The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Political Spectrum

Political Spectrum is a term utilized to describe the ideological differences between; Leftists, Progressives, Liberals, Moderates/Centrists, Conservatives, Libertarians, and Far Right. The ideas and ideologies of each part of The Political Spectrum are different but sometimes overlapping. A believer of one part of The Political Spectrum may have individual ideas of another part of The Political Spectrum that displaces them from the mainstream of categorical thinking of the part of the spectrum they are normally associated with.

Howsoever a person’s particular ideas may fall into one or more categories of The Political Spectrum, we can generalize about the spectrum by utilizing a broad brush. This generalization is their view of the significance of the individual versus society and the role and intercession of government in society. The further left on The Political Spectrum that you are, the more likely you believe in group identity and governmental intervention in the affairs of society. Conversely, the further on the right of The Political Spectrum, it is more likely that you believe in individual autonomy and less government intervention in the affairs of society. This distinction influences your attitude towards the meaning and interpretations of the role of government, as I have discussed in my Articles:

• "A Just Government and a Just Society"
• "A Republican Constitution or a Democratic Constitution"
• "Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All"
• "Justice and The Rule of Law in America"
• "Judges, Not Lords"
• "To Be Rulers or to Be Leaders"

Because of these ideological differences, each of the persons in a category often talks past persons in another category, as each category has different meanings or interpretations of what the other is saying or doing. It is also true that often ideas are pigeonholed into a category of The Political Spectrum. This pigeonholing is often inaccurate and often done for the purposes of besmirching an opponent. It is, therefore, important to remember that The Political Spectrum is about ideology, not ideas. Ideas should be evaluated based on the content of the idea, not where they may be placed on The Political Spectrum.

Activism and Activists

Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range from writing letters to newspapers, mandated zoning in a community, petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, adding or changing laws and regulations, preferential patronage or boycott of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes.

Most Activist Groups are non-violent and well-meaning, but as with all such groups, their solutions can be suspect or faulty. Activists often have a Cognitive Bias in favor of their objective, and they can also have major Logical Fallacies within their arguments, which makes their solutions suspect. Their solutions are also prone to the negative effects of "The Law of Unintended Consequences". Some activists become so convinced of the uprightness of their cause that they engage in confrontations, intimidations, incitements, assaults, violence, or property destruction in support of their cause, which is contrary to the norms of "A Civil Society". When I utilize the term Activists or Activism in my Articles or Chirps, I am generally referring to demonstrative forms of activists or activism and their uncivil behavior.

Adjective Justice

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”
 - Leviticus 19:15 ESV

Equality under the Law has been recognized since Biblical time as necessary to achieve Justice. And without justice, there can be no Freedom or Liberty. All must be treated as equals under the law. This means that within the jurisdiction of the law, all must be treated equally. It does not mean that each jurisdiction must apply the same laws as another jurisdiction (i.e., a traffic violation within a jurisdiction must be applied equally within the jurisdiction, but another jurisdiction traffic law cannot be applied to any other jurisdiction).

When you place an adjective in front of the word “Justice” you no longer have true Justice- you have favoritism (i.e., “Adjective Justice”). Adjectives such as social justice, environmental justice, workers justice, gender justice, tax-payer Justice, and voter justice, to name a few, require one party to be favored over another. Favoritism destroys the concept of “Equal Justice Under Law” and erodes Liberty and Freedom to the point where it is a meaningless concept. Within the judicial process, all must be treated as equals.

Administrative state

The Administrative state is a term used to describe the power that some government agencies have to write, judge, and enforce their own laws and regulations. Since it pertains to the structure and function of government, it is a frequent topic in political science, constitutional law, and public administration. The phenomenon was relatively unknown in representative democracies until the beginning of the 20th century. Its sudden rise has corresponded to the rise of Progressivism, and many claim that the two are interrelated. The impact of the Administrative state on Liberties and Freedoms and representative democracy is much debated.

In America, the administrative state is mostly found in the independent agencies of the federal government (although some states have independent agencies). The Constitution neither makes nor infers anything that resembles an Administrative state, and thus, many believe that Independent agencies are Unconstitutional.

Big Bad Science

Big science is a term used by scientists and historians of science to describe a series of changes in science which occurred in industrial nations during and after World War II, as scientific progress increasingly came to rely on large-scale projects usually funded by national governments or groups of governments. Individual or small group efforts, or Small science, are still relevant today as theoretical results by individual authors may have a significant impact, but very often the empirical verification requires experiments using constructions that cost hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.

Big Bad Science is a term that refers to the scientific Institutions, Universities, and Colleges that depend on government funding or grants to survive or thrive and are often willing to shape and direct their research to government priorities and/or predilections and to avoid scientific research that would go against governmental predilections. These scientific establishments often direct their science to consensus science rather than expanding the boundaries of science beyond the scientific consensus. In some cases, they shape the scientific results to fit governmental predilections. These scientific institutions also practice a form of cancel culture for those scientists who would dispute governmental predilections. As such, they are not practicing science but scientific deception.

Big Tech

Big Tech is a term that refers to the most dominant and largest technology companies in their respective sectors. Big Tech, also known as the Tech Giants, Big Four, or Big Five, is a name given to the present four or five largest, most dominant, and most prestigious companies in the information technology industry of the United States. The Big Four consists of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Meta (Facebook)—with Microsoft completing the Big Five.

