Author: Kerby Anderson

Kerby Anderson
Yesterday I talked about the book, The Sovereign Individual which decades ago predicted the death of the nation state. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the demise of the nation state are greatly exaggerated. Governments may still exist and exercise their power, but we can see how the power and influence of some governments are in decline. There are many reasons for this trend.
First, is geography. The information revolution has made it possible for many people to make a living online or by working remotely. A factory has a more difficult time changing locations, though many have done so by even leaving the US. By contrast, an individual participating in the cyber economy can pick up and leave a jurisdiction if taxes, regulations, or even climate is unfavorable. They can move from one state to another or from one country to another, and usually, the government is powerless to stop them.
Second, is the reality of a government monopoly. When we go into a store or a coffee shop, we expect customer service, but governments take us for granted and rarely treat us like customers. The authors use this example:
If you went into a store to buy furniture, and the salespeople took your money but then proceeded to ignore your requests and consult others about how to spend your money, you would quite rightly be upset… The fact that something very like this happens in dealings with governments shows how little control its “customers” actually have.
A third reason, not mentioned in the book, is the sad reality that governments are broke. You could argue that the US is $31 trillion past broke. Put another way, the US national debt is significantly more than GDP. And there are a dozen other countries in the world with higher debt loads. This is not sustainable.
Nation states are not dead, but most of them are dying.

Kerby Anderson
The authors of their book, The Sovereign Individual, explain that we are entering into the fourth stage of human society. First, there were the hunting and gathering societies. Then came the agricultural societies. More recently we had the industrial societies. Now, we live within informational societies.
Although the book was written in the 1990s, there are sections of the book that are quoted even now in the second decade of the 21st century. The authors predicted we would use our phones for news, information, and financial transactions. They predicted more people would be learning online. More and more people would be working remotely. And they predicted the rise of “cybercash” and privatized money.
But let me also add that they were also like a typical baseball player and had both hits and misses. But we should appreciate the predictions that were on target. The accuracy of their predictions resulted in part because of the pandemic and lockdowns. The last two years accelerated the trends of remote working and online education. A federal government that printed so much money, increased consumer interest in cryptocurrencies and digital cash.
The authors say we can learn lessons from the past as we see what happened when the agricultural revolution changed society. We can see parallels between the decline of the Church and what they predict will be the decline of the nation-state. Mass production of books ended the Church’s monopoly on Scripture and information. They predict that the information revolution will destroy the power of the nation-state, and allow people to change locations if laws, taxes, or regulations are unfavorable.
Although this book was written two decades ago, it predicted many of the changes we are seeing in our world today during this fourth stage of society.

Kerby Anderson
You are probably aware that Americans distrust science and science magazines more than in the past. But you may not know how much has evaporated. Back in 1975 (when I was finishing a graduate degree in science), Gallup documented that most Americans trusted science. In fact, Republicans trusted science more than Democrats did, 72 percent to 67 percent. Republican confidence in science dropped to 45 percent by 2021.
Christian Schneider argues “Politicized science may make us sicker.” He reminds us of the tactic used against President George W. Bush when his opponents argued that his common-sense regulations of fetal stem cells were hurting and killing people. He quoted from columnist Charles Krauthammer who said he had “never seen a more loathsome display of demagoguery” and added that “Hope is good. False hope is bad.”
Americans don’t even trust science journals, which have become political. Scientific American has started endorsing presidential candidates: Kamala Harris this year and Joe Biden four years ago.
Heather MacDonald (Manhattan Institute) further documents how science has become political in her book, When Race Trumps Merit. She explains in a recent lecture that the American Medical Association insists that medicine is characterized by white supremacy. The Smithsonian Institution announced that “emphasis on the scientific method” and an interest in “cause and effect relationships” are part of totalitarian whiteness.
We would all benefit if scientists and science magazines got back to doing science and medicine and stop following the woke trends in society. This politicized science may make us sicker.

