Triple Scam Alert
Occasionally one encounters remarkable erudition and superb writing skills, applied to thought provoking topics in an article, which just begs to be shared with others who would appreciate it. “The Three Great Scams of Our Time” by David Solway, is just such an article:
Corruption, delusion, and mendacity are nothing new as determinants of both personal and collective life. They are staples of human nature. But with the spread of the print and electronic media and the immediate accessibility of information at any time and any place in the “global village,†the opportunity for mass deception has become the distinguishing factor of our time. Sophistry and subterfuge have gone mainstream. The ability of dominant elites to influence and even control the thought-world of vast populations to an historically unprecedented extent is now an integral part of contemporary life.
There are, to be sure, various ancillary elements involved in the ubiquitous public hospitality to blatant fictions and professional guile, including the critical decay of education at all levels and the growing proneness to parasitical entitlements among Western electorates, accentuating the appetite for passivity and stoking what amounts to a handout mentality. A populace coddled by welfare gratuities will accept packaged ideas and doctored reports as readily as they do food stamps, tax exemptions, and government checks.
As a result, intellectual laziness has never been so widespread in a pampered and ostensibly enlightened cultural realm, providing a soft target for media disinformation and political propaganda to work their injurious will. (It must be admitted that even the dispensers of such concoctions are often under the spell of their own stupefactions.) Nothing else, it would appear, can explain the reflexive acceptance among those who should know better of the three consummate trumperies disfiguring the era in which we live: the Palestinian “narrative,†the climate change shakedown, and the ascent of Barack Obama to the most powerful office in the world. Truth is now at a discount as never before and has been increasingly replaced by promiscuous and sovereign mythologies.
It is pretty difficult to argue with his observations, from across our northern border (he is Canadian). Sometimes the perspective from the outside looking in, provides uncommon clarity to trying circumstances. Do treat yourself to the entire article. I found the comment section worth perusing as well. As always, comments welcome below. â—„Daveâ–º
I read this a few days ago. Mr. Solway has a great grasp as well as a gifted writing style. I place him with the likes of Mark Stein who’s read I always thoroughly enjoy.
Agreed, Chris. Steyn is a personal favorite, and I have read two of his books as well. When I get the time, I will look up more of Solway’s work. â—„Daveâ–º
Great stuff. BTW, I too am a Mark Steyn fan (if this is who you were referring to — otherwise, I am clueless).
Troy
Oops… thanks for catching that, Troy. 😐 â—„Daveâ–º