The Education Bus and Community Organizers

Conservatives used to believe in the true liberation of people from the enslavement by big and encroaching governments. You could hardly tell that today judging by the huge national debt they’ve escalated under a Republican president and a Republican Senate. They have been as profligate spenders as the Democrats, yet we still don’t have a wall to stop the invasion of illegals through the southern border.

Liberals are not really interested in liberty as the term implies, but want to conserve in perpetuity a system that oppresses voters, legal and illegal, and citizens, based on a euphemistically defined socialist/Marxist indoctrination by the government as the benevolent provider of everything without which life would cease to exist.

It does not seem to matter who is in power in Congress or the White House, Cultural Marxism is winning and destroying our own culture by leaps and bounds thanks in no small part to the education system which is now run by cultural Marxists.

There are some Republicans, RINOs, and Independents (those who cannot make up their minds that they are truly Democrats) among the sea of Democrats who run education at all levels, but they have no voice or influence to stop the indoctrinating curriculum and the Marxist community organizing instruction of America’s children.

Liberals, who now call themselves “progressives” even though the term “regressive” would be more appropriate, have constantly used the false narrative that the United States is a “democracy”, but the United States is a Constitutional Republic. 

“Progressives” from all walks of life, with a microphone, a camera, a grade book, or a journalistic pen in front of them, have repeated this lie constantly. Democrat low information voters eventually believed the ‘we are a democracy’ lie and echoed it as an indisputable truth.

A recent case in point, the annual conference of the National Education Association (NEA) which met in Houston, Texas, has hosted sessions on any social justice activism and Democrat political topics imaginable to the detriment of curriculum and instruction issues. http://www.aei.org/publication/nea-embraces-the-woke-agenda-but-votes-down-student-learning/

The 6,000 NEA attendees voted down the resolution “to re-dedicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America.” Instead, the delegates endorsed “the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade,” urged reparations for slave descendants, pledged their help with the 2020 U.S. Census, pledged support for the violent Black Lives Matter movement, urged the U.S. government to admit that the illegals crisis at the border is the U.S. government’s fault for destabilizing the Central American countries, and last, but not least, supported teaching the bizarre concept of “white fragility” produced by the “white supremacy culture.”

The NEA delegates seem to have relegated student learning to the back seat of the education bus. Racial justice, social justice, abortion, ethnic and minority affairs, illegal immigration, voting, and women’s issues took the front seats.

The community organizing aspect of NEA’s annual convention was further enhanced by the speakers, i.e., Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Bill de Blasio. NEA has 3 million members, but it is alleged that 60 percent of them have self-identified as Republicans and Independents. Did NEA’s socialist political platform represent them or teaching in general?

The most pressing problem that we face today is the indoctrination of our youth into Cultural Marxism. It is essential to redress the socialist direction this nation is driven into with the force of a leftist tidal wave.

But it will take more than 15 years, perhaps 30 to change this dangerous course back to the tenets of our constitutional republic especially when we have to fight our own brethren, Republicans and Democrats, bent on amending the Constitution under the excuse of reigning in out of control politicians. And you know instinctively it is a bad idea as Soros wants to have a Convention of States (COS). It is a red flag – a gut realization that they probably have their own global Constitution ready to go to replace our U.S. Constitution during a runaway COS. Should the COS run smoothly, and the delegates successfully amend our Constitution, since politicians ignore the current Constitution and lord over us with ever more intrusive legislation, an amended one would be equally ignored.

We must however continue to fight the powerful educational system and our own corrupt elected officials at all levels of government. They consider themselves the ultimate arbiters of wisdom to fundamentally transforming America into a global governance.

"White Privilege" is a Myth

West Indian Creole woman with
her servant c. 1780
Photo: Wikipedia

I was pondering the other day, how I came to be the lottery winner of “white privilege.” God made me in the image of a good Christian, compassionate and loving to my fellow human beings, and gave me certain tools for success that he gave everybody else, regardless of skin color.

