Friday, January 12, 2018

Truth to Power, Resistance to Shitheels

I read something in the biography of John Paul that reminds me of our current cultural crisis, and which indeed must be universal. However, there are degrees.

I'm referring to what Vaclav Havel called the communist "culture of the lie." It is like any other lie, only collective, systematic, and institutionalized. There are cultures that are a "total lie" (or Lie, in caps) -- for example, Nazi Germany and the USSR -- but the phenomenon exists along a continuum of spiritual lethality.

What makes the Lie total, and why does it exist to begin with? First and foremost, the Lie is a total repudiation of human nature, and more generally of "the nature of things." Every culture is more or less in conformity with the nature of things (or perhaps less and lesser).

Which is precisely why people from shithole countries want to come to ours. We could easily draw a shithole/in-conformity-with-human-nature matrix, and situate each country somewhere within it.

For example, during the Cold War, East and West Germany were situated in very different places in the matrix. If not for the Berlin Wall, most everyone would have fled the former from the latter. Why? Because East Germany was a shithole country.

The same thing would happen if we stopped enforcing our southern border. Obviously, Mexico is a shithole country. But the direction of the flight tells us something about human nature, as people spontaneously seek out places more in conformity with the nature of things, so long as they are free to do so.

For example, before he was pope, Wojtyla insisted that human beings have "a natural instinct for the truth of things, a built-in inclination to the true, the good, and the beautiful." Therefore, "To reduce those choices, as communism did, to expressions of class interest or other economic forces was to dehumanize the human person."

Simple as. But again, there are degrees, for this is precisely what goes on today in academia: the whole regime of identity studies is an institutionalized and systematic method of dehumanization. And they're clever about it, because they call it "progress" and "liberation." It is indeed the latter -- i.e., liberation from the constraints of human nature.

How does one fight back against the Lie? You will note that in the culture of the Lie, nothing is more forbidden than truth-telling. As someone said, political correctness is a "war on noticing." For example, we are not permitted to notice that the UN might more accurately be called the United Shitholes:

(HT Ace of Spades)

Weigel cites an old Polish joke, in which the party boss asks the worker how much is 2 + 2: "How much would you like it to be?" That is no joke. For example, Scholars claim that statistics 'serve white racial interests'. So, what percentage of violent crime is committed by blacks? What percentage of homosexuals suffer an early death due to their lifestyle? Er, what percentage would you like it to be?

In far left California I am immersed in the Lie. I well remember a psychological evaluation I conducted a couple of decades ago, in which the whole case hinged upon the fact that this patient had AIDS. However, the word was blacked out throughout the extensive medical file, nor was I permitted to utter it in my report! It was the key to the whole case, and yet, because of California law, I was prohibited from saying it. Writing the report was like an absurd Monty Python skit or Seinfeld episode in which everyone must linguistically dance around and deny the obvious.

If you must think twice before expressing an opinion about the obvious, then you are living in a culture of the lie, if not Lie. In most any social setting, I am constantly aware of just how far I can go. It's probably a big reason why I blog, because it is so freeing. But I wouldn't want my neighbors to know about the blog, any more than I would put a Trump sign on my house or car.

I guess that makes me a coward. How did Wojtyla deal with far worse circumstances? How did he help Poland escape from being a you-know-what country?

Communism was not just wrong; it was unnatural. It taught a false humanism, for men and women could only be free when they lived the truth about themselves, their communities, and their destiny. The truth about the human person was thus the most powerful weapon of resistance that could be deployed -- particularly in a situation in which proponents of the lie had a monopoly on other forms of power.

Even if we cannot publicly utter the truth, we need to preserve it and pass it along to future generations. This is one of the lessons of Heroism and Genius: How Catholic Priests Helped Build -- and Can Help Rebuild -- Western Civilization

It is always the Middle Ages, and indeed, a Dark Age between oppression and liberation, darkness and light, the lie and truth. That is what History is and will always be.

I had intended to tie this all in with No God, No Science, but I'm pressed for time this morning. The wife is visiting the mother-in-law, so it's all on me, including a very active Great Dane puppy.

14 comments:

Gagdad Bob said...