Kerby Anderson
Since the Hamas attack last year on Israel, the government and IDF have been fighting in Gaza. But now Israel has also had to deal with Hezbollah to the north which has fired more than 8,000 rockets at this small country. These indiscriminate attacks have forced thousands of Israelis to flee from the northern part of Israel.
Once again, world leaders are cautioning Israel to avoid escalating this conflict. But Rich Lowry argues that “the Jewish state is under no obligation to tolerate the intolerable.” Instead, the country’s leaders are to treat all these rocket attacks as background noise. No other country in the world would be expected to ignore such attacks on their sovereign nation.
Israel cannot follow these rules. Rich Lowry asks, “What other country is asked to bear the rocketing of its civilian population?” And yet, it was criticized even when it tried to minimize civilian causalities by targeting terrorist leaders through their pagers and electronic devices. The counterterrorist plan is reminiscent of something you might find in a James Bond film or a Mission Impossible film.
Rich Lowry summarizes how Israel is criticized no matter what it does. “Israel hits terrorist targets from the air — and it’s accused of war crimes. Israel goes in on the ground — and it’s accused of war crimes. Israel does neither, opting instead to target terrorists by using their own devices against them — and it’s accused of war crimes.”
Perhaps you can sense the frustration. But you also need to experience the fear. The guide we use for our trips to Israel lives in the region where these rockets are landing. Imagine how you would feel if rockets were landing in your community, and world leaders were cautioning you to show restraint. This is the situation in Israel today.

Kerby Anderson
A recent story from CBN News reports that there has been a fourth major collegiate revival in the last month. According to the story, “thousands of students gathered at the University of Arkansas on Thursday night to seek Jesus Christ and find salvation in His name. Unite US reports that 10,000 students from 67 different universities gathered in Bud Walton Arena.”
One young man shared his powerful testimony right before getting baptized at the event, saying, “I spent a lot of years running from God. I just came to Jesus about five weeks ago, but I got caught up in, I’ll just say it, cocaine and alcohol. I had a lot of really near-death experiences, and I think Jesus had his hand on my life because I should not be here.”
The other campuses reporting a revival last month include the University of South Carolina, Texas A & M at Corpus Christi, and Ohio State University. You are probably also aware of the major revival that took place on the campus of Asbury College in early 2023.
Jerry Newcombe wonders if the “recent campus revivals will spill over to the nation.” He reminds us that poll after poll documents that millions of Americans feel the country is headed in the wrong direction. He goes on to argue that there is a great need of a national revival and then reminds us of the First Great Awakening.
That revival began in the 1730s with the preaching of Reverend Jonathan Edwards and spread through the colonies due to the work of the traveling evangelist George Whitefield. He quotes Benjamin Franklin and John Adams who witnessed the impact of the revivals that led to the great awakening.
America needs a revival and reformation. I pray that what is happening on campus will spread to the rest of the country.

Kerby Anderson
Tariffs are in the news and are being debated between candidates. In the past, tariffs have been used to protect domestic industries and provide an additional source of revenue. The downside of tariffs is that they increase costs for consumers and can lead to retaliation from other countries.
Dominic Pino posted the number 4,392. That is the number of pages in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Before you even get to the first section, there are 900 pages of notes and rules for interpretation.
He explains that once you get into the actual tariffs, you learn how tariffs have been manipulated to favor certain companies and countries and not others. Let’s look, for example, at tariffs on imported meat. The edible part of turkey that is not cut in pieces, frozen, or valued at less than 88 cents per kilogram is taxed at 8.8 cents per kilogram. But if the value is 88 cents or more per kilogram, it is taxed at 10 percent.
If it’s not cut in pieces and is fresh or chilled rather than frozen, then it is taxed at 15 cents per kilogram regardless of valuation. But if you take the time to look at 17 separate trade agreements, you will find cases where the meat is not taxed.
Imported knitted or crocheted fabrics of a width not exceeding 30 centimeters that contain by weight 5 percent or more of elastomeric yarn but no rubber thread and that are made of cotton are taxed at 8.8 percent. Those made of other materials are taxes at 8 percent.
It should be obvious by now that most of these tariffs aren’t listed to protect the consumer but to give one company an advantage in the marketplace.

Kerby Anderson
Imagine being in the Army and watching a presentation about extremism. Up pops a slide with the title “Terrorist Groups” and under it are labels that identify the National Right to Life and anyone with a “Choose Life” license plate as an extremist. Mind you, this slide just followed a slide of the terrorist group ISIS.
This is not the first time we have seen such Army training slides. During the Obama administration, we discussed on my radio program other slides that identified “evangelical Christianity,” Catholicism, and Mormonism as different forms of “religious extremism.”
Danielle Runyan is Senior Counsel and Chair of the Military Practice Group at First Liberty Institute. Her editorial documents what I just discussed and then goes on to explain that this incident at Fort Liberty was not a one-time error. When members of Congress denounced such activity in their letter, the Army response was that the slides were not vetted and implied this was an exception.
Daniele explains that “the repetitive nature of these events in the Army over the past decade, as well as the woke ideology that has plagued our nation and destroyed the careers of thousands of religious servicemembers over the past four years,” make it hard to believe this wasn’t intentional.
She mentions a briefing given to Army personnel at Camp Shelby that identified the American Family Association as a “hate group.” At another briefing, the Defense Equal Opportunity Institute explained that it considered extreme leftist organizations to be a reliable source for training.
If the Army wonders why they are having trouble recruiting Christians to serve in the military, they might want to look at what they are teaching in these training sessions.

