Media and the Mystery of Mecklenburg

It was on this date, May 20 1775, in Charlotte, that Mecklenburg County North Carolina declared it’s independence from the British Crown. Or at least that’s what the media reported.

The Mecklenburg Declaration is one of the most hotly debated issues among historians of US history. If true this means Mecklenburg would have declared it’s independence over a year before the Colonies. The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration has been disputed ever since it was published, forty-four years after it was supposedly written. There is no conclusive evidence to confirm the original document’s ever existed, and no reference to it has been found in any newspapers from 1775.

Most historians believe that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence myth was  due to a misinterpretation of an authentic document known as the Mecklenburg Resolves. The Mecklenburg Resolves were a set of resolutions passed on May 31, 1775. But these resolves we’re hardly a declaration of independence. Although the resolves we’re in fact published in newspapers, the text of the Mecklenburg Resolves was lost after the American Revolution and not rediscovered until 1838.

Many historians believe that the Mecklenburg Declaration was probably written in 1800 in an attempt to recreate the Mecklenburg Resolves from memory.  Whoever wrote the Mecklenburg Declaration probably believed that the Resolves had been a declaration of independence, and so he recreated the Resolves with language borrowed from the US Declaration of Independence. So entrenched in North Carolina history the date May 20th 1775 is displayed on both the state’s seal and flag. Yes North Carolinians believe they – by way of Mecklenburg – declared their independence first.

But while this ongoing debate may seem just historical water under the bridge and that it doesn’t really matter – and frankly it doesn’t – it’s how the story came to be commonly accepted that’s the real issue. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was published on April 30, 1819 in an article written by Dr. Joseph McKnitt Alexander in the Raleigh Register and North Carolina Gazette. Up to this point little discussion of the event was ever mentioned in any press in the state. Now while true the authors father had been at the meeting “of the resolves” the day before, it was not until Jr. penned the article that the embellished myth would begin to take shape. A myth made possible by a press that made little attempt at validating the veracity of the claims. Then the 1819 article was reprinted in many newspapers across the United States.

People immediately noticed that, even though the Mecklenburg Declaration was supposedly written more than a year before the 1776 US Declaration – the two declarations had some very similar phrases. The story gained so much traction that even John Adams who was now in retirement when the “Declaration” was published in 1819, assumed that Thomas Jefferson had “copied the spirit, the sense, and the expressions of it verbatim into his Declaration of the 4th of July, 1776. Although they would eventually reconcile over their differences, Jefferson and Adams we’re often at odds. Adams was so delighted with news of the Mecklenburg Declaration, since it undercut Jefferson’s claim to originality and precedence of the US version, he sent a copy of the article to Jefferson just as a little dig. Jefferson replied that he had never heard of the Mecklenburg Declaration before. (Nor had Adams for that matter) Jefferson found it curious that historians of the American Revolution, even those from North Carolina had never previously mentioned it. He also found it suspicious that the original was somehow lost in a fire and that most of the eyewitnesses were now dead.

Jefferson did of course respond to Adams. And Adams in his reply to Jefferson informed him that he had convinced him that the Mecklengburg Resolutions we’re in fact fiction. Adams forwarded Jefferson’s letter to the editor of the Massachusetts newspaper, who wrote an article expressing reservations about the Mecklenburg Declaration. Although now publicly in dispute – the myth however was cast.

Although this story is just a fun little aside in US History –  it does, yet again, demonstrate that the news media has had a long history of reporting as fact, news stories that are often inaccurate, misleading or just outright false. And again emphasizes the importance of never taking as gospel what they choose to portray as factual. Yes human error does occur. But so do agendas, narratives and an unfortunate willingness to deceive whether purposeful or out of just shear laziness.

http://www.TheUnknownAmerica.com

 

Of Trump, Tweets and Tabloid

Recently, the Twitter-enamored President, Donald Trump, put the American News Media on high alert with his Tweet: “I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!”

As a member of the press and someone that has been covering the President since he announced his candidacy, I find this Tweet quite amusing. That’s not to suggest the President does not have a somewhat valid point, but rather it’s his lack of understanding of the history of the relationship between the White House and the media.

In the early days of the United States there was no official office to deal with the press. Often reporters “ambushed” officials, including the President, while traveling to work, in hallways, wherever they could gain access. To sell papers, and of course that was the only media in those days, reporters frequently embellished or revised the facts to make their reporting as sensational as possible. You might call that 19th century fake news. Moreover fact checking was not only uncommon it was thought a distraction by many in that day. Our history books are full of inaccuracies compliments of a press sometimes unconcerned with the truth.

