us also has a choice of two paths--working for evil or good. I bought this book because I had heard this man on the news several times, since the election. As some of you know, when I decide to read a nonfiction book, I want to know, first, about the author. Of course, in this instance, most will already know he is governor of Ohio. Whenever somebody talks about who should run for President, it was my own opinion, that he should have extensive experience in the administration of or participation in governmental positions.  But, as the author says in this book, I, and most of America didn't readily recognize his name or know much about him. I now wanted to know more. Even if the election was over...

THE SUM OF OUR FEARS 

As we wake up to the reality that we live in a polarized nation, with a deeply divided electorate and a new president who seemed at times during the campaign to embrace that polarization—who against all odds and prognostications found a way to cross that deep divide and win the White House, who took the time from his presumably busy schedule to tweak his “enemies” with a “Happy New Year” message on Twitter—we must pause to reflect. It’s time to consider how the post-truth environment we live in might have created the extraordinary circumstances that set in motion one of the most extraordinary elections in our history—and to understand what we can do to restore reason and decency and calm to our national conversation.

~~~

I read a few of the low-ranking reviews on Amazon. One seemed to sum up the thoughts for me--it was boring...

Now I have to say right from the beginning, that, in my opinion, working to run a major body, to establish and follow guiding principles and do what needs to be done, is often...boring... Taking it a step further, I would say that, even more so, it should not be seen as entertainment or something that incites emotions to such an extent that what needs to be done does not get done...

Frankly, in my opinion, this is where we are...

When I say that, I mean the work of America, not the world... We have a nation that depends on the government to handle things in response to our paying taxes. We expect that money to be spent for our basic needs: food, a job with a living wage, adequate housing, care of our infrastructure (roads, facilities, etc.), public education with all major issues handled to ensure our children learn and advance, and health and basic needs met so that choices between food and medicine is not a factor in choosing how to spend limited income. These are unalienable rights... Only then should we move forward in world affairs. No matter what political party is in office, this has not happened at the national level. Yet there are claims that a great America has been achieved.

Did you know that Kasich was one of the two candidates left for running for President? Did you know that Don Trump Jr., though he has denied it, called Kasich to determine Kasich's interest in running for vice-president. During this, he outlined, more or less, that he would be doing what the President normally does... Kasich asked him what the President would be doing... Obviously to Kasich and to me, who has been in a similar situation, it was planned by Trump to have the VP do all the daily work while the President did...the showboating?? Trump later called Kasich and again asked him to consider the vice-presidency...

If I had not read this book, I would not have known this and much more that happened during the election. To many of us, the whole thing was a sham and did not in any way represent, in my mind, how an election should be held.

Kasich agreed. You see he had the experience in having worked to reduce the national debt while he was in Congress...and he also took over a state that had major financial issues, and again solved them. Note: I consider these true facts based upon the book...Few authors will choose to not tell the truth when they open on the concern...for...Truth... What did that tell me? Two Things:

1. Kasich was prepared through experience to handle the job and had survived in the process to be one of the last two.

2. Kasich had stood by his basic principles and morality through the entire process and chose not to fight against Trump's brand of destruction in inciting hate, bigotry as well as bully tactics toward any opposition. And, again, he stood by his principles when he refused to endorse Trump for a position he was not qualified for, in my opinion as well as many others.

Whether or not you believe he did the right thing, which, in my opinion, he did, does not discount what a man, who was qualified, as well as principled, was willing to do to win an election. He ran Town Halls for instance, that began to receive national attention through word-of-mouth. Apparently sufficient enough to maintain a high rank in polls. 

But many would have not known this, because his style was not exciting enough to have the news media follow him nationally...Yes, he and his staff tried to gain coverage, but he was not participating in the rampage of candidate against candidate that occurred within the republican party. He...was...too...boring...apparently.

It is difficult to write a review for this book which I would gladly recommend, without pointing out that, if the election had been handled differently, and the shenanigans had not, in essence, divided the country at that critical election time, Kasich would have been the candidate to run against Clinton.

This book speaks directly to the issue we are facing. Do you want America to be divided or united? Further, do you want a leader that has the experience, and outcomes needed from his work, to have been selected based on merit, rather than theatrics and playing to the fears of individuals, then the reason I recommend this book is because there was everything there in this book, that I needed to know about the candidate that had run for our president, who had bowed out because he wasn't willing to be part of the gamesmanship offered by the opponent. Personally, I think you owe it to yourself to think about how this individual (and other similar individuals) would have taken on the leadership role as president of America. No, it is not the choice of the greatest entertainer. Rather the choice of who could represent the country, more effectively, and handle the administration of the country more efficiently, through proven accomplishments in this important part of the job. Do you want America to be continued to be divided, in other words. Because John Kasich apparently has tried to show he doesn't work that way...

Your choice, what do you want for America. Kasich offers one path only. United. This, for me, is not about John Kasich. Rather, John Kasich has written a book that responds to my needs and hopes for America. As you consider the election coming up in the near future, as well as the next president election, I think this book will help you consider what it is you want in your candidates. Kasich's book has helped me clarify what I want and what to look for in all candidates, no matter to which political party they belong. Only you can decide whether a fresh look at the last presidential election can be of value to you. It was for me.

GABixlerReviews

Gilbert Wesley Purdy Presents Elitism and the Election of Donald Trump: American in Critical Condition...

If I offend all of the parties involved, I can only suggest

that I may have done my job well. Too much has been lost and too much hangs in the balance to try to gain place by pleasing one faction at the expense of the others. The action-plan I advance in the end, then, is offered to all for all it is likely to be accepted by few. But those few are vitally important. Those who face up to the implications of our technologies and our popular and political culture will have a far better chance to build personal, financial and community resources to overcome the daunting challenges that lie ahead.--Gilbert Wesley Purdy