Kerby Anderson
Yesterday I talked about the book on free speech by Jonathan Turley (professor of law at George Washington University). Today I would like to talk about the recent column where he documents “The Left’s Assault on the Constitution.”
The reason for his article, and many other articles about the Constitution, is due to a New York Times article that had the title “America’s Constitution is Sacred. Is It Also Dangerous?” Lathan Watts writes, “Our Constitution Isn’t Dangerous, But Our Ignorance of It Is.” Jerry Newcombe responds by asking “Is the Constitution Really Dangerous?”
The purpose of Jonathan Turley’s column is to show that the distain shown for the Constitution in the one New York Times article goes far beyond that one article. The assault on the Constitution involves more than court-packing and is targeted on the freedom of speech.
He quotes a UC Berkeley law school professor who has written a book, No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States. An editor of The Nation magazine calls the Constitution “trash” and urges the abolition of the US Senate. A law professor at Georgetown Law School complains that Americans are “slaves” to the Constitution.
The article in the New York Times repeats similar comments and scoffs at what the author calls “Constitutional worship.” She writes: “Americans have long assumed that the Constitution could save us; a growing chorus now wonders whether we need to be saved from it.” And I might mention a previous New York Times op-ed by two law professors from Harvard and Yale who argued, “The Constitution Is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed.”
These are just a few of the quotes provided by Jonathan Turley. They remind us that it is time to defend the Constitution.

Kerby Anderson
Free speech is very important, but many Americans believe that violence may be necessary to stop candidates or citizens with the wrong views about free speech. On my radio program, I frequently quote Jonathan Turley (professor of law at George Washington University). Though he is a liberal who would disagree with my perspective on many social issues, I quote him because of his dedication to free speech.
I recommend his new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. He provides the history of free speech and makes an excellent case for free speech. However, he laments that for some people “violent language can become violent action.” He explains, “We are living in an age of rage. It permeates every aspect of our society and politics. Rage is liberating, even addictive. It allows us to say and do things that we would ordinarily avoid, even denounce in others.”
One chilling illustration of this I discovered in an article by Bob Unruh. He cites polling research that uncovered the disturbing fact that 26 million Americans believe the “use of force is justified to prevent Trump from becoming president.” The study on “Political Violence and the Election: Assessing the threat from the Left and the Right” also concluded these 26 million are “active, dangerous” and have “growth potential.” On the other side, the study also found that another 18 million say the use of force is justified to “restore Trump to the presidency.”
Jonathan Turley recently cited the number of politicians working with extreme groups and concluded they were “playing a dangerous game toying with groups” that call for violence. I agree with his conclusion that this recent poll is a “chilling account of the growing radicalism in America.”

Kerby Anderson
I want to talk about the word unconfiscatable. Apparently, it isn’t even a word found in many dictionaries, which is why when I write it on my word processor, it has a red squiggly line beneath it. Mitchell Askew brought my attention to this word in his latest book.
He argues that the word isn’t used because nearly every asset we own can be confiscated. The money you have in the bank or the funds you have in the stock market through an IRA or 401k are ultimately in the hands of a third party. It is possible that they or the government could prevent you from getting your money. Just ask the people in Turkey who felt they needed to rob their local bank so they would get the money they put in the bank. Just ask the Canadian truckers who had their bank accounts frozen by the government.
Something that would be more difficult to confiscate would be what we refer to as a bearer asset. That means you have possession of it. One example would be gold. If you take possession of gold coins and put them in a safe deposit box in the bank, you have possession of them. Or do you? In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 that required Americans to give up most of their gold in exchange for cash.
We always assume that we have an inalienable right to private property. But sometimes, especially in other countries, that right to property can be lost. That is why Mitchell Askew argued that bitcoin is unconfiscatable as a form of property. It cannot be taken from you, and it can be moved to anywhere in the world. Few other assets in the world are truly unconfiscatable.

