by John Shaffer
The revision historians from the 1960s to the 1990s never actually taught much history, well, much good history, anyway, but they succeeded in “revealing the blemishes” behind our “great people.” It is almost always easier to destroy than to construct and if going beyond the blemishes wasn’t enough they weren’t above doing a bit of scraping and marring and cutting up on their own. People who learned from those folks are in the inevitable “positions of power” now. Sad to say, they knew nothing then and they seem to know even less now and the ignorance they drank in then is revealed in its full stupidity today, as we are up to our hips in anti-fascists who have no idea what a fascist is; people who believe the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 was the first “antifa rally,” advocates of socialism who could not last a week in true socialist state; advocates of freedom of speech and press and assembly – for everyone who agrees with them; if not, you will be shouted down, bullied, harassed, asked to leave your job or canceled in some way.
The revision historians from the 1960s to the 1990s never actually taught much history, well, much good history, anyway, but they succeeded in “revealing the blemishes” behind our “great people.” It is almost always easier to destroy than to construct and if going beyond the blemishes wasn’t enough they weren’t above doing a bit of scraping and marring and cutting up on their own. People who learned from those folks are in the inevitable “positions of power” now. Sad to say, they knew nothing then and they seem to know even less now and the ignorance they drank in then is revealed in its full stupidity today, as we are up to our hips in anti-fascists who have no idea what a fascist is; people who believe the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 was the first “antifa rally,” advocates of socialism who could not last a week in true socialist state; advocates of freedom of speech and press and assembly – for everyone who agrees with them; if not, you will be shouted down, bullied, harassed, asked to leave your job or canceled in some way.
This is fundamentally a failure of the educational system, especially colleges, where professors gleefully enjoyed destroying the worlds that the parents of their students had made. It was not only historical values, but family values, moral values, cultural values, religious values, that had to be destroyed to make the path clear for something “better.”
Forgetting, of course that life in the poorest neighborhoods and small towns in America was vastly richer in wealth and culture and in the opportunity to make one’s way in the world that it was for most of populations of the rest of the planet. As has been said on many occasions, freedom and liberty are always about one generation from being destroyed.
Life was tough for many Americans, and continues to be, but thanks to Covid-19 and the George Floyd rallies, we have made it tougher. Students couldn’t finish their school years in the traditional sense. Most colleges aren’t even sure if their will reopen as before. Many scholarships that might have helped to lift the deserving into higher education had been put on hold as athletic seasons were curtailed or cancelled.
We left millions of workers without jobs, millions of businesses with no customers, and millions of customers wondering why it was OK to buy lottery tickets, beer, and cigarettes while it was not OK to get a haircut. Ahh...the arbitrary whims of power-drunk governors should never be undercounted.
How serious was/is the Covid-19 outbreak? That depends on who one listens to. We do know that over 98% of the people who get it have mild or no symptoms or recover out of hospital. We know the following numbers, taken on Monday July 13, as to death rates per 100,000 population:
New Jersey, 175; New York 166; Connecticut, 122; Massachusetts, 121; Rhode Island, 92; District of Columbia, 80; Louisiana, 73; Michigan, 63; Illinois, 58; Maryland, 55; Pennsylvania, 54; Delaware, 53; Mississippi, 42; Indiana 41; Arizona, 31; Colorado, 30; New Hampshire, 29; Georgia, 28; Minnesota, 27; New Mexico, 26; Ohio, 26;Iowa, 24; Virginia 23; Alabama, 23; Florida, 20;South Carolina, 19; Washington 19; Nevada, 19; Missouri, 18; California, 18; North Carolina, 15; Nebraska, 15; Wisconsin, 14; Kentucky, 14; South Dakota, 12; Arkansas, 11; Tennessee, 11; Oklahoma 11; North Dakota, 11; Texas 11; Vermont, 9; Maine 8; Utah 7; Idaho 6; Oregon, 6; Puerto Rico, 5; West Virginia, 5; Wyoming, 4; Montana, 3; Alaska, 2; Hawaii, 1. Check those numbers closely and you will find some of the states that have been patting themselves on the back for the great way they have handled Covid have death rates that far exceed those “hot spot” states that everyone is so frightened by.