~~~

Gilbert Wesley Purdy is the Review Editor of the online journal Eclectica Magazine. He has published poetry, prose and translation (from Italian, Spanish and Latin) in many journals, paper and electronic, including: Jacket Magazine, Poetry International (San Diego State University), The Georgia Review (University of Georgia), Grand Street, SLANT (University of Central Arkansas), The Evansville Review (University of Evansville), Consciousness Literature and the Arts (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), Orbis (UK), and Valparaiso Poetry Review. His work in online journalism has been cited by Newsweek.UK and Huffington Post.

~~~

I fell in awe to the author, as I met him as a book reviewer, knowing that, here, I had just become friends with a true professional reviewer, who speaks with words fluid, eloquent--so beautifully written that he shares the book mentioned in a small, yet compelling way that reaches out to the reader...the review, itself, a work of art... 

How very lovely to have found his latest review in Eclectica Magazine as I was getting ready to review his latest book! I am already thinking about reaching out to find some of his poetry as well!

But now, he has written a book of extreme importance that I would immediately recommend as a Must-Read...

I asked about the title before I got the book. While the election time period does begin the book, Purdy has gone back much further to provide the foundation of how America reached the point through and after the election...

Of the election, he says:

The Election.   When people have asked me, over the years, why I do not watch the Olympic Games I have been in the habit of replying that Presidential election years were my Olympics. I study the rule books, the records and personalities involved in each “event,” keep track of when each is scheduled to occur, admire a well-organized competitive team. 
By shortly after the 2016 party conventions this cycle, however, I could not bear to watch any longer. The very few people who were asking for my observations must already have realized that I was struggling somehow. My attention had become spotty at best. I did not want to talk about the election — a thing almost unheard of. It wasn’t the pandering, although the practice was more than usually shameless. It wasn’t that the competition “got dirty.” Such is always the case at the fringes of the congressional and presidential races. It wasn’t due to the boring repetition of the same carefully crafted talking points. It wasn’t due to some bit of blatant opportunism. Elections are always affected by national and world events. Part of what a hard fought election shows us is that the candidates are able to quickly rally their forces and deal with the unexpected crisis. 
No, the problem was that the presidential election of 2016 was not an election at all. It was a travesty of an election. Donald Trump had one signature policy (keeping out black and brown immigrants — and, by clear implication, reducing black and brown citizens’ societal gains). The candidate openly instructed his followers to beat up people of color who got uppity. In the “old days,” he cried, real citizens would just beat them up and they would learn to behave properly. As for attending to other issues, he continually altered his positions to fit the prevailing circumstances. 
The Trump “spin-meisters” (a.k.a. Trump surrogates) did not take their craft to the limits and maybe a little beyond. They repeatedly lied, replied with blatantly false equivalencies, etc. Their trademark was a supreme confidence that there was nothing anyone could do about it and only political gain to come from it. 
Their analysis was correct. Lies reached millions of viewers at the speed of light. Fact checks arrived days later to be read by mere thousands who might care about such boring stuff. By vast majorities, people wanted to be told what they wanted to hear. It is an old meta-truth that the Trump campaign was the first to adopt without conscience. Old ideas of “truth” were boring. The truth people wanted to hear was the “truth” that justified them in their hatreds; dramatic “truths,” perhaps, that made the election seem less boring than past affairs. The presidential election had been transformed into a reality television show. 
One of the candidates was a reality television personality who knew how to play to the camera. Policies were pathetic attempts at plot development and were largely cast aside. They were ignored in favor of confused, emotionally charged rants and conspiracy theories. Emotional connection was not the most important thing: it was everything. The candidate played to the pit and the sweeping emotion of angry cries and thunderous applause was so affecting that those in the cheap seats took it up as well. His opponent was a “weak character.” No one was even sure why she was on the show except to be a foil. Scores of fact-free fan-sites were required in order even to turn her into a serviceable evil, demonic character that the audience could hate enough to keep the emotion building up. Without those sites she would only have been the greatest of television disasters: boring...

~~~

Elitism and the Election
 Of Donald Trump

By Gilbert Wesley Purdy

I needed to read this book. First let me explain...I'm not an involved political person like our author. I've watched the evolution of America through many years and have abhorred what I saw, felt what was happening. My family is Republican; I clearly leaned differently... So, the election this year became of interest to me purely because of one person--Donald Trump. I am afraid of what he is and what he is doing to America... But, for me, he was the icing on the cake as I saw it...

