Is
"Progressive" the Politically Correct way of saying the "Divine Right of Kings"?
PROLOGUE
This article is written in plain, simple English and tries to avoid
engaging in long, complicated discussions of Metaphysics, Philosophy,
Social Science and Natural Science. This article is written with
consideration of the tastes of a wider general public in being bored
with and disdainful of politics.
This writer respects the intelligence
and opinions of rank and file Americans far more than he does that of
any alleged educated elite, political party elite and/or ruling class
elite. (This writer warns the elitist that he will likely offend your
sensibilities by departing from your standard of decorum by invoking
urban and youthful vernacular & colloquialisms to drive home his
points and make this subject matter more relatable to a larger portion
of his audience.).
This writer intends to educate, not manipulate, the
reader.
Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States and Primary Drafter of the Declaration of Independence
This writer implores his fellow rank and file Americans to read this
article. As uninteresting and/or burdensome as you may find the content
of this article, it is likely the simplest way for you to
understand the workings of American politics. This writer will be so
bold as to assert that in reading and reflecting upon this material, you
will find your perception of reality has greatly changed… That if you
will commit yourself to just once in your life immersing yourself in the
substance of this article you will be forever enlightened and
invigorated. From this immersion you will gain a renewed understanding
of your rightful place in this world and be empowered to defend yourself
from predation by others for the rest of your life. At the same time,
this writer will endeavor to make the content as engaging and relevant
to your everyday life as an average person as possible. This writer,
having paid the price, would be disappointed if rank and file America
did not seize the reward.
"eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing."
Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States
As this writer first pondered this question which the title of this
article poses, it was in the divisive, emotional frame of mind to which
the two major political parties have
conditioned the people living in the United States of America, Inc. (Remember that word
conditioned,
it will become important later) Upon further reflection, this writer
became determined to follow his own urgings to his readers here (and his
followers on social media like Twitter)… Those urgings being to strive
to overcome the divisive conditioning of the two major political parties
and attempt to speak and act in a manner to create constructive debate
and unity amongst WE THE PEOPLE.
The true battle is NOT Republican vs. Democrat, left vs. right, white
vs. color, Christian vs. Non-Christian: THE TRUE BATTLE IS WE THE
PEOPLE VS THE CORRUPT INCUMBENT RULING CLASS ELITE
Don Mashak (Opinion)
(@DMashak and @WETHEPEOPLETAR on Twitter- various truncations/hashtags removed)
In several earlier conceptualizations and drafts of this matter, this
writer did indeed, attempt to be neutral, to create room for unity from
common ground, to create consensus of concerns and tried to work for a
common vision for the future. However, in researching, and reflecting
upon the information derived from this research, this writer has came to
the conclusion that he does not and would not want to associate with
and/or create unity with certain segments of
Progressivism
who hold certain beliefs. Yet this writer will endeavor to merely
identify those certain beliefs confident the evil of those beliefs will
be self evident to most readers.
That having been said, this writer’s goal remains to promote unity,
rather than division, amongst WE THE PEOPLE; and to cause people to form
their own perception of reality through their own thought processes.
This writer intends to achieve this by clearly identifying his opinions
and identifying the primary sources of his facts while he lays out the
fundamental elements of the Divine Right of Kings, Consent of the
Governed (
Natural Law)
and Progressivism. In the end, this writer will ask the reader to
choose which Governance Doctrine and Perspective of Reality most closely
matches their own perception of reality and/or their ideal preferred
manner of being governed.
Perspective of Reality = How you perceive your existence, your world and your environment.
As this writer’s regular readers are aware, this writer engages in
unique perspective and/or original thought rather than the regurgitation
of the current thoughts and ideas promoted by the two major political
parties and the major media. Developing unique/original thought is far
more difficult and requires a lot more time than simply regurgitating
the ideas and thoughts of others. And finally, unique/original thought
takes a lot more words to explain. Communicating unique/original
thought often means the basis must be explained rather than assuming
and/or building upon the current perception of reality commonly held by
the majority of the population.
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.
John Locke
REGARDING SOURCES
This writer will provide a list of only his hard copy resources. This
list appears at the end of this article. The writer has not and will
not include his internet sources. Over the past few years, the history
and facts regarding Progressivism have changed on the internet,
presumably because it is so easily done. Further, this writer will quote
Progressive President Theodore Roosevelt to make another point
regarding history and sources:
The difference between myth and history is that history lies in a
more dignified way. The first writer of a lie is ever thereafter
accepted as authority. If actual history should be written, mankind
would blush in shame for itself. And yet we must have history for
without it the world would be like a man without a memory. There was
certainly an element of truth in the specific events of history, but
what brought about those events lies for the most part in mysticism.