I felt privileged that my parents worked hard and put a roof over our heads and food on the table. It was not the best in the world, but we survived. Nobody gave us welfare and, had we demanded something we did not earn and were not entitled to, we would have been told swiftly, “no work, no food.”

“White privilege” is a spurious construct invented by progressive academics who love to divide and categorize people into groups just so they can keep animosity and hatred between them in order to better control them.  

My parents always told me that, if I applied myself and worked very hard, I would be successful. Nobody made promises to me that life would be easy and success will just fall in my lap just because I was classified as “white” by university scholars and government bureaucrats.

The Constitution does not mention free college tuition, free health care, and other entitlements that Democrats classify as rights. I have the right to exist and the opportunity to pursue my happiness, health, and education, and nobody owes me anything based on my skin color.

If I work, I have money to eat, a roof over my head, I may have a car, and other amenities that can be bought, if I can afford them. If I want luxuries, I must work extra, get a better job, or forget about it. Happiness and satisfaction do not come from buying material things.

Now angry and violent lefties are trying to diminish my hard work by telling me that I did not “build” that, it was given to me because I have the esoteric construct called “white privilege.” As double talkers, progressives are really good at inventing euphemisms. If there is such a thing as “white privilege,” why isn’t there a “black privilege?” What about “Hispanic privilege,” “Native American privilege,” “Asian privilege?”

What exactly is “white privilege?” According to a website, “white privilege” is a “set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others. White privilege can exist without white people’s conscious knowledge of its presence and it helps to maintain the racial hierarchy in this country.” By this definition, “white privilege” does not exist in other countries where white people live. Apparently we have “white privilege” as a “direct result of the disadvantages of other people.” According to this half-baked theory, even white people who are not overtly racist benefit from “white supremacy.” So “white privilege” is equal with “white supremacy?” https://www.mtholyoke.edu/org/wsar/intro.htm

Students cite the fact that “white privilege is not having to worry about being followed in a department store while shopping.” Perhaps if you shopped rather than shop-lifted, you would not be followed.

Violent and angry mobs riot, burn, rob people on trains, and hit people of a different skin color over the head in a sick “knockout game.” It is sheer hatred generated by their lack of a moral compass and success, taking their anger on innocents. Riots are a convenient excuse to loot stores in their own neighborhoods.

At the lowest point in our lives, white friends and I never looted or robbed stores under the pretense of “social justice.” We did not demand other people’s money, free college tuition, free health care, and other government forms of welfare. We took a second job, worked every day and part of the night because we had pride and honor, not bogus “white privilege.” I worked for minimum wage even though I had a college degree, cheap labor was not beneath me.

“White privilege” is “about thinking that your clothes, manner of speech, and behavior in general, are racially neutral, when in fact, they are white.” Behaving like a civilized person, speaking proper English, and behaving like a human instead of a savage street thug is not “white privilege,” it is proper breeding and having a mom at home in the first six years of your life, teaching you how to behave.

Black students bullying other black kids because they make good grades is wrong. They are not “acting white,” they are concerned for their future and have a plan for success. Wearing pants down your bottoms like jail inmates do is not proper dressing. Nobody wants to see your underwear in public. Using incomprehensible ghetto jargon is not a formula for success either. Communication in a common language that everyone understands is important.

“White privilege exists on an individual, cultural, and institutional level.” I cannot remember how many times I lost jobs to lesser qualified and lesser educated black applicants who were hired because of affirmative action quotas. How many better prepared Caucasian students could not attend a university of their choice because there are quotas set up for black people, Hispanic people, and people born in a “poor” state?

One Seattle liberal writer wrote in 2015 why “white privilege” exists.  http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/11/lessons-white-privilege-poc/

1.     “I Have the Privilege of (Generally) Having a Positive Relationship with the Police”

Could that be because you were taught to respect authority, especially the police, and how to behave in a polite manner outside of home? Yes, you have the privilege to behave in an orderly and respectful manner when questioned by police. How you choose to behave dictates the outcome of any encounter with the police or any other people for that matter, regardless of your race. If you are violent, recalcitrant, and armed, you will be treated with blunt force.

