“I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, not to hate them, but to understand them.”
Baruch Spinoza (Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, 1670)
“The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best.”
Thomas Sowell
Greetings!
Transparency is a funny concept, isn’t it? I, for one, am curious about the extent to which we are fully capable to see things for what they are. Today, we question the (great) narrative, remind physicians of their fundamental duty, get a new report from the CIA, nominate a comedian for President, suggest canceling Black History Month, and see what it’s like to raise kids in the wild.
Enjoy.
THE GREAT NARRATIVE: The much anticipated sequel to The Great Reset is now available, friends, and it is titled … wait for it … The Great Narrative. Yay. According to authors Klaus Schwab (founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum) and Thierry Malleret (CEO of the Monthly Barometer), the book is “a guide for anyone seeking to better understand how the world has evolved since the pandemic started and what solutions can make us more resilient, equitable and sustainable”. Moreover, they say, The Great Narrative is “an optimistic book that categorically rejects the negativity that permeates too many doomsday narratives ready to consign us to a future of oblivion”. So, make sure not to miss the WEF’s most cheerful predictions for 2030. #1 on the list is: “you’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy” (YOU, not WE !). If this sounds a bit like fortune cookie wisdom, perhaps we might gain some perspective on storytelling from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
INDOCTRINOLOGY: For more than two decades, psychiatrist Sally Satel has been documenting how political correctness and social justice activism are increasingly corrupting the field of medicine. The latest example of this phenomenon, which she refers to as “indoctrinology”, is a 54-page document from the American Medical Association titled ‘Advancing Health Equity: A Guide to Language, Narrative, and Concepts’, which calls on doctors to “focus attention on inequitable systems, hierarchies, social structure, power relations, and institutional practices”. In this article, Dr. Satel argues that the guide reads more like a postmodern manifesto than an actionable blueprint for physicians. Moreover, she is concerned that a shift of attention from diagnosing and treating disease to addressing “perceived root causes” in health outcomes will likely hurt the well-being of patients, as well as public trust in medicine as a whole. Read her piece, What is happening to my profession?, HERE.
IMMACULATE CONCUSSION, PART II: We can neither confirm nor deny … Just two weeks after an interim CIA report had deemed it unlikely that Havana Syndrome was the result of a sustained campaign of attacks on U.S. personnel by a foreign adversary, a panel of intelligence analysts and outside experts conceded on February 2nd that at least some of the incidents are unlikely to have been caused by anything other than pulsed electromagnetic energy or high-power ultrasound beams. It is still unclear how many of the roughly 1,000 reported cases fall into this category. “We, our families and colleagues, and the nation would have been far better served by a coordinated presentation of the findings of this panel and CIA’s”, said the group Advocacy for Victims of Havana Syndrome.
KEEPING IT REAL: In this clip, comedian Bill Maher wonders why Republicans no longer see him as a villain but a hero instead (even suggesting he could run for President). Maher attributes the shift in mindset to the simple fact that he is unafraid to point out the excesses of the Left. “They never gave me so much to work with”, he says before adding, “if you do goofy shit, wherever you are on the spectrum, I’m going to make fun of you”. Then he goes through an extensive list of ideas and policies that Liberals are pushing for, such as decriminalizing shoplifting, eliminating rent, canceling Lincoln, making Mr Potato Head "‘gender neutral”, and installing breathalyzers into vehicles to prevent drunk driving. If you can’t beat ‘em, mock ‘em.
ANCIENT WISDOM: In this 2005 interview, Morgan Freeman tells Mike Wallace on ‘60 Minutes’ why he thinks Black History Month is “ridiculous”, and leaves him gasping for air (literally) when he offers a simple recipe to get rid of racism.
FLICK OF THE WEEK: Starring Viggo Mortensen in the main role, Captain Fantastic revolves around Ben Cash, his wife Leslie, and their six children, who live deep in the wilderness of Washington state. Isolated from society, Ben and Leslie devote their existence to raising their kids, educating them to think critically, training them to be physically fit and athletic, guiding them in the wild without technology, and demonstrating the beauty of co-existing with nature. Things get complicated after Leslie dies, and Ben must face difficult choices regarding the future of his family.