Kerby Anderson
More than a decade ago when I was teaching a class on creation, I heard about some Christians who believed in a flat earth. I was aware that some people were online promoting a flat earth theory but assumed they might just be evolutionists trying to mock Christians.
Apparently, there is a percentage of Christians who believe in a flat earth, deny that men walked on the moon, and even deny the Holocaust ever occurred. One flat earth documentary denies the existence of other planets and denies that stars are far away. As you would imagine, it requires a lot of mental gymnastics to reject the established facts of science and history.
Long before we had pictures of the earth from space, we had evidence of the earth’s curvature. This included the shadow of the earth on the moon during a lunar eclipse and the observation from people who would watch ships sail off in the distance and then slowly sink below the horizon.
 Of course, we have so many more pieces of evidence. I have had an astronaut who walked on the moon in my Sunday School class. I have had another who held the record (until recently) of spending the greatest number of days in the International Space Station. And all of us have pictures and videos of the earth from space.
 Nevertheless, some Christians take Bible passages out of context, like Job 38. Or they quote from a non-biblical source like the book of Enoch. A recent Albert Mohler podcast had a question from someone who asked if a man who believed in a flat earth should be disqualified from being an elder in the church.
Dr. Danny Faulkner (Answers in Genesis) has written about the flat earth phenomenon, and apparently has a book coming out on the subject. That may be a good resource to share with a flat earther, though I fear it won’t make much of a difference.

Kerby Anderson
Earlier this month the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve cut the short-term interest rate target by 50 basis points. The financial world was waiting to see what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell would announce. Even after it happened, commentators were contrasting the words of Powell with his actions and suggesting he was more worried than he sounds.
Guests that I have had on my radio program like to make interesting comments about the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve, they might say, isn’t a federal agency and has doubtful reserves. Another might say that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is the most powerful person in America. What should we think about all of this?
The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to keep inflation low (at 2%) and to also keep unemployment low. It engages in what is called “monetary policy” in an attempt to achieve those two goals. This central bank was established in late December 1913. If you want to read how it was created, you might want to read the book, The Creature from Jekyll Island, which is now in its fifth edition.
As I have talked about in previous commentaries, the Federal Reserve has had to “print” money to finance the massive government spending during these last few decades. In one interview, Jerome Powell explained they “have the ability to create money digitally, and we do that by buying Treasury Bills or bonds or other government guaranteed securities.” He also added in another interview that the Federal Reserve has become the most important factor in the global economy.
Last year, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Jerome Powell has become the most powerful economic voice in America. Perhaps now you can see why so many people pay attention to what Jerome Powell says and what the Federal Reserve does.

Kerby Anderson
School shootings have been in the news for two reasons. Earlier this month, we were able to see the full text of the shooter at Covenant School. The next day, the news was about a shooter at a high school in Georgia.
The Covenant School shooter’s diary is a reminder of the sad and disturbed thoughts running through those who take out their anger on other students. This trans-identifying 28-year-old who killed six people had been in psychological counseling for many years. She manifested all kinds of self-hatred and had eating disorders.
Let me quote from one expert in the article, “The Rise in School Shootings Reflects Both ‘Mental Health and Spiritual Crisis’.” Dr. Jennifer Bauwens observes, “We’re both having a mental health and a spiritual crisis, and there’s just not one factor that contributes to this problem.” After looking at the diary, she concluded that, “this young woman was very oppressed and had a lot of spiritual ideas.” She also added “You do see sort of a typical profile of someone who is identifying as transgender, where there’s all this other host of mental health issues.”
She believes that young people, who are dealing with emotional issues and feel alienated from society, are attracted to some of these radical ideologies. This becomes an excuse since “all my problems are this issue.” That doesn’t mean ”that everyone who identifies as transgender is going to carry out something horrific like this (a school shooting).”
In previous commentaries, I have documented the mental health crisis affecting the younger generations. Social, psychological, and spiritual issues are in play and must be addressed. This is the challenge for schools and the church to make a difference in the lives of these troubled young people.