Knowing that some in the media would employ these strategies during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency one of his aides, George Cortelyou, began issuing presidential press releases for the first time. Roosevelt finally gave the press dedicated space in the White House, but the first person to officially hold the White House Press Secretary title wasn’t until 1929 during the Herbert Hoover administration.

But these men were not the only ones to have contempt for what they felt an intrusive news media. Almost every President in history has had their frustrations. For example in 1807 Thomas Jefferson opined, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle” And in more recent years, Nixon was heard to say to Henry Kissinger; “The press is the enemy, the press is the enemy.”

But as we learn from history, the increasingly aggressive response to what is thought to be unfair press coverage of any administration has merely kept pace with the efficiency with which news is acquired and distributed. And although attacks on the media by Presidents had leveled out for many years, the age of the internet, with it’s myriad of bloggers, online news portals and platforms on which to deliver the news, seems to have encouraged recent administrations to respond accordingly.

And although not as flagrant as Trumpian style, recent administrations have also, attempted to quell the opposition noise. During the Obama administration, there was a failed attempt to introduce a pilot program called the “Critical Information Needs Study”. Under this plan broadcast news outlets would be required to “host” official monitors that would have to approve certain news stories which might not be complimentary to the White House and others political leaders. The plan was met with outrage from the press, the fifth estate obviously screaming a First Amendment violation. But the CIN idea does highlight the frustration of the national political machine with a press they consider invasive and lacking integrity. Consider the irony of that concern.

Do centuries of accusations of unfair reporting by the White House mean the media lacks the integrity to get the facts straight? Certainly not. Most outlets do their level best considering the often prepackaged narrative they are given by the White House Press Secretary’s office. And in fact it is often these claims of “fake news” by politicians that force their hand to be more forthcoming and open with the American people. Do people in the press sometimes report titillating or provocative news items, ones that demand further exploration or explanation or even default to making seemingly outlandish claims? Most assuredly. But in this sometimes dysfunctional relationship between the Press and the President is that really that unusual?

I suppose we will find out Monday at 5 when “THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR” are revealed.

Silence in Sin City

Over a decade ago the entire nation was captivated by the disappearance of Birmingham Alabama teenager Natalee Ann Holloway. While on a graduation trip to Aruba, Natalee vanished, seemingly into thin air. Her disappearance made international news and night after night, week after month, the saga dragged on. The national news media was in a frenzy, who, along with family and friends, demanded answers. The national press covered the story like none other, going so far as to repeatedly dispatching reporters to the island interviewing anyone and everyone even remotely connected to the mystery.

As heartbreaking as the disappearance was and continues to be, the attention to the story by the press seems odd when compared to the suspicious lack of interest in uncovering the truth about the Las Vegas shooting during a Jason Aldean concert. Which in less than a month, seems to have completely fallen off the MSM’s fact finding radar.

Yes Natalee’s life was so full of promise. Yes the loss of such an innocent life cuts to the quick of every parents worst nightmare. But this is not a matter of which story is more tragic, both are, but rather a matter of why one story seems worthy of exhaustive research and another relegated to the occasional mention, and only three plus weeks removed!

What gives?

Where’s the constant expose’ of the worst mass shooting in US History? Are we living in a newly defined news reporting world where Las Vegas is no longer “newsy enough” and has worn out it’s usefulness? It makes one wonder would the Holloway story be given the same light today as it was in 2005?

Yes Natalee’s story had many, many unanswered questions. But what about Vegas? The Manadalay Bay Shooting seems to have disappeared from the national news with as much mystery as Natalee’s disappearance in Aruba.

But Why?

Admittedly the Holloway story was rife with intrigue. But consider these Vegas shooting facts:

• The official timeline of the Vegas shooting has changed three times
• A week before the attack Stephen Paddock wired 100k to an account in the Philippines.
• Paddock took trips to the Middle East.
• His laptop was missing the hard drive.
• A month removed it’s been revealed that police did discharge a firearm in Paddock’s hotel room when they entered (But we we’re told he was already dead before police entered the room)
•  The security guard who reportedly discovered Paddock, Jesus Campos, not only disappeared after scheduling several TV interviews, but now we learn left the country just days after the shooting.
• Why did authorities allow Campos to leave the country in the middle of an investigation?
• It was reported Campos went to a walk-in heath clinic, UMC Quick Care, but staff have no recollection of that happening.
• Paddock was in a casino with extremely heavy surveillance, yet still no video evidence placing him there has been released.
• As has no motive for the attack.
• And this is the short list of the myriad of unanswered questions.

