Critical thinking no longer common

I find it difficult to imagine that our country is not mostly great now, or that is has not been for most of the post-wwii period. I am not enamored with our current national leaders (especially Congress, which seems set on performing a Reichstag conflagration upon itself), but I’d certainly rather have a chief executive with a few memory lapses than one suffering with contagious madness.

NATO comments aside, it is quite plain that a return to the late 2010s in our government would mean less investment on the part of European entities, be they governments or businesses. From what I’ve learned about the attitudes of the former, there is also likely much less trust funded for the USA. If it is difficult to gain diplomatic traction with those who have been our friends, what can we hope for from those who don’t like us already?

If that isn’t difficult enough for you (considering the economic stroke of the European Community), try probable radical tariffs to be imposed on China by a new alternate administration. China, if you haven’t heard, is the foundry/ factory for the planet. Pushing higher costs on their exports means higher prices for us in nearly everything. Nobody builds anything for free, and any substitution (probably largely infeasible) would cost more, too.

I heard the noisy candidate state that his “day one” agenda, among other things, would be “drill, drill, drill.” Fine. But what does that accomplish, besides asking for an opposite response from OPEC+ nations? If drilling were to actually increase, it is safe to assume that petroleum product production would increase. More supply will lead to lower prices, count on it. And it can’t be long before petroleum companies find that depletion of reserves no longer makes economic sense. In the end, if drilling is forced, some of these “E&P” operators just might go toes up. If they shut their valves soon enough, supply goes down. That case, if exacerbated by reduced production around the world, means a sudden price spike. There’s a seesaw ride no playground should allow.

Crimping the U.S. economy will have its greatest effect on those who already have little or no stake in the country’s future. Graph household incomes, and you see a pear-shaped system. As things stand today there is already a retail supply apartheid, and it is growing worse. The incumbent party is taking most of the heat for that, perhaps because there is no one else to blame. But we must faithfully reflect on the alternative(s), noisily proclaiming it has “the answers.” When one is convinced one alone is correct is when one is most likely to be most incorrect.

If it were useful to reduce our foreign relations to a balance sheet, then it would also be useful to acknowledge (per one responsible analysis) that immigration overall may be responsible for increasing our Gross Domestic Product by an average of some $700 billion per year over the next decade. Let’s face it; many jobs will not get done if we throw up the drawbridge to Fortress America. Isolation almost cost us big in the 1939-40 period, and it could do so in the 2020s.

It is not necessary to recite cases where rapacious corporations and our elected representatives have knowingly or otherwise colonized our souls. The media feed us moonshine instead of clear facts related in detail intended to not only allow but to encourage critical thinking. Why do our schools generally fail to teach critical thinking? Because it is no longer in common use. No one teaches use or manufacture of buggy whips today, either.

A paralyzed, pessimistic society can’t move thanks to fear and worry. Stability and prosperity cannot thrive there.

Read the founding documents of this nation. None mentions political parties, though John Adams thought they might be a useful idea. This at a time when even most heated debate was not advanced to the point where hatred overturned respect. In short, the moral foundation of this country mattered. It was broadly evident, and it’s what truly made America great.

I search for the morality behind the current “loyal” opposition market in U.S. politics. If you find it, please write this newspaper.