Culture Matters, Immigration Matters, Sharks Matter
Liberalism in the age of Obama is like a shark cruising the water for blood. Most sharks will just swim past humans. Because humans are not their preferred food source. But, now and again, a shark with a different perspective—one who’s hungry, swims along—and then, God forbid you’re in the water. The odds are actually very small that you’ll meet such a shark. But they increase substantially, depending on a whole range of factors, including how much time you spend swimming in the places where sharks live.
Some people will use sleight of hand, in order to make the case that such concerns are foolish. They’ll include time spent in lakes and rivers, places where sharks generally aren’t found. “How about bathtubs and showers, isn’t that time spent in the water?” they may joke. Of course, rational people understand that time in the shower, is not the same as time in the ocean, unless you have sharks in your shower. But it is water, so it’s all the same, I guess. The intent behind this constant barrage of disinformation is simple, muddy the water and try and make the person you disagree with look foolish by making light of their evidence.
This is not an attempt to educate or illuminate. It is an attempt to obfuscate. Throw a statistic out there and hope that no one is really paying attention. That way you can sound rational, but only as long as no one is listening too closely.
Here’s the real truth; if you go in the ocean every day, the odds of shark attack increase. Swim in waters where shark attacks are most common—as many people do—in say, Daytona Beach and the surrounding areas, and the odds increase yet again. Swim at night, during shark breeding season, and a whole other set of odds comes into play.
Even the most ardent shark fanatic will tell you, “Always swim where people are around, especially lifeguards. Don’t swim at night and don’t swim if you’re bleeding. These would be a few helpful hints. But some people will simply laugh and call you shark-a-phobic, or a shark hater, a person suffering from species-ism, maybe. They will then say that humans kill far more sharks than the sharks kill humans—and they will be right—at least, in this one instance.
Most shark experts aren’t irrational people, though. They understand that sharks are carnivores, opportunistic predators, and they will tell you to be careful when you’re in the water. Bathtubs excluded, of course.
Hardened ideologues are very different animals, however. They don’t really care about the facts. They care about some abstract idea that is rumbling around in their heads, where all fish are the same, as are all people. Background doesn’t matter. Culture doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter. A ten foot bull shark in your pool is no different than a guppy, because they’re both fish, you see. Arguments about culture may follow a similar pattern.
What about people from a culture where there is no functioning democracy? Where there is no respect for women? Or, how about a society with a near universal hatred of gay and transgender people? Or one where there is no belief in legal due process, no constitution—and certainly, no Bill of Rights, what then? Some folks will say “We’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glory. So what’s the difference between people living in the U.S. and those living in Saudi Arabia or the Congo?”
“Everything.” Is the answer.
Culture matters. If it didn’t, why would these same people think of themselves as “Culture warriors?” The answer; they are at war, and they know it, even if most of Americans don’t. And they are perfectly willing to lie and obfuscate to further their cause, which tends to be motivated by ideology, not evidence. Let me stress, I’m not talking about limited immigration from third world countries. Limited immigration compels people to integrate. Mass immigration, on the other hand, tends to produce precisely the opposite effect.
Here’s a hint; as someone who lives in S. Florida, I always look before I leap into a pool, especially at night. Have I ever run into a wayward shark or hungry alligator after mindlessly jumping in for a refreshing swim? No. But others have. In the case of alligators and crocodiles, it happens often enough to make looking before you leap, a very reasonable caution. Similarly, president Obama designated seven nations as Jihad hotspots—the same seven used by president Trump—as did Bill and Hillary Clinton. All agreed, in fact. But modern progressives hope you don’t know this. Because a goldfish in the pool, is still a fish. So is a 500 lb. bull shark—and their hope is that you are either too blindly loyal, or too damned dumb to know the difference.
Mark Magula
Some people will use sleight of hand, in order to make the case that such concerns are foolish. They’ll include time spent in lakes and rivers, places where sharks generally aren’t found. “How about bathtubs and showers, isn’t that time spent in the water?” they may joke. Of course, rational people understand that time in the shower, is not the same as time in the ocean, unless you have sharks in your shower. But it is water, so it’s all the same, I guess. The intent behind this constant barrage of disinformation is simple, muddy the water and try and make the person you disagree with look foolish by making light of their evidence.
This is not an attempt to educate or illuminate. It is an attempt to obfuscate. Throw a statistic out there and hope that no one is really paying attention. That way you can sound rational, but only as long as no one is listening too closely.
Here’s the real truth; if you go in the ocean every day, the odds of shark attack increase. Swim in waters where shark attacks are most common—as many people do—in say, Daytona Beach and the surrounding areas, and the odds increase yet again. Swim at night, during shark breeding season, and a whole other set of odds comes into play.
Even the most ardent shark fanatic will tell you, “Always swim where people are around, especially lifeguards. Don’t swim at night and don’t swim if you’re bleeding. These would be a few helpful hints. But some people will simply laugh and call you shark-a-phobic, or a shark hater, a person suffering from species-ism, maybe. They will then say that humans kill far more sharks than the sharks kill humans—and they will be right—at least, in this one instance.
Most shark experts aren’t irrational people, though. They understand that sharks are carnivores, opportunistic predators, and they will tell you to be careful when you’re in the water. Bathtubs excluded, of course.
Hardened ideologues are very different animals, however. They don’t really care about the facts. They care about some abstract idea that is rumbling around in their heads, where all fish are the same, as are all people. Background doesn’t matter. Culture doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter. A ten foot bull shark in your pool is no different than a guppy, because they’re both fish, you see. Arguments about culture may follow a similar pattern.
What about people from a culture where there is no functioning democracy? Where there is no respect for women? Or, how about a society with a near universal hatred of gay and transgender people? Or one where there is no belief in legal due process, no constitution—and certainly, no Bill of Rights, what then? Some folks will say “We’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glory. So what’s the difference between people living in the U.S. and those living in Saudi Arabia or the Congo?”
“Everything.” Is the answer.
Culture matters. If it didn’t, why would these same people think of themselves as “Culture warriors?” The answer; they are at war, and they know it, even if most of Americans don’t. And they are perfectly willing to lie and obfuscate to further their cause, which tends to be motivated by ideology, not evidence. Let me stress, I’m not talking about limited immigration from third world countries. Limited immigration compels people to integrate. Mass immigration, on the other hand, tends to produce precisely the opposite effect.
Here’s a hint; as someone who lives in S. Florida, I always look before I leap into a pool, especially at night. Have I ever run into a wayward shark or hungry alligator after mindlessly jumping in for a refreshing swim? No. But others have. In the case of alligators and crocodiles, it happens often enough to make looking before you leap, a very reasonable caution. Similarly, president Obama designated seven nations as Jihad hotspots—the same seven used by president Trump—as did Bill and Hillary Clinton. All agreed, in fact. But modern progressives hope you don’t know this. Because a goldfish in the pool, is still a fish. So is a 500 lb. bull shark—and their hope is that you are either too blindly loyal, or too damned dumb to know the difference.
Mark Magula