February 2, 2018
Five Myths About the Koch Brothers - Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Theda Skocpol* - 2016
... and Why It Matters To Set Them Straight.
I've had a few more days to continue my crash course into Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers and "Libertarian" ideology in general. The convoluted logic and the ruthless efforts I'm learning about get overwhelming. Thankfully I have my Maddy dog who makes sure I get out for good long walks regularly, which helps clear my head and allows me to breath some fresh air and regroup.
Why do I think this is so important to discuss and share? Because liberalism, or more accurately, enlightened-self-interest, our democratic process of learning from and considering each other, and compromise - understanding critical thinking skills and the scientific process for assessing the world around us - all this is under existential threat.
We have this group of faithful people who genuinely believe they have a personal reciprocal relationship with God (a Being billions of years old and encompassing the universe) and who now want to totally crush the Children of the Intellectual Enlightenment and our pluralistic society .
When all the layers are scraped away that's what I'm coming down to, this huge group of people who have convinced themselves that their own goals are God's own goals. Think about this.
To believe that your personal goals are those of the God of Light and Time, Life and Love! That really is what's going on here! Yet, the Bible warns us, God is beyond human understanding. Still, we have leaders marching around proclaiming they are doing God's Will and all who oppose them are damnable enemies deserving no quarter.
Self-certitude and absolutism, that leads right into totalitarianism and I understand too much history to delude myself into presuming it could never happen here. It's happened in plenty of equally unlikely places before. Particularly when few care to, or dare to, think about it, let alone talk about it. A healthy Democracy demands an informed and engaged electorate.
Well, that intro went way longer than expected, but than, this exercise is about wrestling with this information and ideas and seeing where they take me.
Okay, for the main feature, this addition to my Americans for Koch's Prosperity Collection is the product of two scholars who's investigations enabled them to share some important background information most have overlooked, important details worth thinking about if you're trying to understand what's happening today. It does have a long history. (link)
