by
Gadfly
The title of this article
is inspired by William Simon’s book, A Time for Truth, published in 1978. In his Preface to the book, Milton Friedman
observed, “The socialists and interventionists, who have wrongfully
appropriated in this country the noble label ‘liberal’ and who have been the
intellectual architects of our suicidal course, will suffer no severe personal
injury—at least in the near future—if they fail to recognize the error of their
ways.”
The book was a serious
look at the state of America and the evolution of our political institutions in
an apparent deliberate drift toward socialism.
I read A Time for
Truth on a French troop train as an Air Force captain and fighter pilot with
my wife enroute to Berlin in 1980. Berlin
was an occupied city in communist-controlled East Germany. We had an opportunity to see and taste the
stark contrast between socialism’s austerity and the American-led West’s prosperity.
That was 40 years ago.
A Domestic Enemy Hiding in Plain Sight
Now
for a bold headline in the Air
Force Magazine, dated December 22, 2020: “Brown: ‘Shame on Us’ if Military
Diversity Efforts Falter.” Brown is the
Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown, Jr., who took command of the Air
Force on August 6, 2020. As a black
officer, it seems ironic that his advancement to the very pinnacle of success
in the Air Force is in stark prima facie contrast to his call for more
diversity and inclusion.
To justify his emotionally
judgmental call for change, Brown uses as a springboard a recent Inspector
General (IG) report that documents racial disparity based on some
disciplinary statistics and anecdotal evidence.
The report provides two very important qualifiers. First, the report does not complete a
root cause analysis to understand factors contributing to the disparities
(i.e., do most recruits come from inner cities that do suffer from systemic
racism?). Second, the report
states:
Finally, please note that the
identification of racial disparity does not automatically mean racial bias or
racism is present. This Review focused on the existence of racial disparity,
but it did not specifically assess racial bias or individual acts of
racism within the DAF, which may cumulatively contribute to racial
disparity overall. Thousands of black service members and civilians reported experiencing
issues ranging from bias to outright racial discrimination. These experiences
indicate bias and isolated individual acts of racism may
contribute to the racial disparities identified in this report (bold italics
added for emphasis).
What is wrong with this picture? For decades now, the military has installed
Equal Opportunity (EO) offices in all units.
They are required by law to collect, process, and adjudicate complaints
of racial discrimination. EO offices are
also mandated to submit quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports. The IG report mentioned above provides absolutely
no data from decades of EO reporting.
Moreover, when the US Air Force Academy football coaches
published on July 7, 2020 a
video in support of Black Lives Matter and the Superintendent claimed
systemic racism, I filed two Freedom of Information Act requests for: data on the
number of racial discrimination complaints filed for the past 15 years, of
those filed how many were validated, and of those validated what was the nature
of discipline imposed. Over five months
later, I am still waiting for answers.
Is it possible that facts
do not support the narrative?
More seriously, how does
such a diversity narrative affect the cohesiveness of a fighting force?
If blacks feel oppressed
and whites are being shamed, how does that unify? It does not.
Manning Johnson, a former
American communist (who happened to be black and now deceased), bemoans how he
was duped by the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in his book, Color, Communism,
and Common Sense (available here). The thesis of his book, based on his lived
experience, is that the Communist Party in America deliberately exploited black
racism before the Civil Rights movement in the 60s. The animus from perceived discrimination or
oppression was easily weaponized.
The Manning Johnson experience
was not isolated. One can easily visit
the CPUSA website here to see the
comprehensive and extensive involvement in American politics. CPUSA has been in continuous existence since
it was established in 1919. As one can
see from its website, it has successfully infiltrated and coopted America’s
Democrat Party. Its National
Chair gave CPUSA credit for the successful 2018 midterm elections. It is not yet known to what extent the CPUSA
influenced the outcome of the 2020 election.
