Guest Post by Thomas Sowell
This is an election year. But the issues this year are not about Democrats and Republicans. The big issue is whether this nation has degenerated to a point of no return — a point where we risk destroying ourselves, before our enemies can destroy us.
If there is one moment that symbolized our degeneration, it was when an enraged mob gathered in front of the Supreme Court and a leader of the United States Senate shouted threats against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, saying “You won’t know what hit you!”
There have always been irresponsible demagogues. But there was once a time when anyone who shouted threats to a Supreme Court Justice would see the end of his own political career, and could not show his face in decent society again.
You either believe in laws or you believe in mob rule. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with the law or agree with the mob on some particular issue. If threats of violence against judges — and publishing where a judge’s children go to school — is the way to settle issues, then there is not much point in having elections or laws.
There is also not much point in expecting to have freedom. Threats and violence were the way the Nazis came to power in Germany. Freedom is not free. If you can’t be bothered to vote against storm-trooper tactics — regardless of who engages in them, or over what issue — then you can forfeit your freedom.
Worse yet, you can forfeit the freedom of generations not yet born.
Some people seem to think that the Supreme Court has banned abortions. It has done nothing of the sort.
The Supreme Court has in fact done something very different, something long overdue and potentially historic. It has said that their own court had no business making policy decisions which nothing in the Constitution gave them the authority to make.
Get out a copy of the Constitution — and see if you can find anything in there that says the federal government is authorized to make laws about abortion.
Check out the 10th Amendment, which says that the federal government is limited to the specific powers it was granted, with all other powers going to the states or to the people.
Why do we elect legislators to do what the voters want done, if unelected judges are going to make up laws on their own, instead of applying the laws that elected officials passed?
This is part of a very long struggle that has been going on for more than 100 years. Back in the early 20th century, Progressives like President Woodrow Wilson decided that the Constitution put too many limits on the powers they wanted to use.
Claiming that it was nearly impossible to amend the Constitution, Progressives advocated that judges “interpret” the Constitutional limits out of the way.
This was just the first in a long series of sophistries.
In reality, the Constitution was amended 4 times in 8 years — from 1913 through 1920 — during the heyday of the Progressive era.
When the people wanted the Constitution amended, it was amended. When the elites wanted the Constitution amended, but the people did not, that is called democracy.
Another great sophistry was using the federal government’s authority to regulate interstate commerce to call all sorts of other things interstate commerce. In 1995, elites were shocked when the Supreme Court ruled — 5 to 4— that carrying a gun near a school was not interstate commerce.
States had a right to ban carrying a gun near a school, and most of them did. But the federal government had no such authority. Nor did the Constitution give the federal government the right to make laws about abortion, one way or the other.
What both state and federal laws do have the right to stop is threats against judges and their families.
This is not a partisan issue. The Republican governor of Virginia is providing protection to Supreme Court Justices who live in that state. But the Republican governor of Maryland seems to think that harassing judges and their families is no big deal.
Voters need to find out who is for or against mob rule, whether they are Democrats or Republicans. We are not going to be a free or decent society otherwise.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com. To find out more about Thomas Sowell and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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Come on, Thomas. You are way smarter than this!
I’m sure your opinion of his writing means nothing to him. I don’t see anything wrong with what he wrote. Tell me where I’m wrong.
It ain’t his writing, baby. I love his books. Give me some time and I’ll explain…I’m in the middle of something.
Sam…You don’t see anything wrong with what he wrote? Nothing at all??
Thomas still can’t see beyond the Democrat/Republican joke. He still thinks voting matters.
He says the moment that symbolized our degeneration was when a mob shouted at the Supreme Court. Really?? That was the moment he considers the point of no return? Not the 2+ years of Covid bullshit…the lockdowns, the closing down businesses, the forced masking, etc. Not the stolen election that he is ignoring and thinks we can just move on past. Not the innocent people who had their homes raided by the FBI because they went up against the school board? Not the snipers that were placed on the rooftops of the building aimed at concerned parents during school board meetings? Not the mandated vaxxed? Not the many people who have been injured & have died from the vax? Not all the people who lost their jobs for protecting their bodily autonomy? Not the cultural degeneration we’re experiencing…the drag queens, the trans bullshit, pride month exposing children to this degeneracy, etc.
I could go on & on, but I think you get the point. He’s right; we have degenerated to a point of no return. But not by someone shouting at a Supreme Court judge. Please. I don’t give a damn about these officials one bit. I give a damn about the regular people whose lives have been ruined by their own government. If Thomas can’t pull it together and see that, then he’s slowly moving over to my shit list. He’s playing the game.
I see it, “baby”.
I’m glad to hear, Tex. 🤠
Hear hear Abigail.
Hi AA,
I just texted this to my entire family…
“Be thankful for the righteous resisters and freedom fighters for it is US that are the heroes of the world.”
I included this video in the text…https://www.bitchute.com/embed/w8AAT0RelJfY/
AA, Keep on rockin in the free world baby.
That was an awesome letter he read, GNL.
Beautiful letter. We will not be broken. That statement touches my heart to the core. I’m happy that Del is on our side.