One of the most important things confirmed for me is that what is happening is outside of the individual in the presidency... For so many years I have tried to express my opinion that it is not the specific president elected that "caused" or "will change"

"Who cares?"

what has already been evolving in our culture... However, with the emotional trauma created by Trump this year, it appears that that the volcano has finally erupted... And it seems that I am one of those who  care and have accepted wholeheartedly what Purdy has declared in his book...

The destruction of the electoral process, as was seen this year, "had been destroyed..." Specifically, Purdy wrote his thoughts,

By this point, I was barely following. I had already realized that I was watching the destruction of the U.S. electoral process. It was almost certainly irreversible no matter who won. I had hoped against hope that I would never see the day...

Punditry, providing analysis or opinion to the media, together with the material on lying was almost sickening for me... We all saw the blatancy of it in November...but this was only the "big show." Lying through, for instance, deceiving advertising, in order to slowly allow the bottom line to become the decision-making priority, has been building slowly over the years so that truth...well, Purdy notes it really doesn't exist any more... Or... it is defined by those who are speaking... Yikes!


Purdy elaborated that Fake News became the norm during the election, illustrating how everybody believes that what they hear...and...accept...is the truth while fake news is what those who are out to deceive or promote their own agenda, the opposite viewpoint of their own, is fake, false, a deliberate lie. Fortunately, I had no vested interest in the election--I didn't support either candidate--so perhaps that is why I was easily able to read and understand Purdy was speaking "Truth..." I was thankful to see this learned expert agreed with most of what I'd thought about...and presented so much more as documentation...

Fake News Within several days the spotlight began to settle on the matter of the “fake news sites” (referred to as “citizen journalism sites,” by those who benefit from them, and which I have referred to as “fact-free fan-sites” to this point) which had become so prevalent. 
There could be little doubt over recent years that these sites were proliferating. By the time the elections got underway, their number was legion. They were generally aligned with the Alt-Right (the moniker designating white nationalists and their mercenary “allies”) and Activist-Left/ Anti-Alt-Right (now more often and tellingly referred to as the “Ctrl-Left”). Some were single issue news sites created to cover LGBT issues, abortion issues, etc. The Alt-Right sites were far more prevalent. Circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that they were more popular in inverse proportion to their concern for fact. Their audience was facing demographic absorption into a pluralistic society. The numbers sorted more against them with each election cycle. They were angry and desperate. This was political war and all was fair in war.

~~~

There are many other issues included; however, I want to move ahead to the chapter related to the word, Elitism, which is part of the title. Purdy begins:

Elitism.  So then, have the Elites done us in? Did they win? The Wealth Elite won, of course, but then you may have noticed that they generally do. It has been surprising it took them so long this go around, actually. They were slowed down by the fact that traditional Conservative politicians could not bring themselves to accept that they must be willing to do anything toward the cause that wasn’t expressly against the law if they wished to continue in their positions... But who, actually, are the Elites? If our brains weren’t trained to shut down the moment the name is mentioned, the question would not be difficult to answer. First of all, they are a myth...

Those without power are being placated or worse. 

They are only receiving that much in order

 to avoid economic disruption.

~~~

I'm willing to share that I defined the Elite as those with financial power, but I discovered that this really didn't work...for all people! And frankly I saw the Elitism of Trump as he rented space in his property to the government, for just one example. But that is MY truth! What is yours?

One of the things that has bothered me for many years is explained by the phrase "Dumbing of America..." I've not read the book that probably created the phrase, and really don't want to... I've see it in action over and over... We know that education has been underfunded and is projected to be even more so... Yet those who don't have higher education credentials are finding it harder and harder to live in today's culture, while the cost continues to be prohibitive for many... What lies ahead for the majority of Americans?

Value education above all things. Don’t accept substitutions. 

Do everything in your power to assure that your children attend schools

 that stress math, science and language skills 

and teach out of a valid, up to date Western Canon.

~~~

Purdy presents a book that places readers in the position of somebody telling them the facts, the truth... His truth. But you will see, if you are willing to, that this book will begin to speak to you and you'll begin to agree with what he's has found over his years of political analysis...

I began my comments by saying that I needed to read this book. I needed to have somebody speak about the topics that concern me and I needed to be able to accept or reject them based upon my own experience and knowledge. I realized my feelings were more intuitive than based upon study, which has always been geared toward business management issues. 

This man has "Played" the Election game as most others watch the Olympic games...people have known this and respected him for his opinions. It's exactly the book I needed to read given the daily situations we learn about... It's not the easiest book because of his expertise, but then, I used it as a textbook and made sure I understood what was being said before I moved forward...That means to me that everybody can do the same.

Want to read a fresh perspective of life in America and where our culture has changed and may be headed? Again, read this book...it truly is a Must-Read if you care about America and its future...and how you may be able to learn to adjust... Isn't it time you give up on choices created by some false basis that you may even have historically accepted routinely, and think through what is reality, happening now, right now? Let me know what you think after you read the book!


GABixlerReviews