May 31, 2017

Phil Beaver works to establish opinion when the-objective-truth has not been discovered. He seeks to refine his opinion by listening when people share experiences and observations. The comment box below invites readers to express facts, opinion, or concern, perhaps to share with people who may follow the blog.

Note 1:  I often dash words in a phrases in order to express and preserve an idea. For example, frank-objectivity represents the idea of candidly expressing the-objective-truth despite possible error. In other words, a person expresses his “belief,” knowing he or she could be in error. People may collaboratively approach the-objective-truth.
 Note 2: It is important to note "civic" as in citizens for the people more than for the city.

 The Advocate:  See online at theadvocate.com/baton_rouge.

  

Our Views (condone infidelity). Justice springs from fidelities, both respectively and collectively: fidelity to the-objective-truth, to self, to immediate family, to extended family, to friends, to the people, to the nation, to the world, and to the universe. Call it comprehensive fidelity.

Infidelity begs misery, loss, and death.

When a people forego comprehensive fidelity for monetary gain, they have lost the promise for freedom-from oppression and liberty-to pursue personal happiness they owe to themselves, their children, their grandchildren, and beyond---to posterity.

People who support infidelity as fairness (reminds me of John Rawls’s Justice as Fairness, 2001) are turning their backs on humanity. Infidelity favors of a future, technical world wherein justice has no meaning. 

The Advocate may want to lead us there, but I strongly oppose their leadership.

  

Today’s thought (1 John 2:17). “The will of God stays forever.”

For living, I trust my commitment to the-objective-truth. For afterdeath, I trust and am committed to my beforebirth---whatever it is.

I do not trust G. E. Dean's opinion.

Letters

Landrieu’s decision (Barrilleaux, May 22). To Philip Frady: By repeating an opinion in the same thread, you overlook the fact that some people do not agree with you. To discover civic justice, each person may communicate with appreciation for the other party’s experiences and observations.

I have read in this forum that descendants of CSA leaders wanted to memorialize good character in a lost cause. They worked hard to convince private donors and the public to commission the art and place the monuments. The descendants accomplished their goals, during the decades following the Civil War. During that time, erroneous religious beliefs continued to prevail, but not among all white southerners. Many white citizens, such as me, were committed to end the consequences of slavery.

The Declaration of Secession lists complaints by the South against the North and concludes that relief from northern abuses cannot be accomplished because the North held “a more erroneous religious opinion.” What is this religious opinion? I think it is that the Bible condones slavery, including slavery of the descendants of slaves.

Slavery as an institution of God was canonized almost 1700 years ago. St. Augustine opined it was punishment unto the generations for sins of the father. Non-Christian Africans sold African slaves as a commodity during the 15^th-18^th centuries when five European nations colonized the Americas. The did so under the Vatican’s Doctrine of Discovery, mimicked by Protestant kings. From 1619 to 1789 is a span of 9 generations during which the USA both gained independence and accepted feasible responsibility for the slaves, representing the slaves in Congress as 0.6 person/slave and ending the slave trade in 20 years but leaving emancipation for a generation that could feasibly plan. Unfortunately, even great thinkers like Abraham Lincoln did not devise a plan. 

From 1789 to 1865 is a span of 4 generations during which abolitionists struggled for emancipation, and 1865 to 1965 is a span of 5 generations during which the more erroneous religious opinion was practically defeated by non-discrimination and voter-rights acts. Beyond small fringes on both sides, almost no one in 2017, a span of nearly 3 generations still think the Bible’s sanction of slavery is valid.

There are two fringes, one for white supremacy and the other for black supremacy. It seems the black supremacists vie for white slavery through retribution. See foreign recommendations at rt.com/usa/330934-un-recommends-usa-reparations-slavery/ . The civic people, those who trust and commit to the agreement stated in the preamble to the constitution for the USA, would not divide the inhabitants into taxpayers and dissidents. All but dissidents consider divisive foreign recommendations alien to the people.

There are many details that may be addressed; however, the summary is that the African commodity, the African slave, was used to colonize the Americas, this land during 9 generations. It took another 9 generations for the USA to both emancipate and enfranchise the descendants of slaves. At that point, many citizens felt freedom for everyone was available at last. Unfortunately, the last 3 generations have regressed into subjugation for causes respecting the distant past---12 generations ago. The person who would dedicate his or her life to a cause for the past risks losing his or her chance at living.  

When you, Frady, counter that “The statues were erected as a symbol of the reemergence of white power and intended to convey symbolically this fact,” you are writing an opinion that 1) falsely accuses the descendants and refutes their witness about their motives and 2) you may be stating an untruth based on chronological coincidence. That is, the move to remember the descendants’ heroes happened during reconstruction years. In other words, the-objective-truth may not agree with your opinion.

Clearly, other writers in this forum do not agree with you, Frady, and collaborating with the people for civic justice is the only chance for a progressive life during a lifetime. Living people certainly ought not go back to death, misery, and loss for the people.

Film tax (Hackford). Too little, too late, and too unreliable. It’s like the fox trying to persuade the hens.