History’s primary shortcoming is in the failure of historians to reveal
fully the character of historical figures. No Statesman has been a saint
and no tyrant without some color of virtue.
Theodore Roosevelt (in conversation with Opie Read and Bat Masterson)
Or perhaps you would prefer:
History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.
George Santayana (1906)
Writers do not right in a vacuum. They have their own biases and
their own concerns. Publishers also do not publish in a vacuum; they
also have their own biases and concerns. Book Publishers and Major Media
owners tend to be rich men. Not only do they have financial and
political motivations edit or censor the information they transmit, they
also have to consider the financial and political consequences of
losing favor with the current establishment.
If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper [view major media], you're mis-informed.
Mark Twain (1906)
The advantage of reading books about Progressivism written from 1960
to 1990 is that Progressivism did not have as many strong adherents nor
detractors as it did during its original incarnation and subsequent
revivals. At the same time, the problem with that is the writer often
does not have firsthand knowledge. But the simple truth is that some
history is never written because no one was brave enough to write the
truth and accept the consequences.
The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it.
John Hay (1872)
and:
No holds were barred. We have used [similar] techniques against
Soviet agents. [The same methods were] brought home against any
organization against which we were targeted. We did not differentiate.
This is a rough, tough business. http://goo.gl/bHwpn5
Senate Committee Report on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the FBI and COINTELPRO
This writer asks you to go to your local library rather than rely on
the internet to learn about Progressivism. In any case, make note of
any biases the author of your source may have so you can temper your
acceptance of their writing accordingly.
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave,
and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for
then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
Mark Twain (1904)
Finally, this writer does not want anyone to be lulled, seduced
and/or tricked into acceptance of any perspective of reality; whether
this perspective be the writer's own or the perspective of reality
painted by others. Therefore, this author advises you as no politician
would dare. Exercise Critical Thinking (
http://bit.ly/ubI6ve)
in determining the truthfulness of anything you read or hear. Do not
passively accept nor believe anything anyone tells you, including this
author... unless and until you verify it yourself with sources you trust
and could actively defend your perspective to anyone who might debate
you to the contrary of your perspective.
This writer is challenging Progressive writer David Brooks at
@nytdavidbrooks to write a rebuttal and point out material errors to
hold myself accountable and to create a meaningful marketplace for the
exchange of ideas. In light of the recent ruling by the US Supreme
Court, Mr. Brook’s failure to respond at all or in a way that does not
demonstrate material errors in this writer’s facts shall be considered
an admission that his truthful response would tend to be damaging to his
position. With that, this writer challenges Mr. Brooks to respond
within 15 days of the publication of part 3, the final installment of
this series.
[UPDATE - It has been brought to this writer's attention that some
people don't believe David Brooks nor President Obama to be Progressives
and/or they don't represent mainstream Progressivism and/or they are
not "true enough" to Progressive principles. Therefore, this writer
extends the offer for other intellectual leaders of the Progressive
movement to also respond in addition to Mr. Brooks. Please post your
responses on the internet and inform the writer of them on twitter
@DMashak and @WETHEPEOPLTAR. Don't direct message them, post them in my
timeline with the hashtag #ProgressiveResponse. Let us use this
opportunity for constructive dialogue in the Marketplace for the
exchange of ideas that is Twitter. This writer believes this is a
satisfactory resolution to those who have made these criticisms.]
METAPHYSICS, SOCIAL SCIENCE, NATURAL SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC
We will discuss these topics briefly and then only for defining them.
(You may skip over this section if it bores you) The information we are
about to share only scratches the surface of the thought processes
which produced them. To give you perspective, it is necessary that you
at least know that these thought processes are behind what we are about
to discuss.
- Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it
- Natural Sciences are those branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world through scientific methods, the cornerstone of which are measured by quantitative data.
- Logic (from the Greek λογική, logos)
has two meanings: first, it describes the use of valid reasoning in
some activity; second, it names the normative study of reasoning or a
branch thereof. In the latter sense, it features most prominently in the
subjects of philosophy, mathematics, and computer science.
It is the hope of this writer, seeing the ideas and premises
that are the end product of the above described thought process, will
motivate some of you to examine these various iterations of the thought
processes which form their foundation. This writer has opted to not
include specific references, but rather just the Titles of his sources,
in an attempt to cause you to immerse yourself further in studying
governance doctrines.
Education begins the human, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.
John Locke
To increase the readability of this article, this writer will refer to these sciences as “THE THOUGHT PROCESS”, hereafter.