Our institutions, to
include our military, have been infiltrated by a dangerous ideology: Critical
Race Theory (CRT). CRT derives from Critical
Theory, advanced in the early 30s by scholars with the Frankfurt School. Critical Theory puts an academic happy face
on Marxism.
The Air Force’s
affliction with ideology--and submission to a domestic enemy--is not an
isolated case.
Knock It Off, Knock It Off, Knock It Off[1]
As we reach the end of
the year, 2020 anno
Domini (AD), it is a good time to reflect upon this particular year within
America’s historical context. This has
been a troubling year for Americans, as well as the world, mostly stemming from
ideology and actions imposed upon others by political elite.
Context
Let us
start with a brief discussion of time. We
are all aware of the passing of time, a concept that connects past with present
realities and an anticipated future.
Time is an a priori concept: we
know it exists, yet we cannot prove it through mere observation of phenomena in
a scientific sense. For each of us,
there is a beginning and an end—a finiteness of time. Yet, our finite time is a subset of a larger set
of phenomena that has no beginning and no end—the infinite unfolding of
reality.
History is a concept that
involves the recording of observable past events with some analysis for
meaningful explanations of motivations and implications related to events. We link these events to a lineage of time
based on a Gregorian
calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII).
My graduation diploma recorded my Bachelor of Science degree “. . . in
witness whereof we have set our hands and fixed the seal of the United States
Air Force Academy this sixth day of June in the Year of our Lord one thousand
nine hundred and seventy-three.” This
background is important in realizing that two thousand and twenty years later,
our historical timeline begins with the birth of Jesus Christ.
One’s
view of the world (epistemology) can influence how one observes reality and
then processes it. For example, a
positivist makes no prejudgment about phenomena. She observes it and then analyzes/evaluates
data associated with a phenomenon to draw conclusions from it. A positivist typically begins with a hunch (a
“small t” theory) based on already being somewhat familiar with the phenomenon. This is how Charles Darwin developed his
seminal work, On the Origin of Species.[2]
Then
there are normativists who observe the world the way it ought to be, based on
an adopted set of norms, and set about to make it so. This view often involves denying tradition,
rewriting history (such as The 1619 Project), or erasing history to make an
imagined future possible. This is what
progressivism is all about. Political
elite, with a normative world view, impose ideology and corresponding values on
others, even if it requires coercion, to progress toward utopia.
The
famous British scientist and atheist (and apparent normativist), Richard
Dawkins, in his book, The God Delusion, implies Darwin was an atheist by
quoting a passage from the first edition of The Origin of Species. It is a powerful closure to Darwin’s
research:
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its
several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one;
and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of
gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most
wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
There are six editions of The Origin of Species. In editions two through six, Darwin inserted “by
the Creator” to say more clearly “. . . originally breathed by the Creator
into a few forms or into one . . ..” For
Dawkins, it appears acceptable to deceive the reader. Moreover, if the idea that science is the
discipline of knowing (i.e., “scio” is the Latin root verb meaning “to know”),
then to imagine the possibility of an atheistic scientist seems oxymoronic.[3] On the other hand, in his own book, The God
Delusion, Dawkins does conclude from his tortured logic that “God almost
certainly does not exist.” This may
explain why those with a normative worldview prefer ideology over truth. They can choose what to believe, whether true
or not.
Human
behavior is a challenge for scientists.
Unlike physical phenomena, such as weather, human beings have intention
and motivation that influence actions (behavior). Scientists can observe behavior, yet only
infer motivation or intent; even asking a person what motivated her action
assumes honesty in the response. Of all
the living creatures, only human beings possess the capacity to lie, which
makes ethical and moral behavior a mixed bag.[4] For example, a behavior may appear to be
noble while the motivation is based on devious ulterior motive.
Truth versus Ideology
Let us begin with definitions.
Truth is “the body of real things,
events, and facts: ACTUALITY.”
Ideology is “a manner
or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture.”
Ironically, many people treat ideology as if it is
truth. A good way to understand the
difference is in Plato’s set analogy as depicted below:
Beliefs can be true or false.