Parks upkeep (Normand). I agree with Mr. Carrere: the "political victory may be short lived." Lee Circle certainly looks like an eyesore, and so does Latrobe Park.

New Orleans is a distant memory now, and I intend to leave it at that. I won't even attend the annual Darwin Day anymore---there are better ways to celebrate and better places to go.

Columns.

Twitter-in-chief (Rich Lowry). You must be a petulant writer in favor of media control of the USA.

I favor President Trump’s freedom of expression.

Let’s see how it turns out.

  

Anti-Iranian and anti-terror fronts (Charles Krauthammer). Dr. K, you are confused by trying to second guess President Trump.

The problem is that out of humankind’s confusion, the Jews discovered monotheism and perceived that they were chosen to connect humankind with God and that their future would feature a messiah. All of that viewpoint is expressed in the Old Testament, which contains the Jewish Bible, as I understand it. The God dictated the foundations to Moses.

Then came Jesus, and some Jews claimed Jesus was the messiah but that belief in him made the connection to God available to everyone, and followers of that thought became labeled as Christians. Development of the proposition by the Holy Ghost is recorded in the New Testament, and together with the Old Testament is the canonized Catholic Bible and competing versions. Generously, a Jewish institution created a Complete Jewish Bible.

Then came Allah, writing the Quran through Muhammad.

These three religions originate from Abraham and offer believers hope for a good afterdeath. In dubious ways, they propose the separation of civic governance from religious hopes, where civic refers to humans collaborating for life more than hoping for good afterdeath. Opinions about these and other issues proliferate these three religions into many competing religions.

President Trump and his administration designed his trip to open a dialogue toward all three major Abrahamic religions collaborating for world peace. It was a very ambitious trip, with very special conversations at each stop.

I appreciate your review of your knowledge about the issues and past failures, Dr. K. However, I do not appreciate your expressed doubt in President Trump’s excellent plan. You class yourself with the writers who fear your own gullibility: writers are immune from the-objective-truth.

Writers these days beg the woe of the people’s wrath, and when woe is begged, it finds its way home. Overboard? I don’t think so. I think the press abuses freedom of the press.

  

Conservative capacity for disgust and loathing (Michael Gerson). The ruin that conservatism as Gerson practices it abuses the majority of children in America by subjecting them to less than elite education when they are in fact elite beings.

My vote is for President Trump to change that, despite Gerson’s failure to recognize it. The American tradition is Chapter XI Machiavellianism, and it begs woe.

Kennedy failed fidelity (E. J. Dionne). The key to the possibility for a human to realize his or her potential for unique perfection  is fidelity (see RWE, Divinity School Address, the paragraph starting “Jesus Christ,” and back one paragraph). I invite Dionne to read and comment on my comment on JFK's 100th birthday remembrance.

People who do not face reality cannot learn from it.

Other forums.

Announcement:  theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/calendar/#/details/4th-Annual-Ratification-Day-Celebration/3562296/2017-06-21T19

  

facebook.com/events/294684190984748/permalink/296799887439845/?comment_id=299699313816569&notif_t=event_mall_comment&notif_id=1496237884447773

 Collaboration cannot be coerced or forced: it must be voluntary. Rather than express an opinion and demand its acceptance, a speaker states a concern and offers a well-grounded solution. Then, speaker turns listener, and the second speaker addresses the concern and proposal. This role swapping continues until both parties perceive their experiences and observations are being addressed. If they mutually see need for change, they design a plan to accomplish the change and agree on who will take each action.

Let me postulate your concern and proposed solution: White supremacy is still a dominant posture among Americans, and our humanity is denied daily. We propose to eliminate white supremacy before collaborating.

I tried to research the white supremacy premise, wandering around Pew Research. I found is pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/. The predict in 2065 demographics of 46% white, 13% black, 24% Hispanic, 14% Asian, and 3% other. Next, I looked at pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/ . Subtracting the 6.5% black Protestants and 20.8% Catholics from the Christian total, we have 43.3% that might contain the white supremacists. If we guessed 2% representation, that leaves 0.9% of Americans and in 2065, that would be 0.4%. Thus, you propose to delay collaboration until less than 1% of the population, and I don't think it's that large.

This country was founded with 2/3 of representatives of the people wanting government of by and for all people, with 1/3 dissidents, some of whom wanted the preamble to read "We the States." Rather than hold 13% of blacks hostage to elimination of the small crowd who are white supremacists, I propose that the present 1/3 who are passive join with the 1/3 who are civic and collaborate for justice to constrain the dissidents including the supremacists.

We may work for broadly-defined-public-safety-&-security as the common good more than for the city, state or national vision of the good and more than any ideology. Let municipalities and ideologies serve the people rather than the people sacrifice life to a cause that will not help them.

  

Among a civic people, it is unjust to squander funds needed for noble causes, like lessening child abuse.

  

Phil Beaver does not “know” the-indisputable-facts. He trusts and is committed to the-objective-truth of which most is undiscovered and some is understood. He is agent for A Civic People of the United States, a Louisiana, education non-profit corporation. See online at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.