A Time for Truth

 

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.

 

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[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?”