As Long as it is Civil
Victor C. Bolles
May 13, 2024
Civil disobedience is an activity unique to modern Western Civilization. But disobedience of the law has consequences and many people protesting unjust laws or unwise policies have had to make sacrifices. The anti-Israel protesters are not only defying the tradition of non-violent civil disobedience, they are trying to avoid the consequences of their actions. In this commentary, we try to understand the nature of civil disobedience and why the actions of the anti-Israel protesters do not meet the standard of civil disobedience.
Quotes from the commentary:
People disobeying the law in support of their cause, such as the efforts of King and Gandhi, must also be willing to pay a price for their actions. Henry David Thoreau was jailed for not paying his taxes. Gandhi and King were jailed numerous times for their efforts on behalf of human rights. The anti-Israeli protestors want to be exonerated for their disobedience. They want to be able to brag to their friends about how they stood on the protest line but they want to pay no price. That’s not how things work in the real world.
Victor C. Bolles
May 9, 2024
City University of New York law professor Jeffrey Lax said it clearly in an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business news. He stated, referring to the anti-Israel protests, “This is not antisemitic, this is anti-American, this is anti-western culture, the jews are the low hanging fruit. Next is America, next is western culture.” In this commentary, we try to understand who is the real target of the anti-Israel protests.
Quote from the commentary:
America is THE target because America is the keystone, the glue, the essential country that holds together the much disparaged Western rules based world order. Without US support NATO would collapse. Without US support Korea and Taiwan would absorbed by their communist neighbors. Without US support, the rules based world order would disintegrate.
The Difference between Trust and Loyalty
Victor C. Bolles
April 25, 2024
Nationalism is on the rise across the globe – and Yoram Hazony thinks that’s a good thing. Mr. Hazony, Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, is a promoter of national conservatism and rejects the universal values such as the unalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence. In this commentary we investigate the tenets of national conservatism and how it could impact the world around us.
Quote from the commentary:
Mr. Hazony lumps the Enlightenment-based, American-led “Rules Based World Order” along with Hitler’s Third Reich and Stalin’s Soviet Union as proponents of “universal values” that supposedly would bring peace and prosperity to the peoples of the entire world, whether they liked it or not.
Victor C. Bolles
April 8, 2024
American youth are in a mental health crisis. Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide are soaring ever since the introduction of the smart phone as documented by Jonathan Haidt in his new book, The Anxious Generation. Even worse, the pathologies of smart phone addiction mirror the pathologies of a woke ideology that has tightened its grip on American institutions in recent years. In this commentary we investigate how this mass psychosis has spread and show how our leadership seems powerless to help us.
Quote from the commentary:
“The onslaught of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools, universities, corporations and government is conducted by adults of another generation that should know better. But the mass psychosis afflicting hordes of young people protesting the treatment of murdering terrorists dovetails nicely into woke’s rejection of objective truth.”
Victor C. Bolles
March 27, 2024
Slavery has existed throughout human history and prehistory. But why? It all comes down to energy. Ancient humans only had the energy of their own body. The energy of slaves gave the slaveholder more power to do things for the benefit of him and his family. But slavery in America was different. In this commentary we explore why there is much less slavery in the modern world and why slavery in America was so different from anywhere else.
Quote from the commentary:
There are two factors arising from Western civilization that have greatly reduced slavery around the world. It is clear that slavery is incompatible with the bedrock principle of America’s Enlightenment culture, the principle that all men (and women) are created equal. The second factor is good old capitalism. Western philosophy made slavery contemptible and capitalism made slavery uneconomic.
Victor C. Bolles
March 15, 2024
President Biden’s State of the Union address was an angry, divisive campaign speech. He went on to propose massive increases in taxes along with massive increases in spending that combine for a massive deficit of $1.8 trillion. In this commentary, we are going to look at how both of the presumptive candidates for president of the United States don’t really understand what America is all about. What really makes America special.
Quote from the commentary:
“The Founders considered government a necessary evil. Maybe not quite evil but potentially very evil. The purpose of government is not to rule people. Nor is it the purpose of government to take care of people. The purpose of government is to build trust.”
Victor C. Bolles
February 29, 2024
The Founders of America thought that democracy was the best tool to secure the blessings of liberty to its citizens. And, although not perfect, our democracy did a pretty good job of doing that while also providing prosperity. But right now America appears to be heading in the wrong direction and democracy does not seem to be helping. In this commentary, we look at how to make democracy a better tool to fulfill its intended function – securing liberty.
Quote from the commentary:
“The Founders clearly feared the power of government so they included checks and balances on the power of government in the Constitution. But they also feared the power of democracy. So they included checks and balances on the power of democracy as well. But those checks and balances on democracy have eroded over time as the peoples’ desire for security overwhelmed their desire for liberty.”
Victor C. Bolles
February 22, 2024
The No Labels organization is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states for a presidential candidate yet to be named. Such a candidate might be able to save us from another Biden or Trump presidency but will do nothing to save us from the increasing divisiveness and extremism of our mainstream political parties. In this commentary, we discuss what it will take for No Labels or anyone to get this country back on track.
Quote from the commentary:
What they need is a plan to dismantle the current two party system that works very well for Republican and Democratic politicians but not very well for the American people. The Founding Fathers feared the idea of political parties, what they called faction. James Madison wrote the Federalist Paper No. 10 entirely about factions. He said, “liberty is to faction, what air is to fire.”
Victor C. Bolles
February 13, 2024
A recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal called the Michigan city of Dearborn a center of jihad and antisemitism. The mayor of Dearborn xed (tweeted) that the article was Islamophobic. The progressive left has changed the meaning of the word phobia and now uses it as a means to deflect criticism and avoid addressing the issues raised in the critique. In this commentary we examine the use of the phobia as a tool of cancel culture.
Quote from the commentary:
“Why do the leftist proponents of Identity politics call any form of criticism of any identity a phobia? Many think that criticisms of these identities are based on hate and bigotry, not fear. Labeling it a phobia is, in actuality, a form of cancel culture. If a phobia is an irrational fear, then you don’t have to pay attention to it because the issues raised by a phobic person are not rational.”
Victor C. Bolles
January 9, 2024
Once again, while our so-called political leaders are completely absorbed by their campaigns for reelection, they ignore the urgent national priorities that need to be addressed, or worse, use those issues as political levers to galvanize their base at the expense of the American people. In this commentary we revisit those priorities that have become even more urgent as we enter a tumultuous election year.
Quote for the Commentary:
“Critics on the left will moan that meritocracy would worsen inequality. But equality of outcomes in education would mean driving all children down to the lowest common denominator (which you would understand unless you had been taught the new “equitable” math). But meritocracy will provide equality of opportunity. In fact, you cannot have equality of opportunity without meritocracy.”
Victor C. Bolles
January 12, 2023
Last year I published a commentary (Urgent Priorities, December 30, 2021) on the urgent priorities that America had to confront in the year 2022. Since many of those priorities were addressed very ineffectively or were not addressed at all, I was tempted to simply republish that commentary again this year. But the world is dynamic, and conditions change so I felt that America’s urgent priorities had to be updated to reflect those changes. In this commentary we will discuss the unfinished business of 2022 and the priorities of 2023 and beyond.
Quote from the Commentary:
“There are priorities that affect all Americans, rich and poor, black and white, young and old, whatever. We live in a complex and dangerous world. While our country is rich and powerful, it is not invulnerable. We cannot ignore the events happening around us and we need to be able to influence those events or be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
