Corollaries can be dangerous. When a series of occurrences appear to impact another grouping of events, one may say that there appears to be a correlation. (If it involves royalty, it could be a correlation coronation). Many apparent correlations seem to occur on an almost daily basis. Some are considered coincidental, and others are examined to determine if there is indeed a relationship between the events…perhaps an indication of a causal relationship. Not all correlations, however, possess an element of causality. For example, for every year of my more than six decades of life on this earth, the planet’s human population has increased. Now, while I am directly (50%) responsible for two of those additional people, and indirectly responsible for three more, no one with any degree of certitude can proclaim that my aging has caused the global population to increase. Nevertheless, there is a correlation between my advancing years and the growth of population on the planet.
Presently, we seem to be riding a sled towards tyranny because the wheels appear to have fallen off our nation. We seem to be inundated by assaults on our liberty and our sensibilities. One gets the sense of a constant drumbeat of efforts to limit our options and constrain our opportunities. It is rather easy, therefore, to imagine conspiracies driving every negative event. The conspiratorial atmosphere is fueled by our recognizing the relationships that seem to coalesce to undermine our freedom. Are all the conspiracies real, or are they mere figments of our frustrated minds? They are both, I suspect. Many of the forces that appear to be aligned against our freedom are not necessarily conspiratorial, but they may be inadvertently colluding. In other words, one thinks and acts like his/her peers. Ivy League elites often share the same hopes and goals. They may also have similar views of those of us who are not a part of their insulated world. So, in effect they are colluding but simply for the “good of the people.” It’s not as if they truly wish to thwart the wills of their fellow citizens, but rather their sincere belief that our choices and preferences are not what is best for everyone. Their attitudes smack of arrogant elitism…sincerely misguided and ultimately tyrannical.
Two critical elements in crime solving are motive and opportunity. When we attempt to pursue a correlation’s nexus to a conspiracy, we may become frustrated because not all dots are connected. Our liberties become more limited and our protestations go unheard…or unacknowledged. We can clearly observe the corollaries that are present as our freedom of movement and response become circumscribed. We have a sense that if only we could identify the source and vanquish it, our liberty would be wholly restored. But, we cannot identify a clear-cut motive except for power.
Unfortunately, the source of our discontent is not people (though they represent the vehicle). It is not a vast complicated conspiracy. The situation that we find today is a result of foggy thinking and misplaced values. In the theological sense, it’s called “original sin.” In the philosophical and political worlds it’s known as “utopianism. “ In your world and mine it’s known as meddling…or ignorant…or evil. It is an attitude and a belief system that is and always has been the antithesis of individual freedom. It is not a new phenomenon. It has always been a challenge to people who love liberty. Our true enemy is a mindset and an attitude. A final analysis of correlations would prove that as the elites are viewed as smarter and more compassionate, so must individual freedom become rarer. The cause is an attitude that has been present for humankind’s entire history.
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