There is truth and there is Chinese truth
A society that is unable or unwilling to define a woman is a society that has failed. It may not have crashed, yet. But the crash is inevitable. I don't need to add to the current discussion around this issue. But it strikes me as a sign of where we are and where we are going. Never mind Ketanji Brown Jackson. After all, she's not a biologist. But just imagine, the largest circulation newspaper in our country cannot define a woman. This is not some obscure academic journal discussing rare cases of Klinefelter syndrome. No, it's a common sense journal of the masses. Or it pretends to be; just look at its Sports section.
Now, they could if they so chose. Because regardless of what they print, they know, we all know, what is a woman. But rather, they decided to obfuscate. To make it seem complicated and unclear. And of course, they are not alone. Fully half of our fellow countrymen are onboard with this nonsense. They either fully support it or tacitly support it. If you doubt me on this, ask yourself if Joe Biden would answer the question: What is a woman? Would Joe do any better? I don't think so.
Do you really want to vote for someone who does not know what a woman is? Or simply is too cowardly to say? And herein lies the problem. Evidently, half of the country says: Yes, I want that!
The fact that these people cannot define a woman is not the start of it. It's the end of it.
The end of what?
Truth and reason.
And that is the end of everything.
Can we build and sustain a society without truth and reason? You bet. Perhaps the best current example is China. And the Soviet Union before that. But there are numerous current examples. North Korea. The theocratic states of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The autocratic states of Russia and Venezuela. The many kleptocratic states of Africa and Latin America.
But our forefathers built Western Civilization on truth and reason. It was never perfect. And it will never be perfect. But for those imperfections, past and present, many people today want to kill it. They do not believe in Western Civilization, just as they do not believe in truth and reason. They believe in my truth, your truth, and his truth. But not objective truth. And without truth, there can be no reason.
Subjective truth is pliable; it is whatever we want it to be. So the only truth that matters is the truth of those who are in power. It is worth noting that this is not the truth of the fittest. And it is certainly not the truth of those with the best ideas. It is rather the truth of the most corrupt and ruthless. Think of it as Chinese truth.
For many years, I have asked, quite sincerely, what is it that these people want? These people among us who do not believe in objective truth. Do they want to live in a society like China? They find the question absurd, and maybe it is. No one claims to want that.
What you have to understand is they still fiercely lay claim to reason. In fact, they truly believe that subjective truth yields better reason. How? Because according to its advocates, subjective truth is more empathetic, compassionate, understanding, and broad-minded. And tolerant, they always profess tolerance. They argue that objective truth is a simplistic, narrow-minded fiction which refuses to acknowledge multiple perspectives.
Of course this is not true. Those of us who believe in objective truth can acknowledge, appreciate, and even learn from, any number of perspectives. I think the difference is that we see one more truth than they do. As they assert, there is my truth, your truth, and his truth. But there is also the truth. While it may be difficult, our job is to find it. Even if they agree that the truth exists in theory, they grant it little or no importance.
This is why the subjectivists have such an inflated sense of their own morality. And an artificially low opinion of anyone out-of-step with their ideas. They do not merely disagree with their adversaries; they have convinced themselves that their opponents are morally inferior. This is the true genesis of cancel culture. They believe we are intolerant and narrow-minded, and therefore do not deserve to be heard. Never mind the arguments put forth. Their professed tolerance simply does not extend to everyone's truth. And certainly not to inconvenient truth.
Okay now, so what do they want? They want reason on a foundation of subjective truth without the constraints of objective reality.
It is possible. That is to say, it is possible to believe in such.
This is how you can believe in open borders and an unlimited taxpayer-supported social safety net. You see no reason to secure the US border, but you believe in the sanctity of the Ukrainian border. You can require IDs to buy cigarettes and alcohol, but not to vote. You can shut down the sources of carbon and nuclear energy, and then complain about electricity and gasoline prices. You can dramatically raise the money supply, and at the same time rail about inflation. You can believe that dividing people into racial groups will lead to greater equity. You believe in free speech in concept, but not in practice. You can believe in affirmative action for minorities, but not for all minorities. You can believe in high taxes and defunded police departments, and yet not understand the shrinking tax base. This is how you can live without God, yet believe in the dignity of jihadists. This is how you can blame Guns, Germs, and Steel for global inequities, and not the carcinogenic culture of these societies.
Subjective truth allows you to believe that Western Civilization is grossly unjust, while at the same time elevating a broader swath of people than any other system by far. Subjective truth does not ask, because it cannot answer, the question: What else then? Besides, who are we to question the truth of other cultures?
Subjective truth allows you to believe that the man in the pool is a woman. Likewise, who are we to question Will Thomas' truth?
Reason on a foundation of subjective truth. It's a faith system. The adherents are the same people responsible for an out of control and unaccountable government. High energy prices, lockdowns and mask mandates, a costly regulatory environment, supply chain issues, a farcical foreign policy, the devaluation of the dollar, and a complete breakdown of our education system.
Yes, our education system. Let's call it what it is: K-12 grooming and indoctrination, followed by a university degree that is nothing more than credentialed proof of post secondary (advanced) indoctrination. These are the people who gave us intersectionality, which we now understand is a fancy word for divide and conquer. And while our education system is so busy grooming and indoctrinating, there's very little actual educating going on.
If you doubt me on this, pick any ten-year-old, and ask him a single-digit multiplication question. Educators no longer teach multiplication tables. Nor spelling, nor grammar, nor history. Ask a high school student who fought in the Second World War. Ask a college student which two bodies of water the Suez Canal connects? You can forget about critical thinking. As Glenn Reynolds likes to say, this is not a bug, it's a feature.
Reason on a foundation of subjective truth. What is that? Subjective rationality, dogmatic expectations, doctrinaire reality? There must be a term for it. But whatever it is, it is not critical thought. Again, it's a faith system. They believe in the truth of those who are in power. Critical thinking is difficult. Believing what you are told is so much easier. And hey, since truth is subjective, their truth (that is, the truth of those who are in power) is just as likely as any other truth. It sounds good, it sounds hopeful. So let's go with that.
They may want reason on a foundation of subjective truth, but that does not invalidate objective truth. It is still there; lurking beneath all. The corrupt and the ruthless will take advantage of this naivety. They always do.
In the end, there will only be Chinese truth.
This is not an admonition. This is a prediction.
With a single party state, a complicit media and educational establishment, and social media censorship, we are well on our way. Will Thomas is a woman called Lia and a champion female swimmer. Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation. The high price of oil is Putin's fault. Zelenskyy is a democrat. America is the most racist country in the world. Race is the most important attribute of a person and biological sex is completely irrelevant. These are Chinese truths. Many more to come.
These people are killing us. I would like to say: I fear for my country. But is it my country? I certainly don't recognize it.
I suggest you hold on to your guns and buy some more ammo.
We get closer to Chinese truth every day.