To add to the suspicions…

In less than a month, 4 survivors of the Las Vegas Shooting have died. Prior to their deaths both Kymberley Suchomel and Danny Contreras claimed there were multiple gunman the night of the attack. Dennis and Lorraine Carver died after their car struck a metal gate and burst into flames. Less than a mile from their home.

But as concerning, the events surrounding the Vegas shooting simply don’t add up. It’s one thing to have an information freeze-out by investigators. The argument can be made that the case is “still” under investigation. But this claim would not and should not keep the media from applying a healthy dose of scrutiny. (We learned more about the recent New York Terrorist in two days than we did about Paddock in a month) But where’s the media on this one?

Obviously this story is fertile ground for conspiracy theorists and maybe rightfully so. But the lack of information from LEO is only part of the issue. The larger one really is where did the investigative coverage go? Why has the story dropped out of the news cycle and so quickly? And with so many questions unanswered?

58 dead, over 500 injured, most scarred for the remainder of their lives.

12 years after it happened the investigative media still has not uncovered all the details of the Natalee Holloway story. But they gave it all they had. Although it would be fair to accuse them of sensationalism they kept the bright light burning in search of for the truth.

Does the Vegas 58 not deserve the same or has this tragedy, like too many others, simply outlived its corporate journalism usefulness?

It would seem gone are the days of Woodward and Bernstein where exhausting all leads and keeping a constant light on a story in search of the truth is the investigative norm. Rather only to make room for the next tragedy of which today’s press can exploit to make a sensationalized buck.

It would seem no more accurate marketing slogan was ever convinced.

What happens in Vegas “really” does stay in Vegas!

The real inspiration for Apple’s Apple

From Michael’s latest book UNKNOWN AMERICA

During the early years of WWII, the German Super Battleship, Bismarck was terrorizing and destroying enemy vessels throughout the Atlantic. Thought to be unsinkable, England made her destruction a top priority. “Sink the Bismarck” was a WWII Battle Cry and the phrase was made into movies, and even a song years later.

To stop the reign of Naval terror, the Brits employed an amazing new invention called the Bombe, created by a brilliant, young, mathematician named Alan Turing.

At the time Turing was working at the top secret British deciphering lab, Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire England. The Bombe was an electromechanical device which helped the British decode the ultra secretive German Enigma coded messages. On May 25, 1941 the Bombe helped to locate Bismarck, which was leaking fuel and limping to Norway for repairs after a dust-up with the British Naval fleet. On May 27th the scourge of the Atlantic was sunk by British torpedo-bombers and battleships using Turing’s technology. Following the war it was discovered that Turing was homosexual. Since being gay during this time in England was illegal, Turing was arrested. To avoid jail, he agreed to be chemically castrated. But in 1954, Turing, presumably due to depression related to the procedure, took his own life by cyanide poisoning. But it was Turing’s work that paved the way for the development of the first computers. But Alan Turing had a somewhat odd bedtime ritual; he would always eat an apple before going to sleep. And it was a partially eaten apple next to his bedside that led to the speculation that he laced the fruit with the cyanide.

This little known tidbit from history is what inspired Steve Jobs to name his fledgling company Apple. And so the rainbow colored Apple, with a bite taken out of it, is actually a nod towards the life and contributions of Alan Turing and not so much a statement of Jobs personal beliefs or support for gay rights and causes.

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What other amazing and little known facts are lurking in the pages of UNKNOWN AMERICA? Order your very own copy today.

http://www.TheUnknownAmerica.com

That abortion will last a lifetime

For decades the debate over Abortion has raged with unflagging intensity. When does life “start”? Who should be able to make the decision? Isn’t abortion really just another word for murder? Is it a woman’s right to choose? Where does the father fit in the decision? States dominion or Federal Government?

What about rape, incest and life of the mother? These questions and many more have plagued the discussion and likely will continue to do so, unabated, for years to come.

The recent debate over whether the US government should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, which we now know is just a facade for a massive abortion factory, with many locations, has thrust the discussion back into the bright, hot light of public scrutiny.

