The true enemy of man is generalization (Czeslaw Milosz).
I don’t know when the anti-American generalizations began, but I know they are not in the best interest of a nation that achieved great power and prosperity because of its Anglo-American roots. When the USA became the great American Melting Pot, immigrants adapted to the communities already in place, rather than rail against micro-aggressions by the native-born (that have always existed). Thus, San Francisco’s Chinatown did not erupt in Asian Lives Matter riots in the 20th century.
The only generalization worthy of a great nation is Enlightened Lives Matter. This is true, but America’s academic and media elite cannot resist pernicious generalizations, because they want to keep one party (Democrat) in power. Democrats can’t win without black votes, so faculty teach the GOP doesn’t think black lives matter. Democrats want no-control elections, so CNN re-brands Republican election reform as Jim Crow 2.0.
Black conservative Candace Owens resents tee shirts with George Floyd’s likeness beneath “Black Lives Matter.” She thinks canonizing an under-achieving black man demeans consequential black men, such as Martin Luther King, and sees the appropriate response to Floyd’s death as a moment of silence or candlelight vigil – not a summer of race riots across the nation. Owens thinks “black lives matter” is a political generalization and no better than “all lives matter” or “blue lives matter.”
Because of my humanity, I was shocked by the cop’s brutality. Because I believe black Americans are endowed (by God) with certain unalienable rights, Floyd’s life didn’t have “to matter” for me to mourn. A life must be consequential, important or significant to “matter” to 330 million Americans. Floyd’s life was important to his family and friends. His death was significant to a political movement. I wish George Floyd had life in stead of national significance.
Back to Nobel-winning Czeslaw Milosz, who learned to suspect authoritarian generalizations in his native Poland during the German and Russian occupations, and then in America during the Vietnam War. His enlightened mind saw the propaganda for what it was: generalizations about others to suppress resistance to the regime and its endgame. History has proven him right about the consequences of un-checked generalizations:
- The consequence of un-checked racial generalizations by German Nazis was the Holocaust and 6.3 million Jewish deaths.
- The consequence of un-checked class generalizations by Russian communists was Polish economic stagnation and mass deprivation of resources.
- The consequence of un-checked geopolitical generalizations by Kennedy-Johnson Democrats was 58,000 dead and 304,000 wounded Americans.
Right now, America’s true enemy are the illiberal academy and media, who restrict freedom of thought and behavior. The authoritarian weapon of choice is partisan generalization, such as these mad-liberal doozies:
- A “fascist regime” – not impolitic Republican – was installed in January 2017
- A slave economy – not a “more perfect union” – was created in 1787
- Those were “mostly peaceful protests” – not arson and looting – last summer
- That was a “Big Lie” – not implausible vote totals – trumpeted by the GOP
- That is not a “crisis” on the Mexican border
If left un-checked, this won’t end well for left-wing authoritarians. Generalizations, such as voter ID laws being racist and wanting a “truth czar” in the White House, eventually run into details (multiple polls showing 80% of Americans support photo-ID laws) and constitutional rights (first amendment). History proves as much: self-serving generalizations sow resentment and resistance, so all is not lost.
Enlightened lives matter in times of severe conflict. To wit, a black senator, Tim Scott (R-SC), wants better policing, not a war on white cops. A Democrat senator, Joe Manchin (WV), supports the senate filibuster, not his party’s dominance. A liberal justice, Stephen Breyer, opposes any Democrat court-packing scheme, in spite of the high court’s 6-3 conservative majority. These are enlightened and consequential men, and their lives do matter.