Their products and services are used globally and have become heavily relied upon by businesses and individuals alike, bringing up privacy, safety, and Antitrust concerns about their influence and operations. There is also a great concern about their influence on society when they engage in determining who and who will not be permitted to utilize their services. Under the banner of ‘community standards’, ‘disinformation and misinformation, and the ‘hate speech’ algorithms that they utilize to restrict access to their services, they engage in censorship of free speech, often to the detriment of society.

Bureaucratic Swamp

The Bureaucratic Swamp are those non-appointed government officials and employees that think they are independent actors and believe that they can institute and control government rules and regulations impervious to appointed officials’ proper and legal directions. They are often uncooperative and sometimes secretively work in opposition to the appointed official’s directions that they disagree with. These people often hold power for many decades and feel that they are immune from disciplinary action by their Civil Service protections. They most often hold a Progressive political viewpoint and often discriminate in favor of selective groups of persons to the disfavor of other groups of persons. They also often exhibit an attitude that they are the masters of the people and not their servants.

Cancel Culture

Cancel Culture are those reprehensible actions taken by some people, persons, or entities to hurt a person, harm their families, and ruin the finances of those that they disagree with. Practiced almost exclusively by Progressives/Leftist against those that would disagree or oppose them, these actions vary between impugning the honor and reputation of someone, the effectuation of loathing of a person, the actuating of fear of harm amongst those so targeted, and in some cases the actual physical harm or the destruction of property of their target(s). Cancel Culture also had the effect of intimidating Americans into not exercising their Free Speech rights for fear of being targeted by the Cancel Culture. These are detestable actions done by despicable persons. You have every Free Speech right to admonish a person, but you have no right to destroy a person. These actions are also contrary to our “Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Justice for All”, and demonstrate the vacuity of the morals and ethics of those that practice Cancel Culture.

Capitalism and Free Markets

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, the setting of prices by the free market, and the accumulation of capital and wealth in the hands of private individuals or voluntary associations of individuals. A Free Market is an economic system where prices, wages, and trade are unregulated and determined by competition between businesses in the marketplace.

Capitalism and the Free Market have been integral to Western culture for the last several hundred years and are responsible for the explosive economic growth in Western societies. While Capitalism and the Free Market have led to disparities in income and wages between the economic classes of society, it has also been responsible for the improvement of all classes of society in the delivery of goods and services at a reasonable price that most members of society can afford. It has thus significantly improved the lives of all persons living in a Capitalist and Free market economy.

Chattering Class

Chattering Class is the term I utilize to describe the members of society consisting of well-educated, articulate, and most Progressives/Leftists people who publicly discuss social, cultural, and political issues without utilizing proper Reasoning and Rationality, and of their not utilizing A Philosophical Approach in their blather. Often, their blatherings are emotionally based rather than intellectually based. Thus, this is a derogatory but necessary term to remind all that their blathering should not be taken seriously.

Civil Deconstruction

Civil Deconstruction is the process of tearing down the values and mores of a society without specifying what values and mores would replace them. The hope is that when society is deconstructed, it will be replaced by new and better reconstructions. As there is no firm plan for the reconstruction before the deconstruction occurs, it is not possible to determine if the reconstruction will result in a better society.

There is also no consideration of "The Law of Unintended Consequences" in this reconstruction, and very little thought is given to the economic consequences of the deconstruction or reconstruction. Also, this deconstruction and reconstruction is often based on false premises of human nature (Unconstrained as opposed to Constrained), and, as such, this deconstruction and reconstruction is based on a utopian hope.

Conservatives

Conservatism is an aesthetic, cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and preserve traditional social institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the status quo of the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as organized religion, constitutional government, and property rights, as well as Capitalism and Free Markets. Conservatives tend to favor institutions and practices that guarantee stability and that evolve gradually to meet the needs of society.

Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy Theory and Conspiracy Theorists in modern American parlance is a term used to describe a person or group that dissents or questions the motives or actions of the Progressive political narrative, Mainstream Media accounts, or government assertions. It is often a term utilized to relegate the free speech of a person or group to a black hole where it will not be examined and to marginalize them and then ostracize them from society. This marginalization and ostracization is often the first step of despots and dictators in controlling their populace and punishing their opponents.

Constitutional Conservatives

Constitutional Conservatism is a form of conservatism bound within limits provided within the United States Constitution, defending the structures of constitutionalism and preserving the principles of the United States Constitution. Chief among those Constitutional principles are Limited and Enumerated government established for the protection of our Natural Rights. This form of conservatism coalesced in the Republican Party in the early 20th century in opposition to progressivism within the Democrat party. Constitutional conservatism has also been associated with Originalism. In the context of United States law, judicial originalism is a concept regarding the interpretation of the Constitution that asserts that all statements in the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding “at the time it was adopted”. This concept views the Constitution as stable from the time of enactment and that the meaning of its contents can be changed only by the steps set out in Article Five of the Constitution.

Critical Race Theory (CRT)

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is an academic field devoted to analyzing how social and political laws and media shape (and are shaped by) social conceptions of race and ethnicity. CRT also considers racism to be systemic in various laws and rules and not only based on individuals' prejudices. CRT often ignores or discounts the other factors that may result in perceived racism or disparate outcomes. CRT also makes no allowances for individualism in its activism. The believers of CRT have thus, themselves, become racists, as they only see people based on race or ethnicity. CRT also pits groups of Americans against each other, based solely on their race or ethnicity. Critical Race Theory teaches that white people, white society, and white culture are inherently and irredeemably racist. Thus, Critical race theory rejects the core teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that people should be judged on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. 

Democrat and Republican Voters

Many people vote for their party regardless of the candidates’ policies and positions or what the party stands for. Often, as a result, they vote for policies and positions that are not in their best interests nor the best interests of America. When a person votes this way, they are behaving as a lemming does when it marches over a cliff as part of the crowd.