Kerby Anderson
As I have mentioned in previous commentaries, there has been a significant difference of opinion between the media and average Americans about the economy. The media (and members of the Biden administration) point to certain positive economic indicators and believe Americans should be excited about our current economy.
Earlier this month, the Census Bureau produced its report on household income, poverty, and health coverage. They discovered that real median household income remains lower than in 2019 and has barely grown since 2020. The Wall Street Journal editorial explains “Why Americans Are Sour on the Economy.” The editors even provided a chart that shows contrast between the first three years of the Trump and Biden presidencies.
During the Trump years, incomes climbed for Asians by $14,600, for whites by $8,910, for Hispanics by $6,960, and for blacks by $4,540. By contrast, income gains during the Biden years were modest. Incomes for Asians rose only $1,500, for whites only $850, for Hispanics only $700, and for blacks $2,650. The editors add that because COVID reduced incomes in 2020, this comparison, if anything, flatters the Biden record.
If you look at the last year, you see an even more dismal record. Real median earnings for full-time workers last year declined 1.6 percent. The decline was even worse for high-school grads (3.3%). What that means is that inflation outpaced wages for most low-wage workers.
I think you can see why so many Americans are sour on our current economy.

Kerby Anderson
In his latest book, The Eclipse of God, Erwin Lutzer exposes our nation’s disastrous efforts to redefine God in its own image. Because of this, confusion about God has even crept into the church. He was on my radio program recently to warn us of the danger.
He began by explaining the title. Just as the moon obscures the sun’s light during an eclipse, today’s radical secularism has obscured the light of God. He wrote this book with three objectives. First, to better understand the intellectual roots of this present darkness. Second, to rejoice that God is sovereign and stands ready to give us the blessing of His presence, no matter our predicament. Third, to remind us that only a repentant and submissive church can shine the light of the gospel with confidence and strength.
Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed, “God is dead.” But who killed God? Erwin Lutzer identifies three gravediggers who prepared a coffin for God: Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud. And once God was gone, we became our own God which is discussed in the chapter “Nearer My God to Me: Worshipping at the Shrine of Self-Made Deities.”
The second part of his book establishes what we need to do in “Returning to the God of Our Fathers.” This includes returning to the God of Truth, not “Truthiness.” We must also be returning to the God of Moral Absolutes, Not Our Personal Preferences. And it involves returning to God as Lawgiver, Not a Vacillating Ruler.
His book is a timely and practical manual intended to deepen our love for the God of the Bible. It will empower you to live and speak as a light for Him in a culture of darkness.

Kerby Anderson
When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation? That is a question Sean McDowell and Tim Muehlhoff ask in their new book, End the Stalemate: Move Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations.
We live in a cancel culture. But that doesn’t mean we must either conform or remain silent. Nearly a third of people report they have stopped talking to a friend or family member due to a disagreement. And nearly two-thirds of people say they stay quiet about their beliefs due to the fear of offending others. We can bring light to the darkness. We can be a beacon of sanity that promotes meaningful conversations.
Sean was on my radio program to talk about the book. The first five chapters helped in “setting the stage.” How did we get to this place? He explained that it has been a “perfect storm” of factors: (1) people are hurting, (2) there is a clash of worldviews, (3) opinions are openly expressed on social media, and (4) there is a communication breakdown. That is why we are angry and divided.
The authors then provide six chapters with “practical tips for engaging others.” We learn how to engage explosive issues. We can also create connection and emotional awareness. There are helpful suggestions on how to engage in perspective-taking, how to structure a conversation, and how to speak the truth in love, from a biblical understanding.
There is also a helpful section on presenting the other side using strawman and steelman arguments. A strawman argument comes from paraphrasing an argument in the weakest possible way. A steelman argument is to consider the best and strongest argument. If we wish to have a meaningful dialogue, we shouldn’t minimize the other person’s opinion and perspective.
We need to apply the lessons in this book so we can end this stalemate.

Kerby Anderson
Dr. Casey Luskin (Discovery Institute) was in my studio recently to talk about evolution’s failed predictions. I was able to find an article he wrote in the past about “Design vs. Descent: A Context of Predictions,” which you might want to read to get a fuller explanation.
He begins with a quote from the famous philosopher of science Karl Popper, who wrote that all scientific theories must be falsifiable. Certainly, a scientific theory that is taught in the public schools should have empirical evidence and thus be falsifiable.
Casey Luskin discussed four lines of evidence. Here are two of them.
One line of evidence is biochemical complexity. A prediction of descent would be that there would be few machine-like biologically complex structures in the cell. A prediction from design would be that we should find machine-like irreducibly complex structures that cannot be easily explained by a gradual evolutionary process. He described such irreducibly complex structures and then argued that the best theory to explain the data is design.
Another line of evidence is biochemical functionality. The prediction of descent would be that the genetic code in living creatures would contain a significant amount of genetic baggage. This would be “junk DNA” that is left over from failed genetic adaptations. The prediction of design would be that the genetic code is not full of functionless “junk DNA.”
As we have increased our knowledge of genetics, we have discovered that the so-called “junk DNA” has an important function within the cell. He argues that this functioning DNA would be expected or explained under a design paradigm.
If we look at the predictions and the scientific data, we discover that design is a better explaining theory than descent.