Given the choice, I'll take the crude man who tells the truth and looks out for his own citizens over the genteel man who sells us out for cheap labor or ballot-box fuel for a political machine every time.

julie said...

Amen. Also, we've been laughing all morning at how the hair-on-fire media keeps shrieking "shithole! shithole!," because in virtually every person's mind the association is not "Trump said," it's that "Haiti is." Every time an American thinks Haiti now, he will also think shithole. Quoting my husband, "As they say in libel law, truth is an absolute defense."

Re. California, do you ever consider leaving?

Gagdad Bob said...

At least he didn't refer to human beings as "wretched refuse," as does the Statue of Liberty.

Gagdad Bob said...

Yes, we do consider leaving, but nothing is in the works.

julie said...

Just curious. Looks like we might be heading back there to stay, sometime this summer. Looking forward to it, but we'll be near family and thankfully, most of them aren't leftists.

On the plus side, maybe there will be a chance to elect James Woods for governor. Stranger things have happened.

Gagdad Bob said...

Roger Kimball makes the same point about the left's attack on truth:

"In other words, the potency of taboo is still strong in our superficially rational culture. There are some things -- quite a few, actually, and the list keeps growing -- about which one cannot speak the truth or, in many cases, even raise as a subject for discussion without violating the unspoken pact of liberal sanctimoniousness."

Anonymous said...

Hello Dr. Godwin and Readers:

The term "sh-thole" is vulgar (ugly,not in conformity with Godly beauty). I'm surprised you parroted the term. You promote Godly beauty, right?

Your recent posts alluded to the left trying to destroy the individual. Quite right you are...the wheel of time moves onward and the next chapter in the book of humanity requires more conformity and a return to a hive mentality. We must have control of vast numbers of citizens in order to accomplish the projects we have in mind, for the collective good.

The NWO prioritized the takeover of the educational systems, which was key to beginning this transition. We are now snapping up organized religions like they were sitting on the bargain table at garage sale.

Kudos for figuring it out, but there's not much you or your little band of rebels can do about it.

Mr. T, NWO

Dougman said...

You forgot to take the military over and you still haven't disarmed the populace.

Dougman said...

In your opinion, what is the collective good?

julie said...

On a different note, James Woods is awesome. Almost makes me want to set up a twitter account.

Re. Haiti, there's a lovely lady in my Bible study who occasionally goes on mission trips there with a medical crew to offer vaccinations and health services. I doubt she would use the term "shithole," but what she describes sounds like a genuine horror show; God bless her and those like her for the good they do. She says they have to keep a careful watch on everything they bring over, because people will steal literally everything. Latex gloves, medications, donated goods, etc. Not just the Haitians, either, but sometimes people who volunteer for the trip.

Anonymous said...

Hello Doug and other Commenters:

The military and armed civilian populace are recognized as assets the NWO will strive to keep intact.

The collective good requires the following: Unification of the world under one government, and the systematic stabilization of same. We cannot afford any more squabbles and distractions created by nationalism.

Once this is accomplished, an integrated global technological program will be embarked upon which requires "all hands on deck,' that is the full utilization and cooperation of the entire world's population.

The end goal is the exploration, exploitation, and colonization of all satellites within this solar system. This is required to secure the rights of ownership to our star for our species. If even one outside interest gets a foothold on one or more of our satellites, they can lay claim to a percentage of the star. It is not best practice to get tangled up like that. It would be like owning a time-share for perpetuity, instead of your own home.

We have 300 years to get at least something going on each and every rock and gas ball out there. So we need to get cracking.

Mr. T, NWO

Van Harvey said...

"How does one fight back against the Lie? You will note that in the culture of the Lie, nothing is more forbidden than truth-telling. As someone said, political correctness is a "war on noticing."

And they do hate it when we notice the truth. It burns.

Van Harvey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Van Harvey said...

aninnymouse said "...The NWO prioritized the takeover of the educational systems, which was key to beginning this transition..."

As much as it pains me to admit that an anonymous has a point, the truth of the matter is that that is why the pro-regressive left has been winning. And the Right, thinking that having the military and business on their side, will help them win, is why they've been losing.

As if officers and H.R. Depts don't come from the 'cream of the crap' of our wacademic shitholes.

Sad.

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