It is an unfortunate fact that the Democrat Party has more lemmings than the Republican Party. The Democrat Party also has a different sort of lemming – an unthoughtful lemming. The Republican Party has more of a thoughtful type of lemming. The difference between these two types of lemmings is that the unthoughtful lemming votes without concern to the candidates or parties’ policy and positions in both the primary and general election, while the thoughtful lemming votes in the primary for a candidate that they agree with their policies and position but then votes for the party candidate in the general election.

The unthoughtful lemmings are often driven by an unreasonable fear of the opposition by the negative sloganeering and excessive rhetoric of fear of the opposition promulgated by Democrat Party Leaders. The thoughtful lemming is often driven by the concern that the opposition policies and positions are wrong for America and do not represent our American Ideals and Ideas, and they rarely pay attention to the rhetoric of the Republican Party Leaders.

Democrat Party Leaders

Democrat Party Leaders are those elected Democrats at all levels of government that establish the political goals and policy agendas of the Democrat Party. These goals and agendas are often formulated and instituted in a top-down hierarchical manner, with little input from the base of the Democrat Party. Once formulated, very little dissent or deviation is tolerated concerning these goals and agendas. It is expected that the non-leaders of the Democrat Party will support and vote en bloc for legislation that implements these goals and agendas. It is also expected that the Democrat Party base will support this legislation and vote for Democrat Party candidates regardless of their personal viewpoints on the legislation. This bespeaks of a party leadership that is more interested in being rulers rather than leaders, as I have discussed in my Article, "To Be Rulers or to Be Leaders".

Diversity is Our Strength

Diversity can be utilized to strengthen a society, but diversity can also weaken a society. It all depends on how you utilize diversity. The use of diversity to incorporate improvements into our society can strengthen our society, but to utilize diversity to divide society into groups will weaken our society. To utilize diversity to exclude or favor one group or another is even more pernicious to our society. Equality of Opportunity has always been the strength of America, coupled with Equality Under the Law. Without Equality of Opportunity and Equality Under the Law, America has no special strength to differentiate itself from other countries, and it shall falter and collapse. We should all remember that the Soviet Union was the most diverse society in the 20th century, and as it had no Equality of Opportunity nor Equality Under the Law, it collapsed.

It is the Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders in our society that most often claim that “Diversity is our strength”, but we should remember the perception of Thomas Sowell, who once said, “The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.” It is also these same Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders who utilize diversity to divide America for election purposes and to exclude or favor one group over another in America.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Governments and  Modern Big Business have begun to create Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments within their agencies or companies. A common description of DEI is that Diversity is the characteristics and experiences, both seen and unseen, that make everyone unique. Equity is ensuring fair access to opportunities and resources, while taking into consideration individual’s barriers or privileges and eliminating systemic barriers and privileges. While Inclusion is the actions taken to understand, embrace, and leverage the unique identities and perspectives of all individuals so that all feel welcomed, valued, and supported.

While the ideals of DEI are lofty, they are often very difficult to quantify in legal terms. And while the objective of DEI is noble, the means to achieve them are often ignoble. DEI has often been implemented by the suppression of workplace speech within their agencies or companies and the limiting of employment and promotions to those persons who fit within their DEI criteria. These DEI policies and decisions are, therefore, an assault on the Free Speech Rights of their workforce and often result in reverse discrimination against those persons who do not fit within their DEI criteria. In this, they are in violation of our Natural and Constitutional Rights and Non-Discriminatory Civil Rights laws, rules, and regulations. As such, DEI has promoted more harm than good in American society and needs to be discontinued in all arenas in which it exists.

Doxing

Doxing (sometimes written as Doxxing) is the act of revealing identifying information about someone online, such as their real name, home address, workplace, phone, financial, and other personal information. That information is then circulated to the public — without the victim's permission.While the practice of revealing personal information without one’s consent predates the internet, the term doxing first emerged in the world of online hackers in the 1990s, where anonymity was considered sacred. Feuds between rival hackers would sometimes lead to someone deciding to "drop docs" on somebody else, who had previously only been known as a username or alias. "Docs" became "dox" and eventually became a verb by itself.The definition of doxing has expanded beyond the hacker world community and now refers to personal information exposure.

Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG)

Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) has become the rage of Progressives/Leftists Governments and Activists and Activism. So, what Is ESG effectuation and investing? Environmental, social, and governance refer to a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by governments to implement national economic and social policies through company regulation and by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments for a company’s adherence to ESG goals. Environmental criteria consider how a company safeguards the environment, including corporate policies addressing climate change and other environmental goals. Social criteria examine how a company manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Governance deals with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights.

Throughout the world, the implementation of ESG has led to greater government control over businesses and the economies of their country. Consequently, ESG is not really about the environment, social, and governance goals; it is about power! The power to control persons and businesses by Government and Progressives/Leftists. The power to implement their agenda without the elective support of the people. The power to impinge upon the Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All, and the power to reorganize society on utopian ideals. As such, ESG should be opposed by all persons who wish to control their own destinies and live under Liberty and Freedom. Otherwise, we will become serfs to their lordship, and democracies will devolve into despotism.

Equality and Equity

In the context of social systems such as education, politics, and government, the terms equity and equality have similar but slightly different meanings. Equality refers to scenarios in which all segments of society have the same levels of opportunity and support. Equity is the concept in which all segments of society have the same, or nearly the same, outcomes of equality. Equity is most nefarious in that the ‘equality of outcome’ takes precedent over ‘equality of opportunity’. Therefore, with equity you have discrimination for persons or groups rather than against persons or groups.