And while it would be easy for me, like countless others to jump into the public fray of pro vs. con, debating the merits of Roe v. Wade, the Christian perspective, the right to life, the right of a woman to choose and when life really begins, I think I’ll leave such musings to the intellectual elites.

Because for me, the father of three great kids, (Ok adults, but they’re kids to me). I believe there is more than oppressive stats and theological perspective that needs to enter the conversation. And for those seriously thinking of such an action, there’s something more that needs to be considered. Something far too many I fear never contemplate…

We Americans are too quick to seek a one size fit all legal response to the cultural issues of our time. Whether or not abortion should be legal or not or when life really begins should not be the centerpiece arguments for the elimination of abortion. You cannot legislate behavior. Hello? Our prisons are full of people who acted impulsively or out of desperation, without regard to the consequences of the legislation they would be violating.

With that said; Although I personally abhor the practice of abortion, the purpose of this piece is not to condemn nor condone. I’ll leave that debate to the internal struggle abortive parents must face.

Rather this is about a simple observation I fear too many fail to ponder before making such a life altering decision. So why the sudden introspection on my part? As I was cleaning my small apartment in anticipation of a move, I noticed a picture that I had passed hundreds of times before. But although I have long prized this photograph, this time it spoke to me as though it was trying to grab my attention, as though it had something urgent to say.

It was a picture of my youngest daughters sonogram. As I stared at it with renewed fascination, it dawned on me the question of when life begins was unequivocally answered and that no one in their right mind would be able to dispute the evidence.

Could there possibly be any doubt that what was in the image was a person?

You can clearly see the completely formed body of a human being. The formed skull with visible eyes and nose. That fat “baby belly”, her hand reaching towards her face. Those crystal clear legs bent slightly at the knee as she uses them as leverage to relax while in her mother’s womb. A pose that almost says; “I’ll just hang out here until it’s time”.

Yes this is a person, another human being, my daughter. Although not yet born, certainly alive and well. As I reflected back on the day I first saw this image I recalled the flood of thoughts and questions that came in torrents.

Who would she resemble? What color would her hair be? Would she even have any?  What would her first word be and when? Would she be tall like my mom’s side of the family? Will she be a sleeper or a one of those cranky babies? Would her face be round or square?

What would interest her as she grew up? Would it be music, sports, the arts, science or perhaps all of them. Would she be addicted to Barney the Dinosaur like her older sister? What kind of things would we do together? What would be her favorite food? Pizza like her Dad? Would she like to hike and camp in the woods like her father, older Brother and Sister?

Would she like to sing, and could she since Dad can’t carry a tune? Would she get lost in a book or love to talk like her father? Would she have that weird facial tick that causes her to unconsciously pop her jaw just like her Daddy?

Would she like to drive our farm truck “in the tall grass” while sitting in my lap like the other two? Would she grow up to share my love and compassion for animals, especially horses?

(A question that would in fact be answered soon enough)

Would she be friendly, compassionate and kind? Would she make friends easily and be the type person that was there through thick and thin?

Would she have a best friend for life? One that she could always count on and who could count on her?

Why yes, yes she would

From the day these two were born they were inseparable. Almost twenty years later their friendship not only endures but serves as an example of what true friends are. These two have inspired many including a couple of Dads.

As youngsters they did everything together. They shared their hopes and dreams and losses and fears. When my youngest contracted a life threatening virus that went septic in her late teens, her bestie, despite being hundreds of miles away at college, also contracted the same virus and these two ended up in the same hospital, on the same floor and the exact same time! Yeah sometimes they did a little too much together!

But this story just proves how strong a bond can be. Even between two unrelated people. Imagine if they were blood relatives? Would it be a stretch to say they complete each? Not in the least and I cannot imagine one without the other… Further proof that decisions we make have lasting and often life altering results and frequently for people we do not yet or perhaps never will even know. I sure am glad she is here or I might have never learned this life lesson.

As I continued contemplating her arrival I wondered what would she dream about? Had she already begun while in her mothers womb?