2.     “I Have the Privilege of Being Favored by School Authorities”

School authorities treat everyone by the same set of rules; if you choose not to follow those rule and become violent, then the treatment of you will escalate to another level; violent students at home or in the streets are violent and recalcitrant in school as well, defiant of authority, and must be treated accordingly. Schools hire security to help school personnel deal with such offenders.

3.     ”I Have the Privilege of Learning about My Race in School”

Ethnic studies are on the rise at all colleges and universities even though they do not assure a student employment upon graduation. Nobody is stopping you from learning about your specific ethnic group or race’s history and culture.

The problem for liberals is, most of the contributions to science and mathematics, even literature, have been made by the much reviled “evil white men.” That is a fact. There are some contributions made by other races but, generally, modern technology and science discoveries were made by white men.

Students are forced to learn about the Five Pillars of Islam, in an effort to convert as many students as possible to that faith. Whatever happened to the atheists suing over “separation of church and state?” Does it only apply to Christianity, not to Islam?

There is black history month; since the U.S. black population is about 12 percent, then, to be mathematically accurate, there should be about a month and a half of learning nothing else but about black history and the contributions made by black people to civilization.

4.     “I Have the Privilege of Attending Segregated Schools of Affluence”

Many white people do not have the privilege of attending the schools of their choice for many reasons – they cannot afford the expensive tuition, perhaps their grades are not good enough, or reside in areas that do not fall under that school’s jurisdiction. On the contrary, most “schools of influence” are segregated based on wealth and income and not race. Obama’s children attended a “school of influence” in D.C. even though they self-identify as black. If there is segregation, it is based on income, not skin color.

5.     “I Have the Privilege of Finding Children’s Books that Overwhelmingly Represent My Race”

Most publishers are liberal and tend to accept for publication books that represent their progressive stance. Books are written generally in a number representative of the black population in the U.S. You cannot possibly force white authors to write about something they are not familiar with since they did not grow up or experience the black culture.

6.     “I Have the Privilege of Soaking in Media Blatantly Biased Toward My Race”

It is hard to even dignify such a statement particularly today when the MSM has become the laughingstock of fake news, defending manufactured news which are heavily biased towards the Democrat Party platform, a platform that has failed black people for decades, keeping them suppressed and poor (see Detroit). Yet these people of color keep electing their corrupt Democrat Party representatives and senators to power. I don’t know many white people who take the MSM media seriously because of their “social justice” and “collectivism” ideology, both communist inventions which some of us have been victims of for decades.

If you are a criminal, the media reportage will generally cover up the criminal’s race or ethnicity, unless he/she is white.

7.     “I Have the Privilege of Escaping Violent Stereotypes Associated with My Race”

The writer makes the bogus statement that “White supremacists (who tend to be White) have perpetuated more terrorism in the United States than any foreign threat.” I suppose 9/11 and the jihadi movement never happened.

8.     “I Have the Privilege of Playing the Colorblind Card, Wiping the Slate Clean of Centuries of Racism”

He makes a good point that “race is a social construction based on physical differences.” However, he blames white people for using the invention of race. I have not met a black student yet who has not shamelessly benefited from his/her race when competing for scholarships, grants, college admission, jobs, adjustment to their entrance ACT or SAT scores, and other benefits not available to white students.

The concept of “colorblindness” is not good enough for this writer, we have to atone for our “implicit biases,” another bogus euphemism, claiming that we associate lighter skin to intelligence, that we give black children less medication for severe pain, and that we “prefer white-sounding names when it comes to school discipline, job applications, and government inquiries,” a ridiculous assertion, which is not true; and it is against the law to discriminate in such a way.

Many of us get our “white privilege” by going to work every day, sometimes to very unpleasant jobs and when sick because we cannot afford to miss the paycheck.  Others get “white privilege” by working long hours on a project, by studying hard on a test instead of partying with the boys, and because we take the hard road of personal responsibility without crying discrimination and racism. When we were told no, we never gave up and tried harder.