Equity requires that some people or groups of people get preferential treatment over other persons or groups of people, which implies that the other person or groups obtain lesser treatment, which is the antithesis to Equality. Equity requires that one person or group of persons be equal in income, possessions, or benefits, which does not take into account a person’s intelligence, knowledge, experience, hard work, motivations, talents, skills, and abilities in the reward for their efforts. Equity also has the problem of when it should end. Oftentimes, the goals of equity are nebulous or changing, or utopian, which necessitates that the equity will become unending. This equity then becomes a permanent feature of our society that negates equality.

Forms of Governance

A short list of the different forms of governance that I utilize in my Chirps and Articles. For a more comprehensive list of the Forms of Government please refer to the Wikipedia article here.

• Absolutism - The principle of complete and unrestricted power in government.
• Aristocratic & Aristocracy - Government by an aristocratic class; a state with such a government.
• Authoritarian & Authoritarianism - A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution, laws or opposition, etc.).
• Autocracy & Autarchy - A political system governed by a group or a single individual.
• Democratic & Democracy - A political system ruled by the people through majority rule.
• Despotic & Despotism - Dominance through the threat of punishment and violence.
• Dictatorial & Dictatorialness - Expecting unquestioning obedience.
• Majoritarianism & Majoritarian - Governed by the majority; believing in majority rule.
• Meritocracy - The belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth.
• Minoritarianism & Minoritarian - A political structure or process in which a minority segment of a population has a certain degree of primacy in that entity's decision-making.
• Monarch & Monarchy - An autocracy governed by a monarch (usually a King or Emperor) who usually inherits the authority.
• Ochlocracy - A political system in which a mob is the source of control; government by the masses.
• Oligarchy & Oligarchic - A political system governed by a few people.
• Plutocracy - A political system governed by the wealthy people.
• Serfdom - The state of a serf in which a person is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord.
• Totalitarian & Totalitarianism - Of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life. The principle of complete and unrestricted power in government.
• Tyranny & Tyrannic & Tyrannical - Characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty.
• Republic & Republicanism - A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them.

Free Will

Free Will is the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies. Free Will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, and other judgments that apply only to actions that are freely chosen. It is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation, and prohibition. Traditionally, only actions that are freely willed are seen as deserving credit or blame. Whether free will exists, what it is, and the implications of whether it exists or not constitute some of the longest-running debates of philosophy. Some conceive of free will as the ability to act beyond the limits of external influences or wishes.

Human Nature and Free Will would seem to conflict with each other. However, I believe that human nature is an unconscious guide, while free will is a conscious choice, and free will can and will override human nature as the individual so chooses.

Greater Good versus the Common Good

The term The Common Good has been replaced by the term The Greater Good in the minds of many Americans, and many Americans believe these terms are in the Constitution. However, the Constitution only speaks of the “general Welfare” in the Preamble and in Article I, Section. 8 of the Constitution: “… and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States”, but the terms “Common Good” and the “Greater Good” do not appear in the Constitution. Consequently, as Article. I, Section. 8 enumerates the legislative powers of Congress; it thereby restricts the powers of the Federal government, as explained in my Article, “Limited and Enumerated Powers”.

While The Greater Good may seem innocuous and beneficial in theory, in practice, it can be very harmful. The logic of The Greater Good is that whatever does the most good for the most people is for The Greater Good. Using the logic of The Greater Good allows the government to implement any government policy or program that they determine is for the benefit of most Americans, even if it may be harmful to some Americans and, indeed, may violate the Natural and Constitutional rights of some Americans. The Common Good term restricts government actions to those that are enumerated and delineated in the Constitution that is beneficial for all the people while not favoring any groups of people, nor violate the Natural and Constitutional rights of any American. The Greater Good would also allow the government to intervene in any speech or actions by individuals, entities, or groups of people to restrict their words and deeds to what they determine is for The Greater Good, or at a minimum restrict those words and deeds they deem harmful to Americans.

Consequently, the term ‘The Greater Good’ allows for any actions by the government, while the term ‘The Common Good’ restricts government actions. Therefore, the term The Greater Good is utilized to circumvent or ignore the Constitutional restraints on government and is antithetic to “The Meaning to the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the US Constitution”. When the government pursues The Greater Good, it must by necessity become despotic to achieve The Greater Good.

Hate Speech

Hate Speech is a term utilized by Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders to suppress our First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Speech, the Free Exercise of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, and the Freedom of the Press against any person, group, or organization that oppose their political, social, and economic policies and political agendas.

They often used this term under the rhubarb of Hate Speech incites violence. Direct incitement to violence is not protected speech, but Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders are often speaking of indirect incitement to violence, which is very difficult to define and legally prosecute. As such, they are demagoguing rather than explaining.

Herd Mentality

Herd Mentality is the tendency of the people in a group to think and behave in ways that conform with others in the group rather than as individuals. Also known as mob mentality and pack mentality, and lesser-known as gang mentality, it describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors on a largely emotional rather than rational basis. When individuals are affected by mob or pack mentality, they often make different decisions than they would have made individually.

Herd Mentality is best driven by fear and often irrational fear. Herd Mentality allows for the lemmings to run off a cliff (which, by the way, is untrue of lemmings). The rhetoric and exertions of Political Correctness, Virtue Signaling, Cancel Culture, Wokeness, Identity Politics, Equity and Equality, are based on the anticipated reactions of the herd. And herd mentality is the modus operandi for "Progressives/Leftists" to stir up passions and achieve their goals. It is also the tactics of the Democrat Party to galvanize their voters and win elections.

