As I have an idea that could turn the tide (which would serve your interests whether I agree with them or not): All conversations on the country fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thx 🙏
I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future.
A.K.A. Learning!
What I do takes work:
Time & effort to think it through. If you’re not interested in hearing me out and having meaningful conversation — we have nothing to talk about and I wish you well. But if you’re game for good old-fashioned conversation — please contact me through the site, Anchor.Press.gg@gmail.com, or DM (Direct Message) on X:
As I no longer respond to Tweets or superficial fragments of any kind.
[W]e must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it
— M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
In a nation that incessantly blames and complains (seemingly for sport) — no one’s taking responsibility for anything. The ever-rising ocean of partisan pettiness is gluttony under the guise of concern. What would you call untold millions marching to a Twitter-rage parade on WMD — dishing on the deaths of Rumsfeld and Powell (and whatever anniversary marks the moment):
But too lazy to take an interest in what we can do about it.
Happy 20th Anniversary!
Seize the day to be jacked up on fuel to fire off your fury and excuses in a nation that never learns: But loves to light it up in lip service to virtues.
Ever-so bold behind force fields of fallacy that butcher those “beliefs.“
This . . .
Is based on exhaustively detailed research & writing in the interest of truth, across-the-board accountability, and problem solving:
This . . .
Is an embarrassment to the entire history of human achievement:
And so’s this . . .
V for Victory — How Fitting
A world where you can win an argument without even knowing what the issue is about. What you do in denying the undeniable daily would be unthinkable for me to do ever.
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.
— Attributed to Mark Twain
But this crowd takes the cake:
And that — is an opportunity!
What’s that got to do with WMD?
The answer to that requires this:
What does it say to you that across communities where claims of critical thinking are everywhere — I haven’t found it anywhere? These people take endless delight in flooding the internet with ceaseless claims about their immaculate critical thinking skills. But the second they’re challenged on anything that is even perceived as threatening their interests (or is too complex by not being funneled in a fashion to your liking):
Don’t do anything in the image above!
As I have an idea that could turn the tide: All conversations on the country fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thx 🙏 See how simple that is. If you’re not interested — just block me and be on your way (so I’ll gladly never bother you again).
But no, ya wanna debate that too.
Funny how you never want to debate the issues in question.
I’ve written this story a hundred different ways when one Tweet is all it should take:
Thomas Sowell flagrantly failed to follow the facts on Iraq WMD — opting to peddle partisan hackery that poisons political discourse & butchers debate to this day. Here’s my 7-part documentary that exhaustively details the WMD Delusion (taking on both parties to task — on that issue and then some).
Einstein borrowed from the one below:
The worth of man lies not in the truth which he possesses, or believes that he possesses, but in the honest endeavor which he puts forth to secure that truth; for not by the possession of, but by the search after, truth, are his powers enlarged, wherein, alone, consists his ever-increasing perfection. Possession fosters content, indolence, and pride.
— Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Are you telling me . . .
That I can grasp this — but you can’t grasp that?
Your pursuit of truth and accountability seems awfully one-sided, Mr. Sowell. And that’s a fact: “truth verifiable from experience or observation.” Just as my lifelong record of unwavering commitment to the truth and objective scrutiny to find it.
As I said in my doc:
You can’t seem to comprehend that I don’t care what damage the truth inflicts upon politicians of any brand. I have this crazy idea that across-the-board accountability is always in the best interests of the nation.
As for my frustration — I have this thing about people who regurgitate nonsense in the face of overwhelming evidence that counters their baseless beliefs.
— Richard W. Memmer: Act II
Anyone wanting to know the truth would not behave in ways that make damn sure you never will. Defenders of the indefensible make it impossible to discuss even a single screenshot — and yet have the temerity to bitch about my website. You blow right by illustrations and clips at the crux of the story — then complain how you can’t understand what you didn’t stop to consider.
Anything Goes for apologists trying to preserve what they perceive. I know their Rolodex of Ridicule rabbit-hole routine — all too well:
And Now for the Weather . . .
But every once in a blue moon, someone has the guts the reconsider. Not long before this Tweet — this Sowell supporter was condemning my efforts like all the rest that day (and every day).
And then he opened the doc . . .
“To learn to ask: ‘Is that true?’” . . .
Maybe there’s something to what she just said. Let me think about it. That’s interesting. Maybe I should change my mind.’” . . . When is the last time you can honestly remember a public dialogue — or even a private conversation — that followed that useful course?