Because we have this imaginary “white privilege,” race baiters and their fellow travelers want reparations for slavery which, in some progressive opinions, had an important role in giving us today’s imaginary “white privilege.”

Slavery, gone but not forgotten, has been a justified stigma in the history of our country. Progressives are demanding financial reparations for slavery which is objected to by Americans whose ancestors were never involved in or benefitted from the slave trade. Progressive advocates fail to mention that there were also white slaves who built this country, they were indentured to industrial projects and railroads.

The Atlantic slave trade took place from the 15^th through the 19^th centuries with slaves from central and western parts of Africa who had been sold by other West Africans to Western European slave traders.

The Portuguese brought in 1526 the first transatlantic slaves from Africa to the Americas. They were sold to work in coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar, and cotton plantation, silver mines, rice fields, construction industry, logging timber for ships, skilled labor, and as domestic servants.

The British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch Empires followed the Portuguese’s example and shipped slaves in cargo ships to the New World and to the Caribbean area where slaves made goods to be sold in  Europe. More than 12 million slaves were bought and sold; a substantial number died during the grueling passage at sea.

By the 17^th century slavery became a caste in which children born to slave mothers were slaves themselves and thus property.  At the beginning of the 19^th century, governments moved to ban the trade but smuggling still occurred. In the 21^st century, some governments issued official apologies.

According to historians, slavery was practiced for centuries in parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, long before the Atlantic slave trade. African states exported slaves to other African countries. The African slave trade was a source of slaves to Europeans and many Muslim countries. From the 9^th to the 19^th centuries, slave trades from across the Sahara, through the Red Sea, from the Indian Ocean benefitted Muslim countries.

The volume in the Atlantic slave trade was larger than the African slave trade. The victims of the Atlantic slave trade came primarily from several areas: Senegal and Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

Slavery is wrong no matter who practiced it, how, for what reason, and during what time. But to create racial strife in 2017 by claiming a bogus “white privilege” in the United States, one of the most tolerant nations on the planet, is wrong and divisive, particularly in an environment that progressives have termed themselves as “colorblind.”

We have many black people in positions of power in the United States, in business, education, in Hollywood, in sports; the federal government is dominated by black employees, and we’ve already elected the first black president who is now very busy overseas, bashing America and the current president.

 

 

 

Confessions of Being a Young Conservative among a Sea of Liberals by Mimi Johnson

As I sit here attempting to write about my experiences as a young conservative, I reflect back on the choices and situations that led me to this exact moment.  I look at the world and issues today, the constant onslaught of “he said/she said” everywhere,  the constant blame games and lack of responsibility to oneself, commitment to striving for personal excellence, love for one’s country, respect for others and their opinions, and most importantly self-reliance. 

The Liberal/Conservative debate is nothing new throughout political history, but I find myself wondering why can it be seen in every facet of life beyond politics?  What has driven the young generation to such hatred and animosity? 

Facebook used to be a social medium for college students to connect on a friendship level, to incite silly games and to get a break from the monotony of studying and being stressed out.  When did it become a political forum for everyone in America?  The bigger question is where was this fervor and voice when it actually counted to stand up for what you claimed you believe in so vehemently?  Where were they when it came time to vote on issues that were destroying our country? 

Growing up in Mississippi, where Conservatives are plentiful, was very interesting to say the least.  I was raised more on European ideals rather than Southern ideals.  I was exposed to things many children either were not interested in or parents had no interest in learning themselves.  To say the least, I was well versed in the world and the way it operated. 

I remember my mother telling me stories of how Communists oppressed and tortured citizens in her county, how the government kept everyone in a constant state of poverty to promote the wealth of the elite, orphanages full of sick children, horrible socialized medicine; the list could go on.  At the time, being a teenager, I never fully understood the ramifications of these stories and rarely took them seriously - I thought them to be just rants of an adult.  Since I was raised in a predominantly conservative area, I never once had to deal with any of those issues or ever remotely thought this would happen in our prosperous country. If I only knew then what I have witnessed and know now! 