Human Nature (Unconstrained or Constrained)

Human nature is the shared psychological attributes of humankind that are assumed to be shared by all human beings. Human Nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind or what it 'means' to be human. Human Nature has been molded by the physiological construction of the human brain and millions of years of human evolution.

Human Nature and Free Will would seem to conflict with each other. However, I believe that human nature is an unconscious guide, while free will is a conscious choice, and free will can and will override human nature as the individual so chooses.

Progressives/Leftists have an Unconstrained vision of human nature that believes that human nature is malleable and can be improved by governmental actions and societal pressures. Conservatives have a Constrained vision of human nature that believes that human nature is not malleable and that people will act in their own best interests and of their own Free Will, while Moderates have a vision of human nature that believes that human nature is somewhat malleable and can be improved by limited governmental actions and societal pressures.

Hyper-Partisanship

Hyper-Partisanship is that state of mind where everything you observe is viewed through the lens of the political positions of a group. Anything that is outside of these political positions is unacceptable to those within the group, and those outside the group are considered pariah that must be subjected to "The Three D's (Demonize, Denigrate, Disparage) of Modern Political Debate". No deviation from the Herd Mentality is allowed, and those that deviate or are outside of the group are subject to Cancel Culture.

Identity Politics

Identity Politics is a political activity in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group. Identity Politics often pit one group against another group, and they always result in inequalities in society because the advantages given to one group always redound to disadvantages of other groups.

Identity Politics is most often practiced by the Democrat Party, as it has morphed into a party based mostly on Identity Politics, while the Republican Party is based mostly on its principles. A generalization that is not always true in the specifics of an individual issue but is generally true for the whole. The claims by the Democrat Party that the Republican Party also engages in Identity Politics are mostly a projection of their own Identity Politics activities, as the Republican Party generally does not target racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity as the basis of its policies and positions.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a theory of discrimination and oppression that categorizes people by the combination of their gender, caste, sex, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, disability, weight, species, physical appearance, etc.… First coined by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw back in 1989 as the basis of Critical Race Theory (CRT), it has been widely utilized by Activists and Activism as justification for their social policies. It has also been used by Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders to further their tactics of Identity Politics for electoral advantage.

As Intersectionality is not based on any empirical data but only derived experientially, it is not considered a formal science as it is not subject to reproducibility, falsifiability, or predictability.

Judicial Activism

Judicial Activism, in the context of United States law, is a judicial philosophy that holds that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym for judicial restraint. It is often used as a pejorative term, implying that judges make rulings based on their own political agenda rather than precedent and take advantage of judicial discretion. The definition of what constitutes judicial activism and the specific decisions that are made by activists are controversial political issues. The question of judicial activism is closely related to judicial interpretation, statutory interpretation, and the separation of powers. It is also closely associated with Living Constitutionalism, and it is the antithesis of Constitutional Conservatives.

Lawfare

Lawfare is derived from combining the words "law" and "warfare", and it is the employment of legal approaches to delegitimize, damage, or destroy an individual or opposing party to hinder their ability to exercise their own legal rights. Lawfare can be employed by individuals and organizations to achieve an outcome favorable to their purpose or by the government to hamper their opposition. Lawfare is the primary means of the weaponization of government, as I have written in my collected Chirps on "The Weaponization of Government".

The purpose of governmental lawfare is not so much in the conviction of a criminal act in a court of law, and, indeed, many of the convictions are for Process Crimes rather than actual Criminal Acts. In many cases, lawfare is utilized to coerce a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser crime rather than face the time, legal expense, and possible greater sentence in the event of a conviction of the alleged larger crime. Lawfare is also utilized to threaten the spouse, children, and other family members of a defendant with possible lawfare actions if the accused does not plead guilty to some crimes.

Governmental Lawfare is also used to intimidate the opposition from engaging in their First and Second Amendment Rights for fear of governmental actions that would jeopardize their free agency and/or financial wherewithal. As such, governmental lawfare is an assault by the government on our First and Second Amendment rights.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and More (LGBTQIA+)

While each letter in LGBTQIA+ stands for a specific group of people, the term encompasses the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities. The term LGBTQIA+ community is also commonly used to refer to groups of LGBTQIA+ persons who support or participate in LGBTQIA+ activism or (in its most general sense) to all LGBTQIA+ persons, no matter their particular gender identity, culture, or geographic location. Since the early 21st century, LGBTQ communities have been understood to encompass a variety of sexual orientations and identities beyond those directly referred to in the acronym LGBTQIA+.

Libertarian

Libertarianism is a political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of personal liberty and political freedom, with strict limits on state activity. Libertarians take individual freedom as the paramount political value and understand coercion to be the antithesis of that freedom. While people can justifiably be forced to do certain things—most obviously, to refrain from infringing the liberty of others—they cannot be coerced to serve the good of other members of society, nor even their own personal good.

While I have many streaks of Libertarianism in my political philosophy, I cannot fully support a libertarian state for our society. A fully libertarian state would result in Anarchism, where a state is understood to be an agency with an exclusive right to lay down and enforce laws within a territory. It is thus not clear how Libertarianism could do this without either the consent of all people subject to it or by violating the rights of its citizens. Thus, it would be difficult for a Libertarian state to promote the common good (not the greater good), which is essential for the advancement of society.