Many beliefs are fictional, based on myth or folklore. Only when a belief can be validated as truth
does it become knowledge. Thus, science
is the pursuit of knowledge based on truth.
Yet, when truth is available in the form of data from EO reports, the
myth of systemic racism is a preferred belief (ideology) because it better
supports the power of political elite (even those in the military uniform[5]).
America’s
Drift Away from God
The first half of the Twentieth Century involved major
foreign wars—World War I, World War II, and Korea. The latter two involved opponents
characterized by godless ideologies--communism and fascism. These ideologies contrasted with a very
religious America.
Ideology tends to conflict with faith in a supreme
being. In America, secular humanism (a “demigod”
religion) now competes with traditional religion. This accelerating trend appears to have begun
around the 1960s symbolized by the US Supreme Court ruling in Engel
v. Vitale, which claimed prayer in school was unconstitutional.
Satan has lieutenants working on his behalf. Saul Alinsky, who dedicated his book, Rules
for Radicals, to Lucifer, trained or inspired many lieutenants, such as
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Mikey
Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate, represents a campaign on behalf of
the Aesopian Military Religious Freedom Foundation to liberate America’s
military from religion.
While many would have no interest in Engel v. Vitale
and others would consider it trivial in the grand scheme of things, this one
act changed conditions in a way that opened the door for socialism (as well-documented
in Simon’s A time for Truth).
To further develop this point, the following is an updated
excerpt from my article, “Socialist
Infiltration of America,” published August 9, 2019:
Younger generations have
not been taught any of socialism’s history. Rather, the focus has
been a new form of patriotism: a progressive patriotism that looks
toward a perfected future—utopia. It is pure socialism. Progressives
have been successful in taking prayer out of schools and other public venues,
facilitating a trend toward atheistic nihilism. According to
Gallup surveys, those affiliating with Judeo-Christian
religions have decreased by well over 30% since 1956 (when 99% of those
surveyed affiliated with Judeo-Christian religions). Other surveys show similar declines in
church membership, with Catholics showing the sharpest decrease (likely a
result of the public narratives on abuse scandals—even though there are
mitigating circumstances such as communist and homosexual infiltration as
reported by Bella Dodd in her memoir, School of Darkness, and
Enrique Rueda’s analysis of the homosexual political movement in The
Homosexual Network: Private Lives and Public Policy). These
trends allow the state to increasingly fill in as the moral authority.
Karl Marx would be proud
of socialism’s success in America. Education has played a critical
role. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party,
education is mentioned 68 times. The Manifesto states:
“All children will be educated in state establishments from the
time when they can do without the first maternal care.” Last year, Democrat-led
Colorado approved funding for all-day kindergarten. Nation-wide,
teachers’ unions exercise tremendous power in classroom curricula, manipulating
the composition of school boards, and funding political candidates.
Conclusion
As we approach a new
year, it would be prudent to understand where we are as a Nation and to be
prepared to surrender to its current drift or to resist it to restore the
essence of what America was intended to be as a Constitutional Republic. For those in America’s military in particular,
to include its veterans, be prepared to “support and defend the Constitution of
the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. . . . So
help me God.” This truly is a time for truth.
[1] In a fighter
training scenario, when circumstances are getting increasingly dangerous, at
least one fighter pilot in the scenario is expected to call over the radio “knock
it off, knock it off, knock it off” to reset the conditions.
[2] The complete
title is The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation
of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.
[3] Francis Collins, the
Director of the National Institutes for Health, was an atheist until the age of
26. Then, to find justification for his
atheism, Collins read C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. According to Collins, this book shined a
light on a reality beyond pure science and compelled his conversion to
Christianity.
[4] For an excellent
treatment of this topic, see Christian B. Miller, The Character Gap: How Good Are We?
[5] For more on this
theme, see my article, “A
Praetorian Guard?”
