November 8, 2023
Last weekend I spoke in Ashland, Oregon at a wonderful event with several hundred Oregon Federation of Republican Women. During my presentation, one person asked a fantastic question, “Who are ‘they’?” To provide context, I was not addressing the confusion about modern pronoun usage.I had said, “They are unhinged!” Now this territory is part of my accustomed soapbox. I routinely write about so-called conspiracy theories and I often bash “them thar bad guys” referring to them as, “they and them.” At the time, I didn’t have a succinct answer and thought I could do better.Today, I will try to answer, “Who are ‘they’ and what is our disagreement?”In general, “they” are those opposed to Liberty. They are deep-state malcontents amassing power by stripping authority and wealth from the citizenry.
They are typically elites and the super wealthy using their enormous influence to steer public policy toward their own enrichment. They sway public leaders and legislators to do their bidding by using emotional stories.As I mentioned in my last newsletter, false assumptions, incorrect or mis-understood data and faulty reasoning will lead people down the wrong track. Concentrations of power, in public or private hands, based on faulty views or corrupt ideas have led to vast expansions in state power.
This usurpation of power eventually alienates segments of society and culture.This is why the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” was such a success. Oliver Anthony says what we know to be true. He identifies inflation, the lack of accountability, the imprudent uses of taxpayer dollars and needlessly high taxation. Things that the folks in DC (and Salem) can’t seem to understand.
Those desiring more state power and control, statists, do so because the state is the single entity authorized to use force and coercion to get what it wants. Our government ends up elevating those who have neither wisdom, character, nor the right to be our guardians. These bureaucrats become the watchers, directors, chairs, commanders, regulators, accusers, fact-checkers, estimators, evaluators, censors and preachers over everyone else.
This constant and unrelenting pressure from a nameless bureaucracy creates dissent, tension and distrust, leading to an unstable environment. Governments exert their power to foster grievances, whether real or imagined, further fraying the fabric of society.This instability can fester in race relations, educational disparities or shortages, and is easily seen in the economy. In Oregon, we can see market damage happening daily. We see it in prices and availability for housing, food, fuel, police protection, healthcare, and education.
Most families, citizens and even foreign-born aliens, view themselves as incapable of solving these problems because they have been usurped by the state and are, therefore, beyond the reach of local and community control.The enormity of the global COVID-19 fraud is a prime example.It started with fear-mongering based upon entirely unrealistic estimates of worldwide death.
There was gross data manipulation and re-writing of the rules. The instructions for your County Coroner’s completion of Death Certificates were altered only for COVID-19; formerly acceptable medical protocols were denied; proven pandemic policies were jettisoned.
The massive Leftwing media machine raced to show inflated death statistics changing by the hour. The CDC, NIH, CIA, FBI, and DOJ issued directives to promote centralized, universal healthcare models regardless of health, age, susceptibility or co-morbidities.Small businesses were needlessly closed while those with influence, the big-box stores and online giants, were happily picking up the customers and, thereby, sweeping small-main-street businesses off the map.