Living Constitutionalism

The Living Constitution, or judicial pragmatism, is the viewpoint that the United States Constitution holds a dynamic meaning that evolves and adapts to new circumstances even if the document is not formally amended. The Constitution is said to develop alongside society's needs and provide a more malleable tool for governments. The idea is associated with views that contemporary society should be considered in the constitutional interpretation of phrases. Thus, the Constitution is referred to as the living law of the land as it is transformed according to necessities of the time and the situation

Mainstream Cultural Media (MCM)

Mainstream Cultural Media is those Academia, actors and actresses, celebrities, fine artists, musicians, poets and writers, producers, directors, and scriptwriters, sportsmen and sportswomen, etc. that are overwhelmingly of a liberal/progressive disposition, along with their mainstream media counterparts. I believe that it is time to provide a label for the personages who habituate in this Liberal/Progressive agenda.

Mainstream Information Conglomerate

The Mainstream Information Conglomerate is the Big Tech industry that supplies much of the information the American public consumes. The Mainstream Information Conglomerate actively supports candidates and political agendas of their predilections and suppresses information that is contrary to their predilections. The information that they supply is so skewered to their predilections that it is not a reliable source for the American people to make informed decisions. As such, they are attempting to mold the American public to their viewpoints and shape the future of America.

The impacts of The Mainstream Information Conglomerate is that it is possible for the government to engage in Unconstitutional actions that impact the "Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All" and the "Natural, Human, and Civil Rights" of any and all persons in America. As such, they are contrary to our "American Ideals and Ideas", and they should be actively opposed, for as President Lincoln had said:

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
  - Abraham Lincoln

Mainstream Media (MSM)

Mainstream Media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people, and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought. The term is used to contrast with alternative media which may contain content with more dissenting thought at variance with the prevailing views of mainstream sources.

Moderates or Centrists

Moderates or Centrists believe that it is possible to pick and choose or combine the policy positions of both Progressives and Conservatives to achieve a better society. They believe that limited governmental actions can improve society and that these governmental actions are desirable and will have limited impacts on the Natural Rights of a person or upon society. Moderates hope to achieve the best from both sides while eliminating the worst of both sides and quelling the political rhetoric by partially satisfying both sides.

Modern Big Business (MBB)

Modern Big Business has branched out to social activism, rather than constraining themselves to provide products and services in a timely manner which the common man can afford. In doing so, they are taking company monies from their shareholders' profits, or increased customers' prices, or both, to spend on their social activism.  For a company to spend monies on social activism, for which the other people may not agree, without the permission of the other people is immoral. In the advertising of their social activism, they are also skewering the political and social environment to fit their vision of good social policy, as they do not present a balanced viewpoint of this social activism. And most of this social activism by companies has a decidedly Progressive/Leftists orientation.

Modern Education

In the past, we could often differentiate between K-12 Education and Colleges and Universities in their aims and goals. Today, however, Modern Education seems to have one goal – the Indoctrination of their students in "Progressives/Leftists" ideas and ideology. No longer are educational goals of knowledge, truths, and rational thinking the aim of education, but they have been replaced with "Indoctrination versus Education". As a result, "Reasoning", proper "Dialog & Debate", and "A Civil Society" have been replaced by Progressives/Leftists tenets. Also, "Knowledge, Experience, and Wisdom" have been devalued if they run contrary to Progressives/Leftists dogma.

They are also immune to public criticism and critique, as well as disciplinary actions when they overstep their bounds (and indeed they believe that they have no bounds) by Public Teacher Unions and Tenure protections. As a result, we have raised several generations of youth that are misinformed, ill-informed, uninformed, and irrational.

Modern Feminism

Equal pay for equal work, the opportunity for advancement based on your skills and abilities, and personal choice in the balance of your personal and professional life are not feminist values; they are human values. And everybody should support them for all people regardless of gender, race, national origin, religion, age, marital status, or disability.

Unfortunately, Modern Feminism has taken a turn from these values in that they wish to create special privileges based on the female gender, and modern-day feminist has little interest in men or the needs of men. They seem to be only concerned with the professional, emotional, and physical needs of women and seem to be only interested in motherhood if it is single motherhood. Men play little part in their worldview, and the small part they play is considered unimportant. The Feminine Mystique is to be elevated, and the Male Psyche is to be devalued and, in many cases, belittled or mocked. This has resulted in many problems for our society, as I have examined in my Article on "Feminism and the Devaluation of the Male".

Natural Rights

As is typical for most people discussing Natural Rights (myself included), they conflate the ideas of natural law and natural rights into the term Natural Rights. Though these two ideas are closely related, they are not the same. Natural law is inherent and fundamental in a society of sentient beings that wish to survive and thrive in their interactions with each other. Natural rights are those rights derived from natural law which establish a zone of liberty and freedom for an individual that no other person, group of persons or government can violate. The issues and concerns of Philosophers, Theologians, Legal scholars, and others involved in this epistemology are to determine what are the natural laws, and what are the natural rights derived from these natural laws. A fine legal article (but easily readable and understandable by non-lawyers) is A Law Professor’s Guide to Natural Law and Natural Rights by Randy E. Barnett, which defines and explains the ideas of natural law and natural rights.

When I utilize the term ‘Natural Rights’ (with beginning capitalization), I am deliberately conflating the ideas of natural law and natural rights for convenience purposes.

Political Correctness (PC)

PC is a term that originally meant the avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against. However, PC has devolved into a term that is utilized to silence anyone who disagrees with the Liberal/Progressive agenda. PC now means that you cannot do or say anything that a Liberal/Progressives doesn't want to see or hear. It has become a term that excludes people rather than its original intent to include all people.

