Dear Friends,
It seems to me, power is about people, not about ideas. The best ideas in the world will be ignored… if they come from the wrong source, lessen the power of the elite, or get in the way of a bad idea. Ideas may be all well and good, but people have to be convinced of them, else they are nothing but hot air. Politics is the art of convincing people. The ideas they convince us of, are irrelevant, the ability to convince, is paramount. That is why good ideas about government are DOA, while terrible ideas, proven evil over and over… are immortal. Good politicians are good at manipulating people, not good at leading. Moreover, being good at manipulating people takes a certain kind of person. The best are psychopathic Machiavellians, who convince us of ideas that lead to unlimited power… for them.
It’s much easier to discredit a person, than the truth, that’s why those who seek power use slander instead of argument. Because we see with our eyes, we don’t listen with our minds. Appearances trump substance in all things human. The classic example is the Kennedy Nixon debate. Regardless of the merits of their arguments and intentions, John Kennedy appeared better on TV, and Nixon sounded better on the radio. When the deep state went after Trump, they didn’t call his policies into question, they attacked him personally. He was not only a hater, racist, climate denier, and misogynist… but a traitor, because he was in league with Putin! All lies… but they had the effect of starting a special council investigation, that hobbled Trump’s Presidency, for three of four years.
The administrative state that has taken over our governments is all about power. That’s why the best ideas in the world will always be ignored, if they come from the wrong source, or lessen the power of the elite. The elite agree that we are fools. They, on the other hand, are the smartest, most ethical and wisest people on the planet. How do they know that? Because they are the elite. Not through merit, they despise meritocracy, but by machination, which they adore. Since they know they are so much smarter than the rest of us, why shouldn’t they run everything, in a centrally controlled system? It only makes sense that the best people make all the decisions. That’s why they need ever increasing power over us idiot masses, and it’s why they cannot abide ideas, or people, that go against that goal.
Those in power, in politics and in the bureaucracy, have skin in the game. Every increase in the totalitarian state, gives them a bigger slice of a shrinking pie. From their perspective, since their slice is growing, they are winning… who cares about the rest? Destroying people has worked for them so why change now? Ideas are too hard to control anyway. They have a way of opening up possibilities. Too many possibilities, especially coupled with freedom and capitalism, will inevitably cause the grazing masses to start thinking for themselves. Thinking plebeians will cause the ball to spin out of control and the elite will lose the game. So, ideas that open up possibilities, are out. While ideas, like fascism and Marxism, that close down possibilities, are always in vogue… as are those that promote them.
This is the fundamental problem with representative democracy, it promotes egoistic manipulators, instead of good ideas. Yet elections are the only way devised to give the people a say in their government. Because a government that rules against the interests and will of the people, is by definition, illegitimate. As ours is today. Proven by the open election fraud of mail in voting. As long as the elite control who gets power, by personally attacking anyone who is a threat, they will have power forever. Mail in voting has made ad homonym attacks almost redundant today, except, even fenced in sheep need to be terrified of what’s outside, else they will jump the fence. So… there are a lot of good ideas out there that would solve our problems, but they’re ostracized, as are those who promote them.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