When her older sister was a baby I used to sing to her. Her favorite song and mine too was Little Miss Magic. A song Jimmy Buffett wrote about his daughter…

A part of the song goes:

Sometimes I catch her dreamin’ and wonder where that little mind meanders
Is she strollin’ along the shore or cruisin’ o’er the broad savannah
I know someday she’ll learn to make up her own rhymes
Someday she’s gonna learn how to fly
Oh that I won’t deny

Her sister would just coo every time and of course dad too would allow his mind to meander. To think almost constantly about what her older sister too would become. It’s interesting that one of the greatest joys of parenting begins long before the arrival of the child. Wondering about the “Whats” and “What ifs”.

Having a special song for her sister I needed one that was uniquely for her. One we could share together that like Little Miss Magic, I could sing to her and we would always own that time together as exclusively ours.

Not being able to find one that I liked I put pen to paper and wrote her a funny little diddy that I sang to her every night:

(To the tune of the Beverly Hill Billies)

“Let me tell ya a story about a girl name Lil, born in Alabama, raised in Harpersville. Wakes up evr’y morning, expecting to be fed, doesn’t stop eatin till she goes to bed.

Well the next thing ya know ole Lil’s a millionaire, made a small fortune selling body hair, came to Alabama with a banjo on her knee, Spent all her money on Lipo Surgery” 

Corny I know. But that’s what Dads do.

On her 19th Birthday I called her cell and sang her our song into her voice mail. She called back two hours later balling her eyes out overcome with emotion! I sure am glad she is here or I would have missed that amazing moment!

Her life has given me one joy after another and some heartbreaks and disappointments too. But the joys experienced with her and lessons I’ve learned from her have been too many to count.

Those many nights and Saturday afternoons watching her play softball. The barrel racing at the rodeos she competed in. I remember with fondness the frustration when she climbed into the cool fireplace to investigate and emerged a soot covered mess. Or the time she sheared off her golden blonde locks of hair. How she used to taunt her sitter every day by refusing to speak a word in her presence, causing the sitter much frustration knowing she wasn’t a mute. Only to babble on that evening about how she was messing with her. And of course the talks; the numerous talks about sports, boats, horses, boys, God, school, boys again and so on.

But all this was unknown and yet to come. So as I continued to gaze upon the image I caught myself wondering the biggest question of all; will she be like me? And in so many ways she is. Many of our interests are the same. She has my nose, my eyes and my mouth, no I mean my “mouth”, she shares my sometimes bad temper. She can be mischievous, yet fiercely loyal. She’s quite the ham too, not camera shy and loves to show off, like her dad! In other words shes a little female me!

AND THEN IT HIT ME!

I began to ponder how someone could ever entertain the idea of ending a life by aborting a pregnancy. That thing is part ME! Of course their are the myriad of oft used rationales:

“I can’t afford this baby”

“I’m not ready”

“I’m too young, too old, scared, broke, unemployed, etc etc.”

“It was an accident”, “I have to finish school”, “What would people think”, “What about my job?”, “Who will help me?” “I don’t know nothing about babies”

This list is virtually endless and each of these concerns are valid fears. Interestingly enough many of the fears of “accidental” mothers are the same fears shared by couples that are in fact ready. A woman finding out she’s pregnant can bring on a whole host of anxieties whether they think they’re ready or not.

But as I’m prone to do, as is my youngest since she’s like me, I started to really think about the future and what would drive someone to choose to end a pregnancy considering all the joy I would experience.

I’m not now, nor have I ever been an “accidental” mother so I cannot and refuse to judge this decision. But through this contemplation I did come to realize something I would hope future potential abortive parents might consider…

For all the rationalization to end a pregnancy, there’s one big reason to reconsider. No it’s not just the loss of those special moments, moments you cannot even conceive of now, or the joys, frustrations, victories and losses you will never know. It’s more than unwritten and unsung songs and those funny little Turkey’s made by tracing a tiny hand. It’s more than the amazing journey of watching them grow to adulthood. No it’s something much, much deeper.

That little bundle is much more than just a fetus. It’s 50% YOU and in a very literal sense. That baby, right now, already, shares more than just a concoction of your DNA, that magical recipe that allows traits and characteristics to be passed down through the generations. It possesses a part of your very being, it contains a part of your SOUL.

Much like Christ was the incarnation of the heavenly Father into human form, possessing his traits and qualities, that child, while still in the womb possesses your spirit and essence.

When a pregnancy is terminated there is more than just the ending of the babies life, there is a “death” of part of the mother as well, that part of her very being she bestowed upon that fetus at conception. This is the reason many women that end pregnancies report a feeling of loss or a nagging sense of incompleteness for many years if not permanently after having aborted a child. Some have reported thoughts of suicide and many have succeeded. Ongoing depression and thoughts of despair and deep seated guilt plague many post abortion women.