GOVERNANCE DOCTRINES
You have all heard of Dictatorships, Monarchies, Communism,
Socialism, Republics and Democracy. But where do these styles of
government get their authority to govern any group of people? What is
the proper role of Government?
Governance Doctrines refer to the source of the legitimate authority
for any type of governance, the purpose of that governance, and the
principles and/or manner of how those who are governed should be, and/or
are, governed. They represent the ideal.
Government is mankind’s necessarily imperfect attempt of the
implementation of a governance doctrine in the reality of the real
physical world.
Our study of Progressivism will necessarily require us to understand
the governance doctrines of the “Divine Right of Kings” and the
governance doctrine of “Consent of the Governed” (Consent of the
Governed is the foundation of America’s Declaration of Independence,
Constitution and Bill of Rights.)
Despite conflicting sources and personal intuitions, the net intent
and result of Progressivism requires it also be deemed a governance
doctrine. In that it proposes the voiding, replacement and/or extreme
revision of our current Constitution, it clearly is a different
governance Doctrine than “Consent of the Governed”.
This writer believes any discussion of how governance doctrines were
defined and articulated is more entertaining if illustrated through
historical perspective. In a moment, we will take a short trip down
memory lane.
This writer suggests you assess these 3 Governance Doctrines in a
manner similar to buying a car. (The Governance Doctrine of Marxism is
included for historical and comparative purposes only) Using your power
of observation, as soon you find a major flaw, you likely soon
thereafter will use your reason to decide not to by the defective
product. If the foundation of a governance doctrine is not sound, then
this writer would suggest to you that everything built upon that
foundation is not sound. You must determine the soundness of those
foundations using your own powers of observation and reason.
476AD to 1920AD – A SHORT STORY IN WESTERN WORLD GOVERNANCE
In this writer’s opinion, the understanding of the Governance
Doctrines of Progressivism, Consent of the Governed & the Divine
Right of Kings is enhanced by understanding the organic origins of their
existence.
Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.
Edmund Burke
Here is that history:
With the Fall of Rome in 476AD, Western Europe fell into a period of
history known as the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages (also known as the middle
ages) extended from the 5th to the 15th Centuries. The term Dark Ages
refers to the cultural and economic decline in Western Europe during
this time, as well as the lack of historical documentation for many
geographic areas during that period of time.
The Governance Doctrine of the “
Divine Right of Kings” and a Socio-Economic system known as
Feudalism
became predominant. Divine Right of Kings essentially commands that the
King/Queen is a God or an emissary of God here on earth. Therefore, no
earthly being has the authority to question the decisions, actions or
authority of the King/Queen. The Ruling Class establishes truth by
convention and force.
1250AD Invention of the Western Concept of Romantic Love - Beginning of the decline of Mysogyny.
1378AD Western Papal Schism (Roman Catholic Church)
1450AD Printing press introduced to Europe (invented in China circa 1045AD)
1571AD Protestant Reformation
THE THOUGHT PROCESS: Thomas Hobbes (1651) – Regarding the
Nature of man in his Natural State (before there was a central
government), Hobbes believed man tends to be selfish, may sometimes be
altruistic and is not by nature NOT a social animal. Authority for
Government comes from the position that society could not exist except
by the
power
of the state. As for the Social Contract - Shut up and obey, then you
may have the right not to be killed. Wait, belay that. You don’t even
have the right not to be killed. Why? Regardless of what the King does,
it does not constitute a violation of the social contract.
From 1650AD to 1800AD, a period called “
The Enlightenment”
(aka the “Age of Reason”) occurred. People began to question the Nature
of Man and the authority of the King and Church. Various scientific
discoveries stimulated the minds of many people (Men of Letters).
Observation and Reason began to replace religion, superstition and
tradition as the basis for people’s perception of reality. Printing
Presses, becoming more widespread, have began to break the Aristocracy’s
and the Church’s monopoly on the exchange of ideas. From the exchange
of ideas during this time the Concepts of
Natural Law and the Governance Doctrine of
Consent of the Governed were developed.
THE THOUGHT PROCESS: John Locke (1689) established that the
Nature of Man in his Nature State (before there was a central
government) was that of a “social animal” with tendencies toward “reason
and tolerance”, but who can be selfish. Locke said that Government was a
voluntary compact between an individual and society, whereby the
individual gave up some of his Natural Rights in a State of Nature to
secure the protection and better harmony as part of society. Government
exists to preserve the unalienable Natural Rights of the Individual.
Truth is established by the individual through observation and
reasoning.
