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The best teaching is done one-on-one, and quietly. (Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock) |
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To Save 2024, We All Have to Be Teachers |
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By Roger Simon |
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Commentary For almost everyone, the past few years have been one annus horribilis (the Latin needs no translation) after another. I could cite the litany of events we have gone through from COVID-19 onward, but they are already well-known. Most recently, we have seen the desecration of Christmas 2023 worldwide by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Inevitable though it may have been, the Sunday people joined the Saturday people in their crosshairs sooner than expected. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Jewish Agency says they are expecting 1 million Jewish immigrants to Israel from Europe and the United States next year. This may be good for Israel in some ways, but it's sad for the world. I have no intention of going, despite the horrifying rise in anti-Semitism. While I love Israel, where I have been several times, I am a patriotic American to the core. And yet, staring at another year, another potential annus horribilis is around the corner... I wonder what we should do. When I read your emails, a fair number—even some that are highly complimentary of me—sound depressed and defeated, as if this great conception of our Founders is already hopelessly lost and we are headed for the latest form of communism: a mixture of “Chinese characteristics” with some of our own. Being human, I feel that way sometimes, too. The day-to-day is not great, to say the least. There are other ways to look at it, however. Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says the problem with our nation is that we are still young—an adolescent still finding its way. That may sound like an exaggeration since we will be 248 years old in 2024, but he has a point. The Roman Empire lasted for well over 1,000 years, from 753 B.C. to 476 A.D. We’re still getting warmed up. Like him or not, Mr. Ramaswamy seems to be the only one to come up with anything resembling original thoughts during the campaign. And like it or not, we who still believe the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are the best documents so far on which to base a country and civilization, are the ones left holding the proverbial bag to turn this ship around and avert another annus horribilis in 2024. If we can do that, we can have the happiest of new years. The way to do that, I submit, is to all be teachers. I don’t mean teachers like the ones at Harvard—we know that’s disastrous, and more so every day. It’s teachers like those who we remember fondly who guided and nurtured us in the past. Usually, that will be a pretty distant past, but it's there if we dig for it. And when I say we must be teachers, I’m not—for the most part anyway—implying that we should stand in front of a class, with chalk, eraser, or iPad in hand. The best teaching is done one-on-one, and quietly. It also doesn’t require a Ph.D. or even a high school diploma. It just requires common sense, some connection with reality. That’s because a vast number of people, many with those Ph.D.s, don’t have one. They have been brainwashed since preschool, even beyond what Mattias Desmet described as mass formation psychosis. They are closer to cultural zombies, such extreme conformists that they may as well be clones. |
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This must be kept in mind when we try to teach them. The questions that we ask these people about their views must seem more innocent than they actually are. I regret to say that we often must dissemble. (That's something they do all the time so, in the sense of turnabout being fair play, it isn't all that bad.) For example, one might frown as if personally troubled and stumble through an opening gambit like this: “I’ve been, uh, trying to figure out why the border is open with this, um, you know ... fentanyl problem everyone talks about, all the death. There must be a good explanation. What do you think?” I know most of the time, you’re just going to get a rote response. But as they say, practice makes perfect. There are certain to be good questions to be asked on transgenderism because at least some of these self-described liberals, deep down, are alarmed by what is going on with many of our young people. And, of course, there is the old method of finding some common ground and going from there. That's become more difficult as time has gone on, but it’s still possible. Whatever choice is made, it's an exercise that takes the uttermost patience because you are unwinding the most rigid of views that were lifetimes in the making. But you have to do it and you will be rewarded for it, possibly even in heaven, though I am radically unqualified to say as much, although with at least with a good feeling about yourself if you move one of these people even one degree. If we add all those potential one degrees together, the country will move, slowly, but hopefully inexorably, back to its intentions. And then, if we have electoral success in November, it will be the happiest of new years. Maybe we will start growing up, as Vivek says. If you don’t want to do any of this, I still love you. But there is a Zen koan that’s worth cogitating on: “You can’t get there by trying, but you won’t get there if you don’t try.” Reading list: I have been reading Larry Elder’s new book “As Goes California,” published in November, which I highly recommend. It offers a fascinating replay of his battle for the governorship of that state and is, accidentally, a companion piece to my own book, “American Refugees,” coming out on Jan. 9, 2024. His tells how bad it is in the blue-state world and mine tells what happens if you leave for greener red-state pastures. Neither are simple, nor should they be for interesting reading. In January, I will be headed to Des Moines to cover the Iowa caucuses for The Epoch Times. The night of the caucuses (Jan. 15), I will be broadcasting live from Trump headquarters via NTD as a kind of color commentator as the returns come in, should you be interested in listening. After that, I will be shuttling around doing the usual dog-and-pony show to promote the book, but that won’t stop this newsletter for a moment. One other thing: By far the best reporting on the Israel-Gaza War is from Caroline Glick. Listen to her here. Onwards to 2024. ... not an annus horribilis if we have anything to say about it. Happy New Year to all! |
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Reader feedback:
Alan R. Feldstein: “Wish I could share your optimism, but I’m afraid our country is lost to the Marxist elite who have taken control of virtually all of our institutions. It saddens me to say this, for we had the greatest country ever to exist. I still don’t understand why this minority elite feels that it’s in their best interest to destroy that which was perfectly created. Is their end game simply to have the power to control us? Don’t the rich elite have more to lose once the Marxists have control?” Rena Cobb: “A few weeks ago, I spoke up in Sunday School class, saying, ‘I don't believe Americans have given up—I feel an undercurrent within us.' The pastor replied, ‘I was wondering when someone was going to say that!' So, we have been fighting the socialists for a long time and will continue this fight as long as God wills! This undercurrent is rightfully called the Spirit of America, a God-given spirit of hope, faith and charity! Fight on America!” Cynthia Oeser: “No, I am not optimistic like you. In fact, I believe this nation has had it unless we go state by state with the 2024 election as the target of major housecleaning. I live in Nevada and there’s no chance of that housecleaning happening here. And I suspect it’s the same in many many states, particularly the 6 swing states (including mine). So, therefore, we are truly a banana republic now. And it’s too late to save it. The far left, under the helm of Biden, has inflicted too much permanent damage.” Priscilla Halvorson: “Reading your newsletter can be likened to a breath of fresh air or perceiving light at tunnel's end, perhaps both!! As I have told you in previous emails, you have a gift for addressing what is necessary and essential!! David Kelly: “Remind your readers to watch “Judgment at Nuremberg,” starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, and Richard Widmark. A great movie with profound historical truth.” |
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