There are reasons to be deeply concerned about the raging “DEI” or Identity Industrial Complexes just as there are good reasons to be deeply concerned about War Industrial Complexes and NGO Industrial Complexes and the victimhood-sickness-dependency Industrial Complexes, and Propaganda mills.
Timothy P. Carney then a fellow at the American Enterprise Institutes wrote in an article posted online several years ago: In a few moments,
“social media can create… an insatiable mob that deputizes itself to enforce the ever-shifting orthodoxy of elite identity politics. This mob brooks no dissent or nuance.…” Standard tactics of all ideological types include misrepresentation, omission, oversimplification.
This author observed that “progressive identity politics … ignores reason, shouts down questioning, (and) requires rejection of plain facts and obvious truths.” American Enterprise Institute (AEI) “Progressive Identity Politics Can Dumb down Anyone” August 8, 2017 https://www.aei.org/articles/progressive-identity-politics-can-dumb-down-anyone/
The Carney article is interesting as far as it goes. But it does not probe deeply enough.
The destructive complexes I refer to are created, enabled and sustained not only by insidious media entities of traditional and nontraditional varieties; but also, by a deeply ingrained, too-easily accepted preexisting condition: the tyrannical hijacking and control of language and meaning, definition of terms, concepts, and existence itself.
Among Americans in particular (I am American and thus most familiar with Americans, and I am uninterested in excusing “us” with a torrent of blame against “them”)—and across ideological bents, preferences and penchants—there seems to be a calculated and careless abuse, misuse and misrepresentation of language. My observation is that people who self-identify as liberals and those self-identify as conservatives or variations of these often select a pattern of behavior that is similar to or identical with the pattern they criticize in others. Seeming opposites choose to abuse language as it suits their individual purposes or perceived ends.
One particularly egregious offense is the use of “progressive.” And to some lesser extent, the curious uses of left and right, marginable and non-marginable. Such terms are dependent on the prism through which the center is perceived together with the perceived proximity to that center. But sticking with the term “progress” (and its derivatives “progressive,” “progressives”, “progressivism”), the coinage is erroneous (deliberate or not)—whether it is used as a self-description or in criticism of other persons, entities or actions. The observable image, actions, effect does not pass muster. It doesn’t ring true.
Progress signifies forward movement, movement onward or upward; advancement, growth; betterment: becoming better, improving, adding true value, merit, goodness. However, what Americans term progress manifests breakdown, chaos, destruction. Its upshot: regress, backwardness.
The prevailing chaos perpetrated by self-described “progressives” and critics who persist in this abuse of language collude in denying that which they claim to support: such niceties as free thought and thoughtfulness, self-reflection, open-mindedness; and the quest for the understanding of any subject, cause, culture or issue. We seem to be living not in a progressive era; but, rather, in a modernity of chaos (or chaotic modernity). But the pattern is an old one.
The old pattern masterminded by US (and UK) powers has played out for many decades in scores of countries across the world. Name any tribe or tribal variation, and US entities will be found exploiting whatever the difference, nuance, jealousy or discontent (even disrupting longstanding good relations) — (e.g., Sunni-Shia, Yemen's Shiite Houthis North vs Sunnis South, similarly in Iraq)—to exploit, create chaos, raze and ruin nations and peoples.
Documented Conflicts across the world today (estimated)
- · “more than 45 armed conflicts” (in the Middle East and North Africa: Cyprus, Egypt-Muslim, Iraq-Muslim, Israel, Libya-Muslim, Morocco-Muslim, Palestine, Syria, Turkey-Muslim, Yemen and Western Sahara-Muslim
- · 34 in Europe-Eurasia (Black Sea and Balkan Peninsula regions)
- · 21 in Asia (Afghanistan-Muslim, India-Hindu, Myanmar-Buddhist, Pakistan-Muslim and Federally administered areas and autonomous areas including Kashmir-Muslim) and The Philippines, Latin America
- · 35 on the African continent (excluding Libya, Egypt Morocco previously mentioned): Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia-Muslim, Mali-Muslim, Mozambique, Nigeria-Muslim, Senegal-Muslim, Somalia-Muslim, South Sudan and Sudan (Muslim).
Within America’s classroom and far beyond the classroom, there are reasons to be deeply concerned about the Identity Industrial Complexes, War Industrial Complexes, NGO Industrial Complexes, victimhood-sickness-dependency Industrial Complexes, and Propaganda mills.
In an article critiquing a pseudo-academic program at the University of Arizona, Timothy K. Minella touches on harmful pattern of manipulating meaning to promote ignorance and misunderstanding, anger, chaos and conflict—backwardness and regress.
In “The Academically Unserious DEI Mandates of University of Arizona, Minella reports that subjectivist notions inserted into the General Education curriculum are promoting “politically activist ideologies to a captive audience of students (who are required to) complete the programs in order to receive a degree.”
The purpose of studying diverse cultures is not to understand them on their own terms, but rather to prepare (students) for action against supposed inequities. … Many of these courses … urge students to advance activist political causes while engaging in academically unserious exercises.
Anti-intellectualism insinuated into the academy and imposed on impressionable minds would
replace scientific observation … with subjective ‘identities’: … hijacking serious scientific course content; (and inserting) politically activist efforts … (copied from) dogmatically progressive institutions (reported to have lost) both membership and public confidence.… The goal (of these courses) is activism, not understanding.”University leaders seem to “believe it is more important for students to receive lectures in progressive activism than to gain basic knowledge of American history and civics.Students could graduate … without learning about the US Constitution, the Civil War, or landmark Supreme Court cases”; but “having ‘lived like a bug.’” The goal is activism, not understanding. Minella, Timothy K. 2024 “Anti-Bug Bigotry? The Academically Unserious DEI Mandates of University of Arizona.” June 4, 2024, The Goldwater Institute https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/policy-report/anti-bug-bigotry/ Timothy Minella is a senior constitutionalism fellow at the Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy
Check and Recheck
Lived reality flies in the face of self-righteousness—
No matter who or what practices self-righteousness.
References
National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/indias-untouchables-face-violence-discrimination
World Atlas https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/yemen-s-tribes-and-tribal-confederations.html
https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/yemen-crisis.htmlNations Online https://www.nationsonline.org/index.htmlGeneva Academy https://geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts
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Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual imagesCopyright © Carolyn LaDelle BennettAuthor’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennetthttps://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaphhttps://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennetthttps://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/nolandanisland@hotmail.com
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