Presentism

The word “presentism” is the judging of people and events of another time by the standards of today. In literary and historical analysis, presentism is a term for the introduction of present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Some modern historians seek to avoid presentism in their work because they consider it a form of cultural bias and believe it creates a distorted understanding of their subject matter. Some consider the practice of presentism a common fallacy when writing about the past.

Progressives/Leftists

Progressives/Leftists is a form of activism in which the government is involved in the non-governmental affairs of the people to ensure social justice and for the protection of group interests, which they discern to be at a disadvantage or susceptible to adverse influences from outside sources. As such, they are more intrusive into the personal and commercial affairs of people, groups, organizations, and businesses that they deem helpful or hurtful to groups of people. Progressivism/Leftism has also been associated with Judicial Activism. It is also an unfortunate fact that modern Progressives have drifted closer to Leftism, which is the reason that I utilize the term 'Progressives/Leftists' rather then categorizing them separately.

Racist

Racist has a very specific derogatory meaning. However, Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders have convoluted the meaning of this word to apply it to any person, group, or organization that opposes their political, social, and economic policies and political agendas. They utilize the word Racist in an attempt to silence any opposition to their viewpoints, which is a violation of our First Amendment Rights. As such, they are demagoguing rather than explaining.

Republican Party Leaders

Republican Party Leaders are those elected Republicans at all levels of government that establish the political goals and policy agendas of the Republican Party. While the political goals and policy agendas of Republicans are often in-line with Constitutional principles and a Free Enterprise economic system, their effectiveness in achieving these goals is dubitable. They often seem to be more interested in bipartisanship and accommodation (comity) with Democrat Party Leaders and the protection of special interest persons or groups that support them, rather than the protection of all Americans Liberties and Freedoms. Their manners and politeness in the approach that they utilize to achieve their goals are often ill-suited to the barroom brawls of modern American politics. They are often disorganized and lack the messaging and voting disciple on their members for their political and policy agendas, unlike the Democrat Party Leaders exercise over their members. They often have the propensity of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, thus frittering away the opportunities to make America better.

Social Engineering

Social Engineering is a top-down effort to influence particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale—most often undertaken by governments, but also carried out by media, academia, or private groups—in order to produce desired characteristics in a target population. Social engineering can also be understood philosophically as a deterministic phenomenon where the intentions and goals of the architects of the new social construct are realized. Some social engineers use the scientific method to analyze and understand social systems in order to design the appropriate methods to achieve the desired results in human subjects.

Social Engineering requires social control to implement its desired results. And social control requires an authoritative government to impose its mandates. Social Engineering also utilizes the techniques of Political Correctness, Virtue Signaling, Cancel Culture, Wokeness, Identity Politics, Equity and Equality, and Greater Good versus the Common Good, and accomplish with the support of  Progressives/Leftists, Mainstream Cultural Media, Mainstream Media, Modern Big Business, and Social Media to achieve its goals. It is often driven by an unconstrained vision of America, as explained In the book A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles by Thomas Sowell. However, this unconstrained vision is not a vision, but a delusion, and as such, has no chance of success. And an authoritative government is antithetical to our Liberties and Freedoms and anathema to our American Ideals and Ideas.

Social Media

Social Media are those websites that allow their users to post comments and opinions. Sites such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Instagram (a division of Facebook), Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube (a division of Google) are the largest of these Social Media. They have become Big Tech that now edits or bans content with which they do not agree. This is accomplished by automated filtering, tagging, and removing content that they determine is “untruthful” or “disruptive”.  And, of course, they are the arbiter of untruths or disruptions based on their Progressive/Leftist ideology or biases, thus silencing the voices of those that would dare disagree with them.

Socialism

Socialism is an economic and political concept based on the idea that the welfare of a society as a whole is more important than the freedom of the individual members of society. As such, the government determines the allocation of resources, the means of production, and the distribution of wealth to the individuals in society.

Such government control often requires despotism to accomplish, as well as restrictions on the liberties and freedoms of the people in society. It also has a sad history of failing to meet the needs of its population and the eventual economic collapse of society. It is also antithetical to human nature in the striving to improve oneself for your own or your family’s benefit. Many of socialism's advocates claim that socialism has never been implemented in the right manner, to which I have responded that “It is not possible to do the wrong thing rightly, as no wrong thing can be done rightly.”

Systemic Discrimination and/or Disparities

Systemic—affecting an entire system—is common to all civilizations throughout history. It is how civilizations are constructed to provide order from chaos and to provide for the needs of the people of a civilization. Systemic is accompanied by a hierarchical structure in the government and society of a civilization. Systemic is not inherently good or bad, but it can be used to achieve good or bad results. Systemic, when utilized to oppress a people and/or to deprive them of their Natural Rights, is evil. One defining characteristic of oppression is the constriction of a person’s capability to rise or fall in the hierarchy based on their individual merits or to not reward an individual for their contribution to society. Such a constriction is usually enforced by a caste society and an aristocratic form of government. When such a constriction occurs, it can be said that there are Systemic Discriminations and/or Disparities within a society or government.

The Weaponization of Government

The Weaponization of Government is when the government uses its resources and judicial means to persecute and/or prosecute someone or some organization that voices disagreement with the government, as I have examined in my collected Chirps on "The Weaponization of Government". Such persecution and/or prosecution is contrary to the "Natural, Constitutional, and Civil Rights" of a person or organization and is an assault on our "Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All" and our "American Ideals and Ideas".

