The Rapidly Dissipating Art of Thinking

By Allan J. Feifer December 16, 2022

What do all of the following have in common?

 I have a right to practice recreational oblivion (drug use).

 I have a right to steal “stuff” from stores and not get prosecuted.
 I have a right to believe my “facts” are equal to yours, and then I can make you live by
mine.
 I have a “right” to come to America, and then you must support me to become a citizen.
 I have a right to wealth equal to yours, and if that means taking it from you, that’s okay.
 I have a right to say whatever I want, but you don’t because you are irredeemably White. 
 I have a right not to work if I don’t want to because the government is obligated to
support me.

They’re all modern attitudes that are totally antithetical to a structured and sound thought
process!  I could go on endlessly as all or most of the above are valid points for too many greedy
people.  Years ago, I had an associate who loved to parry with me verbally, and we enjoyed the
interplay.  Sadly, although very smart, this associate sometimes lacked a solid connection to
reality.  She often said, “it could be true” when she perceived I was describing a gray area
between truth and fact.

Now, it seems, our little private game has become the way of the world, with one significant
difference.  In today’s game, one dares not call out certain classes of people on their logic, sense,
truth, or perception of reality for fear of being called any of several powerful, nasty, and socially
irredeemable names.  Indeed, the power of the law backs up this craziness more every day as our
society begins to buy into the belief in “thought crime.”  Let’s talk more about this.  The idea
that “this could be true” speaks to the ever-growing acceptance of “alternative thinking,” i.e.,
thinking without reference to logic, history, or consequence but as equal to rational thought.

Alternative thinking includes:

…managing emotions, feelings, and thoughts from another position, moving away from
pessimism and towards optimism.  It’s also helpful in promoting personal well-being.

It is very much about elevating an individual’s self-worth above actual competence.

In essence, “alternative thinking” is about how you come to your choices through the lens of
emotion, versus a requirement to use logic as a primary thought process.  Logic, like speech
itself, is next up on the hit list of standards, with the excuse it may hurt someone’s feelings —
and that’s all it takes these days.
Here’s how to teach math from a “social justice” point of view: “Proportional Reasoning
Problems Related to Social Justice.” This is an actual Common Core curriculum lesson taught by
one teacher who freely admits that indoctrination through lesson plans is not only perfectly
acceptable but should not require any defense.  A quick internet search will explain how “social
justice” warriors believe merging their radical worldview with actual justice is the only way to
attain a more “perfect” society.

In the middle of this thought is the even scarier understanding that the genesis and genius of this
way of thinking is that the participants don’t even realize they’ve been robbed of an education
and their free will, all at the same time.  Whether through a lack of educational achievement or a
deliberate education that skips having to make a good honest sense of the truth, millions of adults
are functionally illiterate in history, science, math, and mental cognition.  Is it any wonder that
our country appears to have no way (or desire) to stop our current literacy slide in what amounts
to an extinction level event of what used to be a world-leading America?

On the other hand, our enemies continue to aid us in our own destruction by shipping fentanyl to
us by the ton or encouraging various destructive behaviors (think TikTok) that they hope carry
over to our economy’s workers, military, elected government officials, and especially to our
young.  Any detached thinker charged with analyzing trends would see where dozens of learned
behaviors and actions must logically conclude, i.e., our endpoint.  Yet that seems invisible to too
many.  This is where the political divide that exists really comes into play.  Those who
understand logic, truth, and reason versus those who believe all of these quaint ideas are
fungible, situational, and somehow acceptable.  This is where our country stands today.

What to do about this tragedy of these popular belief systems?

First, have you ever heard of the term “performative activism”?  It is an easy target to hit because
of the many well-known public figures, media personalities, and activists who hammer the right
relentlessly, proselytizing their false beliefs.  “Performative activism” is a philosophy of thought
designed to increase one’s social capital rather than one’s devotion to an actual cause.  Another
explanation is that performance activists are frauds, charlatans, and con artists.  They exist today
by the millions, especially in high-visibility avocations where they can influence debates and
conversations and hold themselves as experts and thought leaders.  They are indeed nothing
more than the frauds they are.

How do you distinguish between a real or a fake activist?  Look for someone who achieved their
street cred not from empty statements, but through deeds that take effort and cost them
something tangible and valuable.

Authentic individuals who actually walk the talk are easy to discern.  The rest are easy to find by
studying their bios and listening carefully to their usual messages of hate and division.  Such
individuals tend to make categorical statements like Biden’s “Ultra MAGA” divisiveness
claptrap and other emotional utterances, which amount to nothing more than choreographed
outrage playing well to their simple-minded followers.  But unmask a few, and maybe
conservatives can start to change minds.  And that’s what we need to do, change minds.
In the margins, we see Hispanics questioning Democrat dogma.  We see suburban women,
especially those with school-age children, fearful for their child’s future.  People everywhere are
questioning the governmental advice they received on Covid-19, which was less about protecting
us against the virus and much more about control.

