Freedom of Conscious

Hold on for this. And don't get pissed.

I was listening to KPCC the other day - - yeah, I can consume FNC and NPR and still be able to make up my own mind about things. Can you? If you would describe yourself as one or the other - an NPR fan or a FNC devotee - could you also say of yourself that you regularly consume media conventionally thought of as “on their side”?

The links at the bottom of the page will take you to some varying points of view. What got me down this fabbit-hole are the Dutch. Oops. Can I call them that without offense? They pretty much owned the 17th Century, from about 1590 until the dawn of the 1800s.

They didn’t create the concept of Freedom of Conscience, but they became the first modern government and civil society to write that into it’s constitution. The Dutch Golden Age has some chinks in the gild. The massive moral enormity of the Atlantic Slave Trade, which the Dutch controlled through their superb seamanship, has caused a rethinking of the Golden Age cultural hagiography.

All of the cultural benefits their polite society enjoyed and consumed arose from a dark unspoken secret. They bought and sold human beings. But not openly. Just on the market. To diversify? Yet, they considered themselves completely enlightened. Those Burghers. Our favorite Kris had a run in with a Burgher Meister. Let’s explore that outcome.

So the show was Chris Hedges interviewing authors Mickey Huff and Nolan Higden about their new book Let’s Agree to Disagree. The book is about, well, here’s the pitch

In an age defined by divisive discourse and disinformation, democracy hangs in the balance. Let’s Agree to Disagree seeks to reverse these trends by fostering constructive dialogue through critical thinking and critical media literacy. This transformative text introduces readers to useful theories, powerful case studies, and easily adoptable strategies for becoming sharper critical thinkers, more effective communicators, and critically media literate citizens.

Of course this is right in my wheelhouse. But Chris made my ears bleed when his professed egalitarian approach to this issue was upended by his divisive, maybe subconscious, analysis

The whole commercial model is different. Now you have media outlets that have essentially created silos where they reach out to a particular demographic, as you know. 

In the book, publications like The Washington Post, the New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, cater to those who would traditionally vote for the Democratic Party. 

Fox News and Right-Wing Radio caters to Republicans or the cultists around Trump that have taken over the Republican Party. 

So, in a scholarly attempt to diffuse and disengage the destructive denouement of division, he blandly and inoffensively labels consumers of left-leaning media as merely Democratic voters. Pretty normal people, those Dems. Average Joe Voter.

But not so for those others, those deplorables, those disgusting people who voted differently than all of those normal voters. Those, those CULTISTS! To their credit, the authors did not let their interviewer’s bias creep into their language, especially when discussing how to get along with people you disagree with.

Now I like Chris Hedges just fine, and I will listen again to him again. But it’s just such an obvious and apparent insult to all of “the others” that choose to vote differently. Some of you may remember Hedges because he got caught plagiarizing and then lying about it.

So yeah, he’s got a checkered past. Don’t we all? Hey, if plagiarism was a real crime, then the current occupant of the oval office would be a criminal. Just like the last one. Some people say. But thank God he’s not. A criminal. You choose.

I mean, I’ve never been called a Obama Cultist, and I voted for him the same number of times I voted for the Bad Orange. I’m weird. I like political speeches. I like listening to what they say, but more importantly for me, I like to hear the words they say. The phrases and cliches and metaphors and idioms.

Their tone and delivery speak to my heart. Obama spoke to that heart. With a great story. His story was so familiar to me. Half black. Half white. An actual African-American. Single mom. Occidental College. Island Vibe. Yeah, he was a lawyer, but I overlooked that.

Please Please listen to this speech. Even if you do or don’t like the Senator delivering it. His speechcraft is impeccable. Alliteration and metaphor meets homily and irony. Inflections and deflections have the same velvet feel. It’s an incredible speech that made him president. Please listen. And then decide.

Hope and change was a great tag line, and Barry sold it hard. I was all in. After voting for Reagan when my license plate read RT WNGR in the fantastic 80’s, I went rogue and voted for candidates like H. R. Perot, who famously quipped “that giant sucking sound you hear is the jobs leaving to Mexico”. And we didn’t learn.

I did not vote for another R or D until the first Black President. I felt he was worthy of my vote. I felt connected to him in a Gen X sort of way, and the whole single mother upbringing creates an almost ethereal bond amongst the members of that group.

But guess what Mr. President? You would have a hard time deciding who to run with in prison. And no time or agency to make that decision on your own. It’s usually decided by the correctional staff with flashlights right after they have conducted their oral and anal body cavity searches. I guess the color on the inside confirms the skin on the outside?

The Chris Hedges Report: Mickey Huff & Nolan Higden on the Disappearance of Democratic Debate and Dialogue in America

What Is Freedom of Conscience?

What is Freedom of Conscience?

Recovering the Wisdom of Federalist 51

In Search of Civility

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Performance is Art. So that’s in the bucket. Watching the broken men of the Golden Age of Wrestling accept accolades again is affirming. Yeah, it was fake. Have you seen these dudes? They’re broken inside and inside. Yet they stand.

Biography: WWE Legends

Undertaker

Learn the never-before-heard story of the man behind WWE’s greatest character of all time–The Undertaker. Growing up in Texas, Mark Calaway loved wrestling so much he gave up a college basketball career to learn the ropes and became the most notorious villain in WWE history. Starting with his introduction at the 1990 Survivor Series, the 6’10 Undertaker loomed over the WWE for 3 decades, thrilling and terrifying fans and competitors, and amassing a staggering number of titles and records. However, The Deadman is more than his legendary character.

Voices of Conscience

It's Time for the Scientific Community to Admit We Were Wrong About COVID and It Cost Lives | Opinion

Florida State University has been seized by the DEI bureaucracy

FSU faculty say it's 'rubbish' as Christopher Rufo targets FSU 'radical' diversity programs

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This playlist is all over the place. 60s black country star ripped for native american insensitivity. drunk subway hit, basking in violence. getting used to pain. loneliness in the garden of love. smoke a fatty and stop brain activity.

You are the reason I am here. I love doing this. I’d love to hear what you think of me doing this. a comment would go a long way.

Check out Braver Angels link at the top. Good stuff happens when good people do good stuff.

Ric