Virtue Signaling

Virtue Signaling is the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue. But good character and morality should not only be expressed by words but must be accompanied by deeds. And the deeds need to result in positive results for them to be virtuous. Therefore, we should never forget that actions speak louder than words, and good deeds are required to be virtuous. Good deeds are not the same as supporting legislation that feels good but insisting on legislation the does good. And no good can come about if it violates someone’s "Natural, Constitutional, and Civil Rights". Virtue Signaling comes part and parcel with Political Correctness, as only politically correct speech is allowed to be expressed in Virtue Signaling as Progressives/Leftists believe that you cannot be virtuous unless you are politically correct.

Verbal 'Virtue Signaling' has been fashionable and commonplace for Progressives/Leftists for decades to justify their policy positions. It is the de-facto standard in Mainstream Cultural Media and Mainstream Media. Unfortunately, the actions accompanied by the verbal Virtue Signaling have been less than virtuous, as many of these actions infringe on the Natural, Constitutional, and Civil Rights of individuals. Today, however, verbal Virtue Signaling is becoming commonplace in Modern Big Business and Social Media. Virtue Signaling that is verbal without many actions by Modern Big Business and the suppression of Free Speech in Social Media. We all should remember the importance of deeds rather than words, as I have Chirped on “04/01/19 Words and Deeds” and only reward virtue for the virtuous deeds and pay little heed to the virtuous words. We should also remember the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin – “Well done is better than well said.” It should also be remembered that Virtual Signaling is but words, for it is deeds that make you virtuous, as well as:

"It is much more difficult to be virtuous than it is to virtue signal."
 - Unknown

What a Load of Crap!

What a load of crap! is a phrase that I utilize to describe the blathering of people when their reasoning and rationality are seriously faulty, as I have examined in my articles on Reasoning and Rationality. I also utilize this phrase when people are not being philosophical in their blatherings, as I have explained in my article on A Philosophical Approach. This simple phrase encapsulates a central truth about their blather that I utilize when it is apparent that they are not interested in an intellectual discussion but are only interested in their blather being taken at face value.

White Privilege

White Privilege is the set of social and economic advantages that white people have by virtue of their race in a culture characterized by racial inequality.

While White Privilege has been a factor in the history of Western societies, there are other factors, such as money, power, and education, that have also been responsible for these inequalities. With the end of imperialism in Western societies and the rise of Civil Rights cognizance and enforcement in Western societies, White Privilege has receded to the point that it plays no significant role in today’s Western societies.

Consequently, White Privilege is a term utilized to disparage white people, and thus, it is a form of racism by those who utilize this term.

Wokeness

Wokeness is a political term that originated in the United States, and it refers to a perceived awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice. It derives from the African-American Vernacular English expression "stay woke", whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues. First used in the 1940s, the term has resurfaced in recent years as a concept that symbolizes perceived awareness of social issues and movements.

However, Wokeness only can occur if you adopt the Progressives/Leftist viewpoints and policies. Viewpoints and policies that are often diminutive of “Reasoning”, and disparaging of America history as I have written about in my Articles on “American History”. Wokeness also requires that you adopt “Political Correctness”, and if you do not do so, you can be subjected to “Cancel Culture”, as noted above. Unfortunately, many Progressives/Leftists and those in the Mainstream Media and Mainstream Cultural Media support Wokeness, and dangerously many Colleges and Universities, as well as Politicians, have adopted or submitted to Wokeness.

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The main difference between Progressives/Leftists and Constitutional Conservatism is in their interpretation of the Constitution, as I have written in my Article, “A Republican Constitution or a Democratic Constitution”. Democrats tend to interpret the Constitution in a democratic manner, while Republicans tend to interpret the Constitution in a republican manner. A secondary difference is in their style of governance, as I have written in my Article, “To Be Rulers or to Be Leaders”, where Democrats tend to rule while Republicans tend to lead. “Progressives/Leftists”, the “Mainstream Media”, the “Mainstream Cultural Media”, "Modern Big Business", and "Social Media" are a detriment to Americans, as they often mislead the American public with their skewered opinions and viewpoints. Recently, they have started to suppress any viewpoints but their own. If this continues to happen, we run the risk of surrendering our "Natural, Human, and Civil Rights" through misinformation, misrepresentations, and sometimes outright falsehoods that these people propagate. “Big Tech offers the Left the holy grail of speech regulation: censorship with no accountability to voters and no constitutional restraints,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) commented in a March 11 tweet. “This is why liberals not-so-secretly love these monopolies. They do the Left’s bidding.

“Political Correctness”, “Cancel Culture”, and “Wokeness” are an attempt by many to tear down and rebuild American society and government in their “Utopian” vision of America. Unfortunately, those people engaged in these activities can never answer the three questions of Thomas Sowell that will destroy most of their arguments – ‘Compared to what?’, ‘At what cost?’ and ‘What hard evidence do you have?’. Until they can answer these questions, the Politically Correct, Cancel Culture, and Woke must be condemned and disparaged as antithetical to American principles of “Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All”.

"Mainstream Cultural Media (MCM)", "Mainstream Media (MSM)", "Modern Big Business (MBB)", and "Social Media" are different aspects of the same issue. The issue is that these persons or entities consider themselves more intelligent, better educated, and morally superior that they are, of course, always correct, and they, therefore, should be able to dictate to others their values and social policy positions. They reserve unto themselves the right to determine the truth, and any contrary facts or evidence may be suppressed. Anyone who disagrees with them may be "Demonize, Denigrate, Disparage (The Three D's)", or have their free speech rights suppressed for the greater good and for a more equitable society.