The following story, recorded in the Book of Mormon, took place in America about 29 to 23 B.C. It’s events are amazingly similar to recent history. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part … Read more
In the early days of the Internet there was a great deal of optimism. In a 2010 survey of technology leaders, 85% agreed that the “social benefits of internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade.” Eleven years later, it has become clear just how naïve those opinions were. Anonymity The fatal … Read more
But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin. Doctrine and Covenants 49:20 This scripture is very specific about the current imbalance of wealth in America and the world. First it says “it is not given.” This means that God did not set … Read more
In his 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning (1976) economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) expressed an optimistic vision of commercial exchange that emphasized the idea that both sides could win and that such exchanges were essentially civil. The possibility of co-ordination through voluntary co-operation, rests on the elementary—yet frequently denied—proposition that both parties to an … Read more
America today is characterized by outrageously high income inequality, a crumbling social safety net, financially struggling public schools, expensive or unavailable health care, the loss of employer retirement plans, and the privatizing of government services. What many don’t know is that this sad state of affairs is the result of a deliberate plan created 50 … Read more
In the election of 2020, nearly 73 million Americans voted for autocracy over democracy. Most of these people are under the brain-numbing influence of lies, manipulation, and conspiracy-thinking. The frightening thing is that even without Trump in the White House, they could still be a potent and dangerous political force. Currently, the most obvious effect … Read more
Republicans like to play a little game with the word “democracy.” Whenever someone refers to the United States as a “democracy” they pipe up in a self-righteous know-it-all voice and say, “The United States is not a democracy, it’s a republic.” This word game, while technically historically accurate, is essentially meaningless. While the founding fathers … Read more
An important way to understand Trump and Trumpism is as an assault on reality. At issue is the attempt to control, to own, immediate truth along with any part of history that feeds such truth. Robert J. Lifton The desire to control reality is typical of authoritarianism, religious zealotry, and cultism. If you control a … Read more