In the late 18th century, these new ideas regarding the Nature of Man
and the proper purpose and role of any government led to violent
revolution and/or capitulation of many Western Europe Governments to
accept and adopt, wholly or in large part, the purpose and role of
government pursuant to John Locke’s Consent of the Governed.
In 1776AD, the American Colonists penned their Declaration of
Independence. They declared their independence from not only from
England and King George, but also from the Governance Doctrine of the
Divine Right of Kings. Several Elements of Natural Law are included in
the Declaration of Independence along with specific references to the
“Laws of Nature” and “Consent of the Governed”. In fact, some of the
Founders did not believe a Bill of Rights (1791) was necessary believing
that the Natural Rights of men were plainly and clearly self evident
truths. The Founders created a Constitutionally Limited (1789),
Representative Republic and embraced the rugged individualism and an
economy based on minimum government intervention (laissez-faire
economics), which were inherent in Natural Law.
In 1787AD France is engulfed in a popular violent revolution,
inspired and motivated by the ideas and ideals of Natural Law.
Declaration of the Rights of Men and Citizens (1791) France Establishes
its Government as a Constitutional Republic (1795).
1842AD – 1883AD Karl Marx establishes a Governance Doctrine which
becomes Marxism. Marxism in the form of Communism comes to Russia.
Marxism, in the form of Socialism and Social Democracy, sweeps much of
Europe somewhat later. (Communism fails in Russia circa 1989 – Much of
Europe teeters on the brink of economic collapse today)
THE THOUGHT PROCESS (Karl Marx circa 1850) Marx conceives of
human nature as composed of 'tendencies', 'drives', 'essential powers',
and 'instincts' to act in order to satisfy 'needs' for external
objectives.
Many Marxist deny there is a human nature to be found in Marx’s works. The sixth of the
Theses on Feuerbach
provided the basics for this interpretation of Marx according to which
there was no eternal human nature to be found in his works. It states:
Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of man [menschliche Wesen
=
‘human nature’]. But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in
each single individual. In reality, it is the ensemble of the social
relations. Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real
essence is hence obliged:
1.
To abstract from the historical process and to define the
religious sentiment regarded by itself, and to presuppose an abstract — isolated - human individual.
2.
The essence therefore can by him only be regarded as
‘species’, as an inner ‘dumb’ generality which unites many individuals
only in a natural way
Marx believed Capitalism was bad. Marx believed Capitalism exploited
the average worker. Marx believed history evidenced the cyclical nature
of society. Changes in Society occurred by violent revolution caused
by the inevitable disparity in wealth and the distribution of wealth
(Class Warfare). Marx did not say much about the form society would
take after capitalism.
Eventually a classless society would come into existence, free of political conflicts, coercion, domination and exploitation. Immediately after the revolution when the proletariat (common folks, labor) gained control there would have to be a period of "
dictatorship of the proletariat" which would be necessary to
remove all elements of capitalism, especially the ideas and values making up bourgeois ideology.
(Truth is established by the government.) In
this period of state socialism people would still be motivated to work
by differential wages and there would have to be a strong state, in the
hands of the worker's party, which ran a planned economy.
However,
Marx thought that in time a collectivist society
(communism) would emerge in which control and decision making would be
in the hands of the people as a whole.
The coercive state would
wither away, intense division of labor and specialization would cease,
the outlook and motivation of individuals would be collective and
cooperative, and people would have much greater opportunity to develop
and fulfill their potential than they had under capitalism. Marx was
optimistic about the capacity of humans to do these things, seeing
greed, competition and conflict as dispositions produced by class
domination. Perhaps the best clue to the nature of communist society is
given by the statement "From each according to his ability, to each
according to his needs".
In essence, the purpose and of government under Marxism is to protect
labor from exploitation and guard the interests of the society has a
whole. The authority of government came from the premise that the
“workers of the whole” would control the government.
In 1859AD, Charles Darwin publishes his “Origin of Species” (
Theory of Evolution)
1861AD to 1865AD
American Civil War
From 1890AD to 1930AD
The Populist/Progressive Era begins. (Or
Populist Movement 1890AD -1905AD and
Progressive Era 1905AD to 1917, etc) There is conflict in credible sources as to the dates and the nature of the
Populist/Progressive Era.
More discussion on that later. For now, this writer leaves it to the
reader choose what perspective of the Populist/Progressive reality they
prefer or deduce from their own research.
The conflicted sources say the
Populist Movement was a
grassroots movement motivated by corruption, unfair practices and abuse
of power by Wealthy industrialists, bankers and government officials.
