Here Is The Difference

The Left Is TOP DOWN, The Right Is Bottom Up

Perusing the great Instapundit blog and this story on book banning caught my eye. Book banning is something that has been with human civilization almost since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany. Conveniently, Martin Luther used the printing press and started a reformation. I am sure the sitting Pope would have liked to have banned Luther’s efforts.

Books that librarians in the Industrial Government-Run School complex want to ban:

Books the Industrial Government-Run School Complex want to add:

Right now, there is a ton of outrage from the vocal leftist minority about what Florida has done with math books. Florida decided to ban books that used math to try and indoctrinate children to themes of critical race theory, sex, and other topics best discussed in the home. Paraphrasing Florida governor Ron DeSantis's remarks, “Shouldn’t math just be about numbers and getting to the right number?”

Not for committed leftists who never miss an opportunity to try and advance their anti-freedom agenda.

Herein lies the core difference between the left and the right when it comes to solutions to problems. If you have noticed, there are big differences even when they can agree on the problem they are trying to solve.

The left wants to solve everything top-down. They want an elite credentialed panel of experts to recommend something. That goes into the correct unelected bureaucratic agency that they control to be sewn into a policy which is then sent down to the proletariats, I mean citizens. That policy is enforced, often brutally, by various arms of the government. In some cases, it’s just an inspector fining a business or person. In other cases, you are arrested and taken to jail. The extreme effects of this sort of thinking can be seen in communist countries like Venezuela North Korea and China. Softer top-down administration can be seen in American cities like Chicago.

The right wants to solve problems bottom-up. People get information and decide for themselves. There is personal responsibility associated with those decisions. Instead of “one size fits all” it is different. You are free to choose, and you have to tolerate people that might not agree with you.

When I look at the two lists of books that the Industrial Government-Run School Complex wants to ban, there are distinct differences. Both lists have books that deal with controversial themes.

However, it’s the way they serve up those themes that make all the difference.

The top list serves up the theme and the reader is forced to critically think. They are confronted with something and they have to ponder it and decide if they want to accept or reject the theme. It’s up to the reader to decide how to act on it.

The second list doesn’t serve up the theme. It indoctrinates the theme. Rejection of the theme implies guilt. There isn’t any critical thinking to be had. No objectivity. The reader has one decision to make, go along or be ostracized.

Big Tech's social media policy is one corporate example of the leftist top-down strategy being applied. Trump can’t be on Twitter, but plenty of despots who advocate violence enjoy the benefits of the platform.

If you think I am wrong, try going against “prevailing wisdom” sometime. See what happens. We just saw what happens to people when objective reasoning conflicts with official government policy on issues like Covid. If you have the courage, try it with something else in your hometown. Go to a school board meeting and speak up. Speak out against bad policy endorsed by experts at a city council meeting. Try to be “out of the closet” as a conservative in a place like Chicago. Going against the tide is hard to do and our public media vilifies conservatives that do it, while at the same time heralding the leftists that do it.

They will tell you that you are not fair. By the way, fairness is subjective so the only fair things are things they decide. They will tell you free markets don’t work. In the leftist world, this is true since they tie up markets with all kinds of restrictions and then advantage their crony capitalist friends. They don’t compete, they grift. At the end, they will call you a Nazi or a racist.