Point of no return was probably the PATRIOT Act.
I thought the point of no return was Korea/Viet Nam. Congress never declared war on those countries.
Even though congress did declare war on Spain, Samuel Clements saw our great unravelling in his day – because our lupine foreign policy supported an insatiable appetite for control of the world under the false banner of liberty.
“There must be two Americas: one that sets the captive free, and one that takes a once-captive’s new freedom away from him, and picks a quarrel with him with nothing to found it on; then kills him to get his land. . .”
The ‘home of the free and the brave’ has been on fire since his day. The Patriot Act was just the roof collapsing.
I thought it was the war of Northern Aggression. Everything seemed to go downhill from there.
Whiskey Rebellion.
Awesome post, Abbie.
Wasn’t it? And here last week certain regulars said she never brings any value to the boards. HAH.
“…I’m too busy to school you right now, but I’ll be back in an hour when I’m less busy…”
Mag dump into the A-Zone.
Why don’t you try addressing one issue at a time, as opposed to generating a smokescreen under which nothing can be resolved? You and all of Congress. Earmarks and all of that.
Sowell is talking about harassment of Supreme Court Judges, and their ruling that the Federal government has overstepped their authority, as they have been doing for a long time. Why don’t you give your position on that? Or is it just easier to blah blah blah as you have done, so nobody will discuss or comment on this specific issue?
Keep it simple, and we will make progress. Muddy the waters and we will not.
Can you not infer my position on a government overstepping their authority by my comment?
“…so nobody will discuss or comment on this specific issue?”
I’m not preventing anyone from commenting. Everyone’s free to post their opinion, as you have done.
The title of the article is ‘The Point of No Return’. I agree with the title. There is nothing that can be resolved at this point. There is only one solution…maybe two.
Another error in his piece:
In reality, the Constitution was amended 4 times in 8 years — from 1913 through 1920 — during the heyday of the Progressive era.
When the people wanted the Constitution amended, it was amended.
IIRC, the amendments that created the income tax and abolished state electors of senators were ram-rodded through by TLPTB* — “democracy” my ass…
* hat tip mark
YUP. See my comment above.
What’s the expression? “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”?
I think he was just trying to make an example of the latest outrage. Of course he hated all those encroachments on our liberties. If he went through the list we’d all nod off because it would take all day. Geez, give a guy a break. We know the history, ok? He was just referring to the latest. Cool it.
There’s one salient point being made by Ms. Adams, which is the author’s choosing of an inappropriate Crossing the Rubicon moment.
And she’s not wrong.
Caesar hit those banks and the die was already cast long before Schumer opened up his yap.
You’re getting a little too righteous now.
1. If you pay close attention, the matter mentioned by the article author (“You won’t know what hit you!”) occurred in March 2020, which is earlier than everything Abgail lists (except if you try to bullshit us and pinpoint the stolen election entirely on Nov 2019 and ignore the even more important failed judicial reviews of it.) So that’s not a very convincing list to me.
2. Name us your favorite ‘point of no return’ in US history, and I will gladly show you that there were even earlier ones that may very well deserve the crown.
You are absolutely wrong my dear Abby and I can’t believe you got 21 upvotes for this (so far). Do you really think Thomas is playing the game? Do you really think he is even capable of playing the game? There are people out there like Thomas who could not and would not sell themselves out ever. What do you imagine he got or is getting out of the article he wrote? He lived his whole life as a very logical and upright citizen that worked harder than you can ever imagine and now all of a sudden he’s a sell out. Moral personalities don’t change on a dime, ever! I think you get the point. There’s a huge difference between all the points you made and what Thomas is saying. He isn’t saying all the government BS is right. What he is saying is once you delve into mob rule which is being encouraged by the liberals, and ignore the rule of law, all bets are off. The civilization devolves into it’s every man/woman for themselves.
Vandalizing the rule of law is but ONE facet of a concerted effort to demolish this civilization. Law itself is but one institution of many which have been targeted for termination.
Other targets have been: language, morality, education, entertainment, tradition, history, heritage, family and national cohesion. Nations are not able to withstand attacks of these kinds for long. The Destroyer’s long march through the institutions is nearer to its conclusion than it is to beginning to threaten its course. And to suggest, as the author has, that America’s demise is owing specifically to any recent development — such as Schumer’s public threats — indicates a profound lack of awareness in general.
Red – A quote I picked up while researching the passage of the 17th amendment –
Progressives us the silent artillery of time to achieve their goals.
Progressives never, ever give up and continue pushing until they achieve their goal, then it is on to the next objective. How long after the Obergefell decision was it before transsexuality became the cause du jour? They have been pushing the “Green Movement” for 60+ years and have never let up.
They are little Terminators. They don’t sleep. They don’t quit. And they will never, ever stop until they have achieved their goal of destroying everything…
…or until they themselves are destroyed.
Any other understanding of this enemy is an error.
Sounds like you know the enemy, TNP.
Sam…I’ll defer to Red’s response to that as I couldn’t have said it better. Thomas is playing games (yes, totally possible) or, as Red said, he has a profound lack of awareness. Surely you can see this by now.