An email the essence of my idea:
The smorgasbord of sub-cultures has created another dimension of delusion in America — hardening minds not broadening them. The commentary in these communities speaks volumes about social media and the state of society: Habitually hailing high praise for purveyors of virtue: Virtues that vanish the second they’re called to put them to the test. Echo chambers across social media worship channel hosts as “National Treasures” — treating them like they’re some of the greatest minds to ever live. At the helm of these cesspools of certitude — are people who peddle repeatedly rehashed insight their followers praise like they split the atom. To be sure, some of it is insightful. But these “geniuses” are so wise in their ways: They’re oblivious to how they’re feeding the very problems they’re ostensibly trying to solve.
Isaac Newton and Einstein were brilliant — partisan hacks and high-minded influencers fueling a fix, are not. These people are not problem solvers, they’re entertainers. Their audience doesn’t know the difference (and I’m not sure they do either). I’m sure it’s intoxicating to amass a following and feel like you’re making a difference.
But I’m going to weigh their impact partly as a reflection of their community: How people behave, not what they believe. If they can’t get that right, I don’t care how big their following gets — they’re taking this nation nowhere. What’s more, they’re making matters worse and being rewarded for it. And one of your own is at the center of it all — as the likes of Loury & McWhorter are unwittingly conditioning their audience to act like savages. Loury once called my writing “brilliant,” was “honored by it” and “blown away” by my site and signed up. Alas, he wasn’t too keen on the truth when I took his hero to task (on irrefutable evidence of mathematical certainty, no less). And that — is an opportunity!
How do we make people realize they’ve been lied to? You have to knock down one small pillar that’s easier to reach. I’ve got the perfect pillar — on the biggest & most costly lie in modenr history (which shaped everything you see today. A student wrote of her psychology professor: “Tim Wilson taught me the importance of breaking problems down into more manageable pieces.” At the bedrock of my idea is exactly that. The 11th edition of Social Psychology has the domino effect on the cover.
They’ve got an image of an idea — I’ve got the idea.
Your field is forever fighting the forces of human nature whereas my solution banks on it. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, some influential followers would forever deny the undeniable — but not all of ’em. And all I need is one!
I don’t need mass appeal to make this happen — I just need to expose one man. World-renowned psychologist Dr. Elliot Aronson put me onto his friend and fellow renowned psychologist, Dr. Phil Zimbardo. For medical reasons, he’s unable to get involved, but in response to an email on the essence of my idea, he wrote:
Very Interesting and original
Seems like that should count for something. Get this story in the right hands and the jig is up. One email could set off a chain of events that could open the door to the kind of conversation this nation’s never had.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Memmer
When you make up your mind on lickety-split perception alone: In what parallel universe does that qualify as critical thinking? Ann Baker’s article beautifully captures what critical thinking is and is not:
Indeed, nowadays, we tend to take in and repeat whatever the values and beliefs of those around us have rather than forming our own independent thought and stopping to organize and evaluate the information we are receiving.
What does it say to you that across communities where claims of critical thinking are everywhere — I haven’t found it anywhere? These people taking endless delight in flooding the internet with ceaseless claims about their immaculate critical thinking skills.
But the second they’re challenged on anything that is even perceived as threatening their interests:
Don’t do any of this . . .
As I have an idea that could turn the tide (which would serve your interests whether I agree with them or not): All conversations on the country fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thx 🙏
I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future.
A.K.A. Learning!
All ya gotta do — is do what you say you do. And my idea is a framework for debate that boxes you in to do exactly that. You won’t like it — but here’s the deal: Your opposition won’t either. And who knows, you might learn to love embracing challenge, changing your mind, and the fruits from demanding across-the-board accountability.
This — is not that . . .
This is Broadcasting Beliefs About That
My idea is simple:
Cutting through our Crap-is-King culture
to get you to see it — is not!
Where infantile insults are celebrated:
The doubt-free who don’t do their homework are the experts.
Those who belittle and outright reject correction — are the righteous and wise. The ones with courage to admit when they’re wrong — are the weak. Tireless dedication is mercilessly mocked — while intellectual laziness is esteemed. Original thinking and uniqueness are bashed — while conforming to the trite is trumpeted. Depth is discarded with disdain — while shallowness is embraced with love.
The honest & sincere are shunned — while manipulators & liars are welcomed with open arms.
This is my story — and if you read it in full, you’ll find it’s part of your story too. You’ve all dealt with the same behavior I have — the difference is that I get it from every direction.
Conventional means have repeatedly failed and won’t put a pinprick in the atmosphere of absurdity suffocating the country. It’s high time to take another approach. If we don’t take a long, hard look at what America has become and how we got here — we will not see a return to some semblance of recognizing reality in our lifetime. As my videographer perfectly put it
We finally figured out what we were doing by the end
If we don’t change course as a country — we won’t!