In college and Graduate School, I majored in the most Liberal subjects:  Music and Education.  I’m absolutely in love with music and couldn’t imagine a world in existence without it.  It is difficult to juxtapose having conservative values and also being a musician - usually these two do not go hand in hand. 

The educational system cultures you that conservatives are bad and want to take away funding from our programs and freedoms.  It’s just hogwash and the furthest thing from the truth, yet so many buy into this dogma. 

For over a decade, I kept my mouth shut, never uttering my opinions on political matters, because I was afraid of being ostracized amongst my friends.  When I was in graduate school at Northwestern, I definitely would avoid political conversations as I was not in the right company.  I wish now that I had spoken up and voiced my opinions.  Fear drove me to silence. That is what political correctness does.  I wish I had known that I could support my friends and still be Conservative.  I felt bullied and forced to be silent. 

It’s no secret that the Republican Party lacks support in the 18-40 year old demographic.  I constantly ask myself why this is the case? Most of the liberal youth are in college and can rationally see what is happening in the world today.  Why aren’t there more conservatives in this age bracket?  Where are we as conservatives going wrong in adequately gaining this support?  How can we shake the stigma of being a “stuffy Bible beating party full of white men?”  How do we educate a population to stop giving handouts of other people’s hard-earned money and seeing the fallacy in doing so?  How do we stop seeing Republicans and Conservatives as greedy mongers with no one’s interest at heart but the so-called 1 %?

People constantly ask me, “how can you be conservative and be a woman?” or even better, “how can you be conservative and still have gay friends? First off I answer them by saying that Abortion is not a choice, regardless of whether you believe life happens at conception or not.  You advocate not killing animals, yet wouldn’t bat an eyelash at aborting a human even after it is viable outside the womb.  No rights are being infringed upon except those of the unwanted fetus.  Where is the fairness in this?  Who protects their interest? This explanation normally will get someone’s attention. 

Defining what a “right” is in this country is also important and I think we as conservatives fail to convey this definition appropriately.  Ultimately people don’t understand the true definition of being Conservative.  The media does an awful yet successful job at pitting people against one another and of course we, as citizens buy into it. 

We love drama and the media gives it to us just like a Tele-novella! They’ve definitely done a tremendous job at demonizing anyone that stands for what this county was founded on and reads the Constitution as if it wasn’t intended to be taken ad litteram. 

Liberals are right in one regard, the Bible is definitely NOT the Constitution.  There aren’t any differing denominations of the Constitutional interpretations like there are interpretations of the Bible. The Constitution is a binding document that is meant as is, no reading between the lines and making things up as we go to fit someone’s agenda.  People will constantly change, and so will society, but we must abide by a set of rules. 

We can’t continually keep changing them to appease everyone.  When amendments were made, they were because those cases were ACTUALLY devaluing human life.  Abortion devalues human life yet many take no issue with it.  It seems hypocritical to me.  No one views women as being inferior anymore, but it’s still difficult to assert ourselves in certain situations. I see it as more of a challenge and not a hindrance.

Many of the so called “injustices” are manufactured by the media and by the most important element: the bottom line.  Conservatives aren’t attempting to control anyone or stifle anyone’s freedoms; they simply want “Liberty and Justice for all.”  In actuality, they’re attempting to PROTECT ALL FREEDOMS from Tyrannical leaders who want to weasel their way in, (or in our case, already have) promising free healthcare, free money, and a perennial nanny state. 

I am sure your parents taught you the adage that if something is too good to be true, it usually is. We are so skeptical of anyone/everything else in our lives except when it comes to the most important institution governing our lives.  Why is this so?  Why would you, as a proud American, accept handouts over an education and a good paying job?  Our system is flawed to a degree that I’m afraid is beyond fixing. 