Nurturing is simply in the DNA of women and abortion is antithetical to that biological hard wiring. I know timing can be bad, circumstances not ideal, sometimes even painful or life altering. I’m not pretending issues might exist and that every abortion decision had convenience as its prime motivation. There are dozens of reasons, whether imagined or not that a woman might consider such a move.

But there is one consideration that absolutely must be taken into consideration every time. That you will live with the consequences and you will take that choice to the grave with you.

Some claim abortion is murder. I suppose that’s a fair claim but only if we also acknowledge that it’s also fair to call it partial suicide. Yes the baby dies, but a part of mom dies as well. And that’s a sacrifice I would hope more women would contemplate.

So if you are considering ending a pregnancy perhaps it would be wise to consider more than just the immediate impact of that decision and even the loss of a future of joy and love but please also consider the lasting impact that choice will have on you, your well being and sense of completeness for the duration of your life.

Thinking of aborting that child? Please consider choosing life instead…

But not only hers…

But yours as well!

The changing vocabulary of change

“Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state. The state will take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing. Your child belongs to us already … what are you?”

– Adolf Hitler

Over the past many decades despotic leaders and misguided politicians alike have telegraphed their skewed political philosophies and strategies with dizzying candor and accuracy. The noted quote from Adolph Hitler is but just one example of a power drunk leader spilling his ultimate plan for affecting social change.

These oft semi successful attempts to manage societies have taken many forms. Whether in the form of brutal Concentration Camps, forced Political Re-Education programs and threats of physical harm or the much softer approach of entitlement programs and welfare to create dependence on the state, aggressive governments, have for millennia sought ways to compel citizens to comply. These efforts have delivered mediocre results at best and were often from a cultural point of view, costly.

But then Adolph Hitler updated the strategy when he instructed future despots to get’em while they’re young. Why waste time and energy trying to sway the hearts and heads of men through coercion or threats when blind fealty to the state was a mere generation away, and so much easier to achieve through education.

But this strategy would have to consist of more than just teaching the three “R”s along with an aggressive curriculum of nationalism, it would require redefining how these young people would interpret what they were being taught. And there would be no easier way to achieve this goal than by redefining the meaning of certain key and common words.

Of course when it comes to learning, vocabulary; reading, writing etc. are the centerpiece. Words have the power to inspire, enrage, entertain, inform, hurt, motivate, captivate, infuriate and soothe.

The wounds of nations have been healed with mere words. Countries have gone to war, Spiritual lives redeemed, relationships salvaged and destroyed. And for all the power words possess, they are especially effective when employed to elicit strong emotion.

Adolph Hitler inspired an economically ravaged nation whose people were embroiled in despair with strong, passionate words of consolation, hope and even retribution. His oratory gave rise to the Third Reich and all the horrors that accompanied it and the destruction of Germany for the second time in the 20^th Century. Misguided as he was, he understood the power of word smithing.

But he also understood that while his fiery speeches could impassion German citizens he also realized lasting change and full fledged support for the Reich must be embraced generationally, enter formal indoctrination.

Unlike fact based education, indoctrination relies not on factual data, but rather on casting an official and well honed narrative that is favorable to the state, it’s agenda and long term goals. And is usually done in a manner that places the emphasis on supporting the “Common good” and collectivism and adherence to policy and is willing to achieve such ends using any means necessary, even falsehoods.

Indoctrination abhors individual thought. It demands universal compliance. And one of the most effective tools it has to subordinate individual thought to collective thought, is to make the meaning of words fluid, open to interpretation, pliable. In doing so those that would indoctrinate have a new tool in their arsenal. One they can employ without fear of being called out as incorrect or even challenged on their assertions because interpretation too is fluid. This allows them to craft a new, state friendly narrative using commonly and previously understood words to create a new reality for those too ignorant to grasp that they are being mislead.

How widespread it this strategy? Its not the number of words at issue but rather the reassigning of meaning on the commonly used buzzwords that is. In a world where meaning can be interpreted and therefore void of boundaries, definitions of words are often changed at will and as need be to influence thought.

So just what are some of the most popular new age words and just how are they being used.