(and I’m not wrong)
Well said Abby, and I have been a big Sewell fan for a long time. It seems like he pulled the punches. Very unlike his usual writing.
Yes, I am (was?) a fan, but he misfired here.
This issue is real simple, and yet it keeps getting rehashed over and over. Government is evil by its nature, because the people who seek power in government positions are psychopaths. Psychopaths are self destructive people, who along with themselves, drag down all of society with them as their criminal exploits become larger and larger the more they get away with. The only way to prevent the downfall of society, is to limit the size and power of government, and we have done a piss poor job of doing that.
“Psychopaths are self destructive people”
Totally confused i am. Are ya sayin’ that we TRULY do have a ‘representative’ form of govt? Or Not?
Psychopaths are not the majority of humans, only a small minority, who due to their lack of morals, conscience, and empathy, always rise to positions of leadership, which they then abuse to enrich themselves and make themselves royalty.
Meanwhile, at the point of no return in Australia:
Barcode® aside, What was his given name?
You’re in a bad marriage. But, you hang in there, year after year, hoping it will get better. You even go to counseling together. You read books. you find Jesus. But, it’s just not working. You realize you and your spouse have Irreconcilable Differences. You have reached the point of no return. Divorce is the only answer.
I’m pretty sure that’s where Americans are today. Irreconcilable Differences. We haven’t divorced yet. But, we will.
Or death does us part.
stucky,
leftists will not leave us alone now b/c they have a need to rule us–
how will it be any different if we separate?
They mean to DOMINATE us. Which is bad enough on its face. But the problem is compounded by the fact that those who mean to dominate, don’t even know what they really want and in fact continuously reinvent themselves on a day-to-day basis. That, and the fact that they’re incapable of playing in good faith, makes living beneath their domination an utter impossibility.
And since submitting to the domination of a power which intends to consume your very soul is never a wise choice…
…the responses available to folks in our position are rather few.
And unfortunate.
But again, we’re all guilty of letting things get this far out of hand.
There are no political or even civil solutions to this quandary. We have an enemy who will not abide even our continued existence unless we remake ourselves into his ever evolving image.
Revolutions and the Curse of Democracy
“Elections thought to reflect the will of the people instead force on the people the will of the elected.”
https://technofog.substack.com/p/revolutions-and-the-curse-of-democracy
NCIS forensics? A given.
Huh,thought Point of No Return was a Kansas song,I did see the tour!
That said,feel Portrait describes our moment in time:
Glad you posted Point of No Return, now I don’t have to go hunt it down.
Apparently a nation of laws is allowing protests at judges homes,
assassination attempts on sitting SCOTUS judges,
burning down cities in all of 2020/2021,
murdering/beating citizens when they don’t bend the knee to Antifa/BLM at their many road blocks/checkpoints,
burning down DC and calling for the death of an elected president at his inauguration,
locking up political prisoners in a gulag, denying legal representation, due process and demanding loyalty oath to Biden at sentencing,
red flag laws that deny citizens their 2nd, 4th and 6th amendments,
allowing a non-stop influx of illegal aliens and welcoming them with free everything,
refusing to investigate or prosecute election fraud,
refusing to prosecute based on skin color,
etc, etc, etc…
Revolutions and the Curse of Democracy
“Elections thought to reflect the will of the people instead force on the people the will of the elected.”
https://technofog.substack.com/p/revolutions-and-the-curse-of-democracy
“If you can’t be bothered to vote against storm-trooper tactics — regardless of who engages in them, or over what issue — then you can forfeit your freedom.”
https://constitutionus.com/constitution/the-supreme-law-of-the-land-in-the-usa/
The low hanging fruit is your example reference to the 2nd.
Read many of your columns i thought were spectacular. People tend to ‘like’ stuff they AGREE with. The rose tinting started to fade after” basic Economics”. In at least one example ya tried to justify what has been the reality since time immemorial.
TOTAL control of the ‘commodity’. TOTAL control of the ‘price’. To the detriment of the ‘consumer’.
Please. Enjoy your retirement. We ALL need our idealized/idolized fantasy’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_(given_name)#:~:text=Avery%20is%20originally%20a%20boys%27%20name%20in%20England%2C,16th%20century%20when%20it%20was%20modified%20from%20Alfred.
So, not sure.
Your predecessors made more than that back in the day, and that was BEFORE live video was a thing. Maybe your ‘wording’ is off? Too.
The Southern States wanted to uphold the US Constitution esp the 10th Amend but Lincoln and the Republicans forced Union Tyranny on the South , and Union Racist Reconstruction ( in violation of the 14th Amend of 1868 “Equal Under The Law”) . It ended because of KKK hangings of Republicans. Then liberals started round two with the (National) Civil Riots Act of 1964: Racist Affirmative Action Quotas and Forced Diversity (Forced Integration). I predict Chaos will begin after 59 years of Racism with America collapsing as a liberal Kakistocracy (the opposite of a Meritocracy) and a second Civil War will start in 2023 and end like the Spanish Civil War did in 1939.
Who will play the part of Franco this go around?