It is our job as responsible Americans to educate and influence the younger generations as much as possible before things progress to such a point of uncertainty and no return, that we’ve completely lost our way.  I truly believe that all will come to fruition soon enough, unfortunately it will be too late for most, but hopefully when the upheaval does occur, it will put society on the right path for the sanctity of our glorious country! 

               

                 

 

Do People Still Read Books?

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2014

I always thought reading was a dying pastime. I saw it in my former students and the scant reading they objected to, always looking for a synthesized version written by someone who actually read the book, usually Cliff Notes.

It is not just that publishers are mostly progressive; the books printed are usually aimed at the liberal crowd who enjoys perusing for hours books they refuse to buy.  It is much cheaper to drink an expensive cup of coffee and to occupy every available chair in the bookstore for hours while reading a favorite book or magazine for free or taking advantage of the unrestricted Wi-Fi.

Then there are electronic readers who make many books obsolete unless you are a dinosaur like me who loves to touch the photographs, the hard cover, turn the pages, smell the inimitable fragrance of a newly printed book, and highlight or underline memorable passages.

The few publishers who print conservative books choose their authors carefully from the ranks of famous people with name recognition, household names who hold influential positions in society or political office, people who are likely to make them money but do not necessarily make for an interesting read, are worthy of emulating, or have little else to add to the story of their time in office.

An ordinary American with an interesting and heroic story to tell manages to have a book published once in a while, either written alone or by a ghost writer. The book stores give them low billing on the bottom shelves, sometimes hidden from view on an obscure rack nobody is likely to check out.

The occasional science or history nerd, the serious reader, the child prodigy, the book worm, the liberal looking for that out of the galaxy self-help cool book, the computer geek, and children who play with toys and destroy books because their parents are too busy to supervise them can be found on any given day in our local bookstore.

The shelves are stacked with classics, history books, political and military books, travel books, children’s books, brain games, crossword puzzles, math puzzles, cards, knick-knacks, and many self-help books because liberals are always on a quest to find themselves and look up to some new guru who will tell them exactly how they feel and why they are still stuck in their parents’ basement, without a six figure job, and with a worthless degree in women’s studies, social justice, global warming, and basket weaving.

A random “man on the street” survey reveals that men like to spend money on electronic books while others prefer the audio CDs while driving.

Some find the silence disturbing, it is nicer to watch a movie and talk to someone else than read. Another guy refuses to read because cutting down entire forests to print books for libraries is outrageous – “Why cut down the forest and put it into a building?”

“I don’t have time for my own opinions, why would I have time or be interested in someone else’s point of view?” Life is too short, we must live in the moment, he added.

“I don’t read because I’m waiting for the movie to come out, it is much easier. Besides, I can’t read and eat popcorn at the same time and cannot replay a scene while holding my girlfriend in my arms.”

“We now have color television, computer games, Internet, megapixels, videos, and you want me to regress to the past and read something in black and white that I cannot replay or enlarge? It’s a waste of my time,” said another.

“I don’t have time to read. I can learn the same thing from songs and I can dance to it. Can you dance to books?” If I want to learn something, I can ask my friends. Or I can wait for the movie.

“Books limit my imagination. It is better to see a movie, see images, and it only takes two hours. A book takes a few months to a year to read. How can I imagine the words I read if I don’t know what they mean?” https://www.facebook.com/DoZaDeRas.X

While this “man on the street” survey was meant to entertain and perhaps contrived, I wonder what people on our streets would say when asked why they no longer read books?

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2014

 

 

Liberals and Progressives, Telling Other People How to Live Their Lives

Liberals and progressives (LPs) like to control and micromanage other people’s lives. They consider themselves the ultimate arbiter of every facet of our existence. You could say they are the proverbial busy-bodies. You can ignore the busy-body down the block. But, if you ignore liberals and progressives who have the power of the HOA, of violent protests, of boycotts, of the law, of the purse, and of the police behind them, you do so at your own peril.

LPs may be a minority of the population but they have their tentacles deeply embedded into the majority and into our national psyche, driving the message and the conversation and squashing dissent with labels of bigotry, racism, xenophobia, and islamophobia.