Call out the government on dozens of issues that have never made sense before and don’t now. 
We must make their ability to control false narratives ever more difficult.  We allowed them to
gain a degree of control that the Founders would never have believed possible.  For example,
illegal or hastily citizenized aliens are supposed to replace your importance in future elections. 
Don’t let Democrat leadership win this battle!  The war is going on right now, and far too many
of us don’t know what’s happening in our very own country.  That’s the plan; that’s the game.

Only you and I can change this dynamic.  Only you and I can rip the bandage off and face a
terrible reality unless we start participating in our own future and life now.

Ultimately, do we want to live in a world of “it could be true,” or are you like me, someone who
wants to know the truth and live a life based on that truth, living in the light?  We must each
make that decision.

What will you decide?

God bless America!

Allan J. Feifer is an author, businessman, and thinker.  Read more about Allan, his
background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com.

Image: Mike Licht, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0

13 Comments
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Joe Strader
1 day ago
What that list at the beginning has in common is the evidence of self-idolatry and rejection of
God.

I know this is a political and social site and not a theological one. The writers must take great
care to make their points based on reason and facts. I get it. When I write, I must do the same.
This is good. It makes me analyze the facts separate from my beliefs without contradicting my
beliefs. Some essays never get finished because of this difficulty.
Nonetheless, some problems are really not as much about politics and social issues. Some
problems are problems of the soul.
Allan Feifer
1 day ago
Problems of the soul. How do we fix that? Or, do we start fresh with the next generation and give
up on this one? Allan
Balzoa
1 day ago
My ol' dad used to say, "5% of the people think. 10% of the people THINK they think, and 85%
of the people would rather die than think. (I think he overestimated the percentage of actual
thinkers.)
Alan Halbert
20 hours ago
Your Dad was a smart man...!

In Liberty
Balzoa
19 hours ago
Not until I got into my twenties. THEN he got really smart.

(Actually he spent 33 years flying bombers for the Air Force, so he had to have SOMETHING
going for him upstairs.)
Steven F Solomon
1 day ago
For decades the liberal colleges and universities have been programing our youth on "what" to
think, not, "how" to think.
It is all in their Alinsky playbook.

They are primed and ready for the Great Re-Set.

Allan Feifer
1 day ago
Not enough discussion of the Alinsky Method. It is the playbook our enemies use effectively
against us, over and over again. Break us financially and and morally. Allan Feifer
randyhall44
1 day ago
A friend of mine who tossed eggs at returning shoulders from Vietnam now supports military
action in Ukraine. Not only do people not think they also can’t remember what they once
believed. I’m feeling this condition is either chem-trails or fluoride in the water.
Balzoa
19 hours ago
I suspect it's more like mediocre Marxists teaching in the public schools.
randyhall44
19 hours ago
I’m sure you are right. I was poking fun at those that feel instead of using logic.
Donn Reeves
1 day ago
Well said. Maybe SUPERMAN: TALES OF BIZARRO WORLD was not fiction. Maybe it is a
real world. Where bad is good, wrong is right, men are women, women are men, beauty is hated
and ugliness revered. Indeed "It is very much about elevating an individual's self-worth above
actual competence." This sums up the post-truth world we live in today perfectly.
Emmer Biggins
1 day ago
All points have at their mean, the willful capitulation, and blind adherence to the influence of he
who was cast out of Heaven for rebellion, offering a plan of coercion, mandates and force…by
those who’s desperate attempt to hide their evil under the guise of tolerance, inclusion and
decency.

Unfortunately for them - and the droves of otherwise conservative Americans who blindly follow
- by their fruits shall ye know them still provides the declining number of moral men to clearly
see through their facade.
Wolf P
21 hours ago
I do not fully grasp the “it could be true” point the author makes.

If we were discussing that there’s life elsewhere in the universe, I have no choice but to say it
could be true. I cannot prove its existence due to the vastness and distances of the universe, but I
cannot disprove that something similar (or different but also life) occurred elsewhere.

Back here on earth, take the “Big Lie”. Trump said he won in 2020. I believe there was massive
fraud, but if nobody investigates it, it may or may not have happened, and it may or may not
have been enough to change the outcome. So what he said could be true. We won’t know until
every ballot is scrutinized and Trump (or Biden) got more than half of the genuine votes.

An even more critical decision would be how to fend off the next pandemic. We think method X
could counter virus Y, but we don’t have sufficient proof that it works and/or that it’s safe. It
could be true that X works. If we go for it and it backfires, we are doomed. But if we don’t and it
works, we are missing out.

IMHO “it could be true” is a valid response when we don’t have all the facts.

What am I missing?