‘One of the sad signs of our times is that we have
demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and
canonized those who complain.’
‘Like, what exactly is your fair share of what someone
else has worked for?’
I reached for my notebook.
I needed to record what this fellow had to say.
‘I have never understood why it is greed to want to keep
the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.’
Hang on, I said to myself, fumbling to scribe what had been said yet not in a position to tell the fellow to slow down and wait for me.
‘Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the
same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal
treatment is considered to be discrimination.’
At this point I had to look away from my notes and to the
face of the fellow who said this. He was
Black. African negro by family origin I
discerned. Then he changed direction slightly.
I had to concentrate.
‘It is hard to imagine a more stupid or dangerous way of
making decisions than putting these decisions in the hands of people who pay no
price for being wrong.’
When he said this, I thought of the chaos in Auckland’s
transport system; the years it has taken to produce a Northern Motorway of 4
lanes yet persistently reducing to two lanes; the delays in Transition Gully;
roads contractors paid out for products which erupt in water through the road
sealings within a matter of months. Who
pays for what stands out to me as negligence at best (1) (2) somewhere in the systems of national and local governance?
But what really converted
me was his final presentation for the day:
‘The next time some academics tell you how important
diversity is, ask how many conservatives there are in the sociology
department.’
Wow! This fellow was emerging to me, a pagan, (3) like the missing God on
planet earth.
‘Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by
the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the
dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children.’
So, who was this fellow?
Thomas Sowell.
Born in 1930 into a poor family in segregated North
Carolina. His father died shortly before he was born, leaving behind Sowell's
mother, a housemaid who already had four children. He recalls that his first
memories were living in a small wooden house in Charlotte, which he stated was
typical of most Black neighbourhoods located on an unpaved street and had no
electricity or running water.
Later his family moved from the South to the North where he
qualified for Stuyvesant High School, a prestigious academic high school in New
York City but dropped out by 17 because of financial difficulties before being
drafted into the Marine Corp for the Korean War. Honourably discharged, after leaving military
service, Sowell completed high school, took a civil service job in Washington,
DC, and attended night classes at Howard University, a historically black
college.
His high scores on the College Board exams and
recommendations by two professors helped him gain admission to Harvard
University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in economics. He earned a master's degree from Columbia University the
following year and in 1959, studied for his Doctor of Philosophy degree under
George Stigler, who would later receive the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Sowell has supported conservative political positions on
race and has argued that systemic racism is an untested, questionable
hypothesis, writing:
‘I don't think
even the people who use it have any clear idea what they're saying, and compared
it to propaganda tactics used by Joseph Goebbels because if it is repeated long
enough and loud enough, people "cave in" to it.’
Whereas I do not contend that the pedigree of three chaps
with some Maori pedigree whom I mentioned in A Step Too Far, (4) emerging from a lower
socio eco rural rump of New Zealand to the diverse levels they (Rt Hon Winston
Peters, Hon Clem Simich and the author of this missive) achieved, compare in
any shape of form with the astonishing career path for of Sowell from the bowels
of society, the paradigm is similar.
The paradigm? No
special treatment from government and each has paid high taxation rates all
their lives, yet they succeeded.
As Machiavelli once said: “Virtue et Labor” [Good fortune is hard work].
References:(1) https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/scampi-inquiry-damns-fisheries-officials/2GAMGVNN7AZCVO3T2OPBPFBM2E/
(2) https://sfo.govt.nz/media-cases/media-releases/men-guilty-of-corruption-and-bribery-will-spend-time-in-jail/
(3) https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2023/02/ross-meurant-was-it-gods-wrath.html
5 comments:
Sowell is a prophet of rationality in a world gone made by irrationality.
The world would be a better place if we had more Sowells and less of what we currently put up with.
Irrationality seems to be the path that the left, the CRT ideologues, our politicians and public servants seem to tread.
The right and centre right may not 'right' all the time but they at least think rationally (most of the time).
Greetings Ross.
I too have had the refreshing experience of stumbling across these wise words - but unfortunately, not in person like yourself.
My encounter was, like many others who just happened to be watching one of his many guest appearances on Fox TV.
This guy is the greatest philosopher of modern times.
He would be elected President in a landslide if he decided to run.
For all that, he has value in being one of the few blacks (a bit like your old mate Winston Peter although he is brown who has the ability to expose the Woke leadership of governments throughout the free world as the real threat to our existence. My fear is that he may go the way of Lincoln and Martin Luther King. The Left hate him with a passion and with good reason. His words are more effective than any dreamed up by the wordsmiths on any platform.
Please forgive a more personal suggestion.
Why don’t you come down here to Tairawhiti and make another run for Parliament - this time as a candidate of a party of your choice in the next general election.
I reckon your chances would be better than even. Every bit helps.
You may remember, we met on the campaign trail in Tolaga when you ran for Mayor. That would be a waste of your talents and experience this time. Give it some thought.
Not so long ago this type of comment would have seeped into the msm (newsapapers) but not now, not in Aotearoa, and not with the PIJFund in existance.
Manhattan Institute have some good podcasts with Thomas Sowell.
For any disaffected people a good healthy dose of common sense thinking wouldn’t go a miss.
Your future is in your hands, you choose.
Don’t let others choose for you!
The fact that Sowell is African American only helps get the message across.
And for others who want a good take on what's happening here in what once was 'Godzone' , do have a read of Douglas Murray's 'The War on the West'. A poignant take on self-inflicted bs that we need to be aware of and challenge, unless you're happy selling out to this race based nonsense that is overtaking NZ?
Post a Comment