Americans are trained to comply peacefully, follow and respect law and order, no matter how badly conceived a law may be. After all, 435 chosen ones have voted and decided and 316 million subjects must obey.

The LP unholy alliance takes over our children at an early age in pre-school, telling them how to think, what to think, what to believe in, whom to recognize as ultimate authority, feeding them a manufactured history that would shame them into hating who they are instead of being proud of their heritage.

The LP alliance teaches our children intolerance of divergent opinions, racism, inappropriate sexuality, worship of primitive cultures, and staunch divisiveness in the stated propagandizing pursuit of equality, social justice, and fundamental transformation into an environmental utopia ruled by Mother Earth.

The LPs manipulate the main stream media and force upon the majority the perverted messages from the drug culture of Hollywood, the narcissistic lot who think of themselves as heroes and instant experts because they can act on stage or memorize lines on celluloid.   

The LPs dilute our Christian faith, the importance of family, tamper with our definition of marriage, and are responsible for the death of millions of innocent unborn children who want to live but are slaughtered through legal abortion.

The LPs control our medical care, our doctors, our hospitals, whether we are treated or not.  If we are good little Americans, pliant to their wishes, and cough up as much of our wealth as possible, they may let us be.

The LPs tell us what size houses we can build, where we can build them, how many stories tall they must be, and how densely populated the area.

LPs dictate what cars we can drive, how fast we can drive, and what kind of fuel we can use. LPs have already made plans to replace as many drivers with riders on light rail and on buses, preferably walkers and bikers. Corridors are being built and allotted to bus use only. Connecticut is a case in point.

LPs control what lands we can own, which ones we must give up to the federal government for re-wilding, where we can go camping, fishing, boating, and for recreation. There are specific areas for such activities, with very strict rules and regulations.

LPs instruct us where we can farm, what to farm, what we can feed our cattle, where we can graze our cattle, and how we can mitigate the impact the cow flatulence has on the levels of methane gas in the atmosphere.

The LPs know better what kind of energy we should use, no matter what the cost to us, which land must be used for solar power generation and wind power generation, no matter how many bird species are fried or killed, or no matter how many cattle ranchers or humans are displaced and hurt in the process.

LPs calculate how much water farmers are allowed to get from aquifers, rivers, and lakes. Wildlife always has priority over human life. A delta smelt, a desert tortoise, or a snowy owl have preference over the lives of millions of humans.

LPs decide through taxation how much money we should keep from accumulated wealth or earned income. It is unfair to the unsuccessful and the welfare-minded to have less money and wealth than the hard-working and the successful do. Social justice must prevent that from ever happening. Why should a doctor make more money than a grocery store clerk? Could it be that doctors study for 12 years to train in their profession?

LPs like to tell us what to eat, how much to eat, how much sugar, salt, and protein from meat. After all, a meat diet is bad for our health and cow flatulence contributes to global warming. Vegans live better and healthier lives, we are told by various “studies.” We are also informed that we grow more than enough vegetables on this planet to feed 7 billion humans. Do we?

LP billionaires now control the education of our children through Common Core, a bewildering way of thinking that will turn us back a few decades until the rest of the third world can catch up with us and we become good little equal global citizens, living in equal dumbed-down miserable existence.

LPs control politics, politicians, judges, the Supremes, and everyone else in between who like to have a life-long cushy job with no accountability to those little information voters who elected them time and time again.

Pretty drama queens from unknown districts relish in abusive power to make disastrous policies for 316 million Americans. Minions pay homage to the beauty that got them through school and through an election to such a powerful position in the world. They can’t help but wonder - how stupid are these people who put me here? Could they not see right through my ignorant background? Did they not know that I was a C and D student and have not learned much in school? But I’m on top of the world now and I can do whatever I want, nobody can stop me because I am an unstoppable politician for life.

The LPs arbitrate our water supply, pick our energy policy, control our food prices, make decisions about our roads, and select our agricultural production through subsidies. They are the feudal lords who told their subjects they could not hunt the animals in the forest because they belonged to the lord of the manor.