Take for example the word FASCISM. Liberals in America love painting President Donald Trump with this moniker. And with the help of the Indoctrinating Media why not. According to the latest, revised definition

Google Words defines Fascism as:

An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization with intolerant views or practices.

However Merriam Webster prefers the old school explanation:

A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism

Notice in the new school definition by Google no mention of the regimenting all industry AND commerce which is a hallmark of this political school. Google also uses the term “Right Wing” whereas Webster does not. And last time I checked Trump was elected so assigning to Trump “Dictator having COMPLETE power” falls painfully short of a Fascist Dictator, unless of course you’re an indoctrinated Liberal.

But the word craft by the left does not end there…

How about another catch word of late: IMMIGRATION

Immigration on Google

“The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.”

A very vague definition and one that implies, “the neighbors are just stopping by”

But look what MW has to say:

“To Enter and usually become established: Especially to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence”

Notice the difference. MW is much less open and vague. It implies being either naturalized or assimilated. The word “Established” also indicates participating in the host country’s culture and not being an economic burden on the state.

Lets take a peek at TERRORISM

Google says it this way:

“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”

But Dictionary.com explains it the old fashion way:

“The systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”

Note the use of the word unlawful in the Google version. As though a distinction needs to be made between the various types of violence and intimidation

I guess some forms of violence and intimidation are “legal” in the minds of an indoctrinated Liberal.

These are but a few examples. The common day examples of definition revision are as plentiful as the differences between left and right. But to people that demand accuracy in education and certainly news reporting, its easy to see that in these days of increased ideological disagreement, one side is all to willing to change the narrative by changing the meaning of the very words used to describe it.

And this willingness to mislead and indoctrinate for political gain and societal compliance has only one possible outcome for the future of America; a nation where only a select few can enjoy her spoils while the rest of us are left scratching our heads wondering what happened.

The Transitional Leadership of Trump

As I listen to one political commentator after the other proclaim Donald Trump as the last remaining hope for the future of America’s “Exodus” from political oppression… The man that would right the purported wrongs of a misguided and sometimes overly aggressive Progressive movement in America, I’m reminded that while Moses lead the Hebrews out of the oppression of slavery in Egypt, it was Joshua, his successor, that delivered them to the Promised Land some forty years later!

Of course it would be foolish and theologically offensive to make direct comparisons between Trump’s political goals and tactics and the emancipation, through Moses (and his brother Aaron), of millions of Hebrews.that had been enslaved in Egypt for centuries.

However there is a comparison between the two that can be made without a shred of conflict; that like Moses, Trump’s true role in the redirecting of America may be similar to that of Moses in that he stands up to an oppressive and manipulative government, suffers the slings and arrows of confrontation and dissent. All the while seeking equality and fairness for all, and demanding liberty and economic opportunity.

And that like Moses, his true role is not so much of deliverer, but rather to merely inspire. To be the catalyst for change, and not necessarily the one that would see it through to full implementation. It certainly would not be the first time history has introduced a change agent, and sometimes it seems not only at the right time, but in the nick of time. An agent whose own personal presence in the movement was short lived, but whose vision and passion so captivating it caused an explosive revolution that changed history.

One such name that comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But while Dr. King never saw the promised land; “I may not get there with you”, he understood his purpose. He knew the change he sought would take time, and that the change would likely occur over  years if not generations. Whether he knew it for fact or merely suspected it in his heart, King, like Moses, was a Transitional Leader.

Transitional Leaders are those that initiate change. Change in plans, strategies, viewpoints, beliefs, and in the case of the Hebrews, even geography. But in many cases these leaders never see the full fruit of their labors. History merely called upon them to provide the impetus and motivation for change, while leaving the future outcome to future leaders.

Dr. King had deputies such as Ralph David Abernathy to continue the work he started.

After the Hebrew’s wandered in desolation for 40 years, it was Moses’ delegate Joshua that continued the work and led the Hebrews to their final glorious destination.

King was the Transitional Leader of his day. Having arguably the most impact on the fabric and future of America, leaving the future outcome to future leaders.

Like King, like Moses and like others, could Donald Trump be this generations Transitional Leader? The person that will set the course of history without seeing its end?  Because it’s very likely, that like the Hebrews left to roam in the dessert for decades, and the generations that struggled for racial equality, this transition too, will most assuredly take more time than most anticipate to achieve. And will require the next generation of leaders to see it through.

So the only question that remains is…

Who will be Donald Trump’s Joshua?