Kerby Anderson
How close are some elections? Let’s look at last year’s 2023 off-year elections. Twenty-six elections ended in ties, and another seven were decided by one vote. According to the Public Interest Legal Foundation, there have been 625 elections that ended in tie votes, and 162 elections that were decided by one vote in just the last 22 years.
In the past, I have told the story of Penny Pullen in Illinois who lost a primary vote. But there were some irregularities. Judge Francis Barth concluded that the election was a tie and ordered a coin toss, and she lost the election. Later she found out that many members of her church hadn’t bothered to vote in the primary election and could have made a crucial difference.
We have also had many close presidential elections. George W. Bush won the 2000 Presidential election by the slimmest of margins. His election essentially was decided by 537 votes in Florida. He won re-election in the 2004 Presidential election again by very slim margins. He won the 20 electoral votes from the state of Ohio with 50.8 percent of the vote.
The last presidential election was closer than most people know. Joe Biden won three key states by the slimmest of margins (by 0.6 percentage points or less). If you flip fewer than 43,000 votes across those three states, the electoral college would have been tied 269 to 269. In case you are wondering, the outcome would be decided by each House delegation. Since the Republicans controlled more states, Donald Trump would be re-elected.
The presidential election may be this close again, and it is certain that many other elections will be very close. Anyone who wonders if his or her vote will make a difference needs to look at how close elections have been.

Kerby Anderson
A recent column in the Washington Post observes that “Western government until recently generally did not regard social media and the vision of free speech they promoted as being fundamentally at odds with democracy.” The author concludes that now these governments do, which is why Elon Musk and Pavel Durov are facing “the revenge of the regulators.” He also warns these men “will have to think more carefully” about “whose soil they’re on when they step off the plane.”
Matt Taibbi exposes what is happening now that “Liberalism Removes Its Mask.” He laments that former Labor Secretary Robert Reich published a guide in The Guardian on how to “rein in” Elon Musk and even suggests that “regulators around the world threaten Musk with arrest.”
Matt Taibbi also points to two articles in the New York Times. The first wondered if “The First Amendment is Out of Control.” The more recent article acknowledged and then asked, “The Constitution is Sacred. Is it Also Dangerous?’
We also might mention the comments by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She complained that the First Amendment was “hamstringing the government.” Of course, that is the purpose of that amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights.
I believe what is happening is exposing leftism within liberalism. In previous commentaries, I have made a distinction between liberalism and the left. Liberals and conservatives believe is free speech. Leftists do not.
I discovered this many decades ago while speaking on college campuses. Liberal professors were willing to engage in debate and discussion. Radical leftists worked to shut down debate and wanted to stop any discussion.
Liberal pundits and politicians loved to talk about free speech on social media platforms, until they saw comments they didn’t like. Now the mask if off.

Kerby Anderson
Peter St. Onge asks, “How did American voters get so dumb?” If you have ever watched the answers given by people on the street to historical or political questions, you know that many American voters are not well educated about our history or form of government. Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking” and Jessie Watters’ “Watters’ World” provide many laughs but also cause us to shake our heads.
When he was a professor, Peter St. Onge ran every inaugural address through a Flesch-Kincaid text analysis to measure the grade level. Most of the inaugural addresses during the 20th century were written at the 13th and 14th grade level. Barack Obama’s inaugural was 8th grade level. Donald Trump’s inaugural was 9th grade level. Joe Biden’s inaugural was 7th grade level.
George Washington’s inaugural began with: “Among the vicissitudes incident to life.” Andrew Jackson’s inaugural began with: “Undertaking the arduous duties that I have been appointed.” Joe Biden’s inaugural began with: “This is America’s day.”
Back to his original question: How did we get so dumb? His answer: the public schools. He reminds us that the modern government school came from 1800’s Prussia that suffered from worker riots and peasant revolts. The goal was indoctrination, not education.
Parents and taxpayers have every right to ask: What are we teaching in the schools? Graduates who we see interviewed on the street corner don’t seem to have a clue about this nation’s history or about the structure of government.
Most of them could not pass the citizenship test we give to people who come here from other countries and desire to become U.S. citizens. Unfortunately, they will vote in November even though they don’t know enough to make an informed vote.