Opus 2023-241: Lots of Answers

I am hearing a chorus of discussions about how things are going poorly and what should we do about it.  It can involve almost any area of life from the quality of your oatmeal to who is running America.

The suggestions are legion to solve the problems.  Everyone seems to have a plan.  Books are written.  TED talks are given.  Podcasts are recorded.

The suggestions have at least three things in common:

First, they are the same ideas that got us into this mess.  Maybe not the specific ideas.  You only have to change one detail to claim your idea is new.  What does not seem to be changing is the philosophy behind the ideas.  Let me give you an example with presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.  I have heard him speak in several different venues.  I like most of what he has to say.  He has a lot of the buzz words and catch phrases down pat.  I am not going to waver from my support for Trump but I felt Vivek was worth consideration for the future.

So I read the two books that he has out at this point.  In regard to what I am writing about, he is concerned about the programs like DEI and CRT.  That is good.  His answer was a program he called “critical diversity theory”.  Then we get to the smoke screen.  It came complete with an acronym, CDT, and a way to implement it.  You can find the longer discussion on page 267 of his book, Woke, Inc.  The problem which he does not seem to see is that he has the same elite vision that the Progressives have.  His answer was another government program with intense supervision and standards designed by someone who was wise enough to believe they could make decisions for us.  His philosophy was still based on big government and the need to have someone in charge to take care of us.

Second, every idea expects someone else to do something.  For instance, we cry out that the government needs to cut spending.  We are all for it.  When they come for our perks we suddenly feel like that is going to far.  I am on a teachers pension and a reduced social security payment.  I have medicare.  Those are programs that will need to be reduced as part of the effort.  We have government guaranteed bank accounts.  We have government insured mortgages.  We have food stamps by whatever name they are going by this week.  We subsidize farmers and of course there is the investment in green energy.  Someone needs to do something as long as that someone is not me.

Third, the ideas tend to leave out God.  I was going to say they leave out the spiritual aspect but they throw that in too.  Understand that just because someone uses the term “spiritual” it does not mean they are referring to God.  They define it their way, which leaves out God and substitutes gods.  The list of gods usually includes the “spiritual one”.  It amazes me how often Christians leave prayer as a last resort.  They try everything they can think of.  When nothing works they will say, “I guess all we have left is prayer.”  We need to start with prayer but not stop there.  Then we do all the things we can think of and we base our thinking on the standards of the Bible and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

We will never dig out using a pitchfork or a plastic shovel or digging in the wrong place.

Ramaswamy, Vivek.  Woke, Inc.  New York:  Center Street, 2021.

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