The LPs control our immigration policy, who comes into our country illegally, how many benefits they get immediately upon setting foot on American soil, free medical care, free college tuition, and other rewards not available to American citizens.

LPs determine amnesty and the ultimate fate, survival or demise, of our culture. They will be responsible for our country’s morphing into a regional fiefdom of the global elites.

 

 

Elitism and Arrogance

A few years ago, I was taking a small group of students on a ten day trip to Italy.  Fascinated by its rich history and archeological sites, the most inquisitive of my talented students were ready to try their language skills. Since our group was small, the tour organizer decided to merge us with another group in order to fill a large bus. It was simple economics; the cost would have been lower for everyone.

To my amazement and unpleasant surprise, the planned merger with a group from Boston was rejected by the school director who specifically asked in a lengthy letter that his students not be forced to ride across northern Italy with Mississippi students. The Bostonians were “elite students accompanied by highly trained and educated faculty and did not want their enlightening experience to be spoiled by country folk who were barely literate and did not wear shoes.” I was surprised that the tour operator actually shared the letter from the Boston school. Perhaps she was incensed by the tone as well. They were requesting a different bus, despite the additional $15,000 cost. In the end, we were paired with a nice group from Florida.

I was familiar with the arrogance of people from other parts of the country who felt superior and disdained Mississippians. I had encountered the self-importance numerous times at various conferences. As soon as pompous colleagues found out that we represented a Mississippi university, they automatically deducted IQ points from our intelligence and tried to avoid us at all costs. Rude remarks were made such as, “Oh, you’ve come a long way,” meant figuratively, to which I would respond, “Yes, we’ve flown a great distance to be here.”

Recently, a Virginia state Senator, to whom I offered help with education issues, said to me, “None of these people are going to take you seriously with 30 years of teaching experience in Mississippi!”

I’ve lived so long in the south, I consider myself a proud Mississippian, and it is my adopted state. Many outstanding scientists, innovators, artists, actors, musicians, writers, and famous TV personalities hailed from Mississippi. There is something about the soil, the simpler life, the down to earth goodness that breeds talent, kindness, generosity, and ingenuity. Southerners are hardy people who seldom complain – they roll up their sleeves when asked to rise to any occasion. They actually love their neighbors and help each other in times of dire need. Nobody feels so superior that they cannot share a ride with someone else.

The two groups stayed in the same hotels and followed the same tour with the same Italian guide. At some point, I knew that I would have the chance to speak to the director from Boston. I got my opportunity in Venice when we were boarding the water taxis for Piazza di San Marco.

I had explored the credentials of the school, the director, and the faculty member accompanying them and I was not particularly impressed. Our entire faculty in Mississippi held Ph.D. degrees in their respective fields. Our students, with ACT scores of 32-36 and a couple of perfect SAT scores, had consistently won national recognition in mathematics, science, and language competitions. But they were modest, happy, and salt of the earth children who adapted well in any situation.

The director introduced himself. We shook hands and I described our school. Before we parted, I informed him that we were better trained, educated, and did not mind riding with them on the bus, that his ignorance, prejudice, and superiority airs made him look foolish, petty, and wasteful. I don’t think I changed his opinion; he was the typical product of an expensive liberal elite education that makes them feel superior to the rest of the world.

I was so proud of my Mississippi students! They asked intelligent questions and gave good answers during the tour. The Bostonians avoided us like the plague and barely acknowledged our existence at breakfast time with a hello. It was painfully evident that northern elitism bred contempt for their fellow man although their rhetoric sounded so humanitarian and giving.

I’d like to tell those with prejudices about the south that we do wear nice shoes except on the beach or on a velvety field of grass, enjoying the sunshine. Although it was mid-March, I walked with my daughter and a few students to the beach in Lido and we took our shoes off – we wanted to feel the sand and the Adriatic Sea. It was still cold for sun-bathing but perfect for momentary feelings of joy to let the cold waves bathe our naked feet.