We’ll report just the top layer of deaths by state: New York, 32,350; New Jersey, 15,525; Massachusetts, 8,325; Illinois, 7,388; California, 7, 051; Pennsylvania, 6,904; Michigan 6,314; Connecticut, 4,348; Florida, 4,242; Louisiana, 3,416; Maryland,3319; Texas, 3,216; Ohio, 3,058; Georgia, 3,003.
We don’t see rallies or the protests for the lives lost or businesses destroyed when police forces are shutdown, or for the hundreds of shooting victims, largely Black, who have no police to call. The only lives that matter to certain advocacy groups are when those lives are taken by uniformed officers. The hundreds of others don’t seem to matter at all.
The same folks who learned an upside-down version of history and who, incidentally believe there is nothing wrong when a police office is assaulted. with vandalizing buildings or police cars, tearing statues down, setting fires, are now the folks setting the standard on the proper response to Covid-19. Several of the most widely-effected states have said that they may not allow things to open up again until a vaccine for Covid-19 exists. That would dig a hole that our economy might never climb out, but, as they separate us from our past, we suspect they also would separate us from our future.
Forgetting, of course that life in the poorest neighborhoods and small towns in America was vastly richer in wealth and culture and in the opportunity to make one’s way in the world that it was for most of populations of the rest of the planet. As has been said on many occasions, freedom and liberty are always about one generation from being destroyed.
Life was tough for many Americans, and continues to be, but thanks to Covid-19 and the George Floyd rallies, we have made it tougher. Students couldn’t finish their school years in the traditional sense. Most colleges aren’t even sure if their will reopen as before. Many scholarships that might have helped to lift the deserving into higher education had been put on hold as athletic seasons were curtailed or cancelled.
We left millions of workers without jobs, millions of businesses with no customers, and millions of customers wondering why it was OK to buy lottery tickets, beer, and cigarettes while it was not OK to get a haircut. Ahh...the arbitrary whims of power-drunk governors should never be undercounted.
How serious was/is the Covid-19 outbreak? That depends on who one listens to. We do know that over 98% of the people who get it have mild or no symptoms or recover out of hospital. We know the following numbers, taken on Monday July 13, as to death rates per 100,000 population:
New Jersey, 175; New York 166; Connecticut, 122; Massachusetts, 121; Rhode Island, 92; District of Columbia, 80; Louisiana, 73; Michigan, 63; Illinois, 58; Maryland, 55; Pennsylvania, 54; Delaware, 53; Mississippi, 42; Indiana 41; Arizona, 31; Colorado, 30; New Hampshire, 29; Georgia, 28; Minnesota, 27; New Mexico, 26; Ohio, 26;Iowa, 24; Virginia 23; Alabama, 23; Florida, 20;South Carolina, 19; Washington 19; Nevada, 19; Missouri, 18; California, 18; North Carolina, 15; Nebraska, 15; Wisconsin, 14; Kentucky, 14; South Dakota, 12; Arkansas, 11; Tennessee, 11; Oklahoma 11; North Dakota, 11; Texas 11; Vermont, 9; Maine 8; Utah 7; Idaho 6; Oregon, 6; Puerto Rico, 5; West Virginia, 5; Wyoming, 4; Montana, 3; Alaska, 2; Hawaii, 1. Check those numbers closely and you will find some of the states that have been patting themselves on the back for the great way they have handled Covid have death rates that far exceed those “hot spot” states that everyone is so frightened by.
We’ll report just the top layer of deaths by state: New York, 32,350; New Jersey, 15,525; Massachusetts, 8,325; Illinois, 7,388; California, 7, 051; Pennsylvania, 6,904; Michigan 6,314; Connecticut, 4,348; Florida, 4,242; Louisiana, 3,416; Maryland,3319; Texas, 3,216; Ohio, 3,058; Georgia, 3,003.
We don’t see rallies or the protests for the lives lost or businesses destroyed when police forces are shutdown, or for the hundreds of shooting victims, largely Black, who have no police to call. The only lives that matter to certain advocacy groups are when those lives are taken by uniformed officers. The hundreds of others don’t seem to matter at all.
The same folks who learned an upside-down version of history and who, incidentally believe there is nothing wrong when a police office is assaulted. with vandalizing buildings or police cars, tearing statues down, setting fires, are now the folks setting the standard on the proper response to Covid-19. Several of the most widely-effected states have said that they may not allow things to open up again until a vaccine for Covid-19 exists. That would dig a hole that our economy might never climb out, but, as they separate us from our past, we suspect they also would separate us from our future.