The Muckraking journalist had further exposed the trespasses of business
and government against rank and file Americans. Populists were angry
about the numerous duplicitous schemes the wealthy used to accumulate
wealth at the expense of rank and file Americans. The artificial
manipulation of the value of money was a critical element of the
discontent of the populists. Many Populists were farmers and the poorer
half of America and preferred a return to agrarianism. The end of a
“Western Frontier” was another factor of the Populist Movement.
Populist sought reform by seeking more Direct Democracy. The
initiative, the referendum and direct election of US Senators were the
Populists preferred means of restoring the accountability and
transparency of their government. Populists did not seek to replace
Representative Government nor the Constitution, but to make government
better with these Direct Democracy measures.
Depending on your source, the Populist Movement appears to have ended
or morphed into Progressivism when the Educated Elite and/or the
Political Parties took an interest in it and got involved.
THE THOUGHT PROCESS John Dewey, Charles Cooley, Karl Marx and Walter Rauschenbusch, Charles Beard, Thorstein Veblen (Circa 1900)
provide the rational and authority for the Progressive governance
Doctrine. (These folks were the Progressive equivalents to John Locke)
Dewey and Cooley assert......
To continue reading for free, please click here
http://goo.gl/ZWoC6C
And the almost complete Part 3 will be published the following weekend of September 14, 2013
Those were my thoughts.
In Closing:
Thank you, my fellow citizens, for taking your valuable time to read and reflect upon what is written here.
If what is written here rings true to you, perhaps another helpful
exercise would be to ponder why you have not heard about this in your
local paper or in the major media. [You may find articles about issues
from this writer's local area posted in your area and wonder why. The
reason is this: Remember those travel junkets taxpayers pay for (the
ones the bureaucrats skip to go to the beach or the casino) but
allegedly used for training? Well some government apparatchiks actually
attend those training seminars. And learn nationally en-mass techniques
to "manage" WE THE PEOPLE. Since they all receive similar training in
oppression, it is likely the problems you are experiencing with
government in your area are similar to the problems in your area (unless
you live outside the USA). With that commonality in mind, it is this
writer's intent that insight garnered from this writer articles about
his local issues can be used by the reader to understand and applied to
their local issues.]
Please join with me in mutually pledging to each other and our fellow
citizens our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to our mutual
endeavors of restoring liberty and economic opportunity to WE THE PEOPLE
as our Founding Fathers envisioned and intended. [Last Paragraph,
Declaration of Independence
http://bit.ly/ruPE7z ]
This article is written with the same intentions as Thomas Paine
http://ushistory.org/paine. I seek no leadership role. I seek only to help the American People find their own way using their own “Common Sense”
http://amzn.to/kbRuar
Keep Fighting the Good Fight!
In Liberty,
Don Mashak
The Cynical Patriot
http://twitter.com/dmashak
http://Facebook/Don.Mashak
Don Mashak Google Plus
http://goo.gl/1AUrE
The Conundrum: While our #Government works full time with
compensation and funded with our money for the cause of #Tyranny; WE THE
PEOPLE are forced to work part time without compensation for the cause
of #liberty with what is left over of our time, money and energy,
WE THE PEOPLE TAR #WETHEPEOPLETAR
http://WETHEPEOPLETAR.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/WETHEPEOPLETAR
http://twitter.com/WETHEPEOPLETAR
End the Fed(eral Reserve Bank System) #ETF
National
http://bit.ly/ta3Rju Minneapolis
http://bit.ly/tjZJKF
Bring Home the Politicians #BHTP
http://BringHomethePoliticians.com
Lawless America #LawlessAmerica
http://LawlessAmerica.com
Term Limits #TermLimit
http://TermLimits.org
Justice in Minnesota #JIM
http://JusticeinMN.com
Critical Thinking Notice - This author advises you as no politician would dare. Exercise Critical Thinking (
http://bit.ly/ubI6ve)
in determining the truthfulness of anything you read or hear. Do not
passively accept nor believe anything anyone tells you, including this
author... unless and until you verify it yourself with sources you trust
and could actively defend your perspective to anyone who might debate
you to the contrary of your perspective
PHYSICAL SOURCES
The Progressive Mind 1890-1917 David W. Noble (1981)
America Enters the World – A People’s History of the Progressive Era and World War I – Page Smith (1985)
The Annals of America 1895-1904 Volume 12 Populism, Imperialism and Reform Britannica (1965)
The Annals of America 1905-1915 Volume 13 The Progressive Era Britannica 1965
Rebirth of a Nation – The Making of a Nation 1877 – 1920 Jackson Lears 2009
The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins 1976
Special thanks to Monticello and Elk River Minnesota Public Libraries
And many internet and/or other sources too fluid and/or non-credible to cite as references
