Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Embracing logic could save this country

When I was about eight years old I read a book for the first time which changed the way I've looked at things forever. Since then I've reread this book multiple times, (including in my adult years) and seen the relatively recently made movie version of it. The book is called "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" and is written by CS Lewis.

Oh, and for the record, the movie they made a few years ago is nowhere even close to as good as the animated version that came out in the 80's.

Back to the topic at hand though; How did this novel, written for pre-adolescents, change the way I think?

I'm sure about 75% of people are at least vaguely familiar with the general story one way or another. Early on in the story, a young girl named Lucy stumbles upon another world in which animals and trees speak, magic is abundant, and things such as gnomes, fairies, witches, giants, dwarfs and trolls exist. She does this by way of a magical wardrobe she finds in a forgotten room of her Uncle's mansion. Although she spends the better part of an afternoon in this place, (Narnia) she finds to her dismay, that when she returns to our world, only a few seconds have passed. She attempts, in vain, to explain the bizarre events to her two brothers and one sister. Unsurprisingly they think she's making it up. After a while, as she continues to insist that her story is real, they begin to genuinely worry about her state of mind. They decide to ask the wise old professor, who is also their great uncle, for advice.

Here's where Mr. CS Lewis put something into such painfully simple logic that it amazes me to this day that more don't use this thought process...yet it's so simple, and so logical, that this line of thinking still blows me away from time to time when I really sit and think about it. The professor puffs on his pipe and mulls over the scenario that the children have presented him with. Finally he asks them if Lucy has a history of lying. The kids tell him that no, she's always been an honest person. After a few more minutes go by, he asks them if she has ever shown signs of being mad. Once again the kids tell him that no, her mind has always seemed quite sane. The professor points out that since she apparently has no history of dishonesty or mental instability, that the most probable answer is that Lucy is telling the truth. He then wonders aloud why they don't teach logic in school these days.

And there it is. Over the last couple of years I've really taken those words more to heart than ever before. When trying to figure out a problem, situation, or scenario, I try to apply logic on the subject, and to figure out what the absolute best explanation is for whatever is going on.

So today when I saw that the district judge pretty much struck down Arizona's immigration law, (she struck down the 3 main points which all but made up the bill in total) I used the old tried and true method which CS Lewis taught me to assess the situation. After all, after reading the bill, it is clear that Arizona's law which was supposed to go into effect at midnight tonight, is only reiterating the federal law which already exists. It is common knowledge that it is simply illegal to be in America without going through the legal process, that Mexico would never even consider giving an illegal American immigrant the rights the illegal Hispanic population is demanding here in the states, and that racial profiling is specifically prohibited in the bill. So why is this a partisan issue? Why would any judge strike this down?

I decided I would try to apply logic to the situation. I decided to look for the most probable and absolute explanation for this:

1) Are the liberals and progressives who are such avid opponents of this bill plain stupid? - I don't think so. Sure there are dumb libs, but there are dumb conservatives too. Besides, with some exceptions of course, people don't rise to prominent positions without having at least SOME smarts.

2) Am I the one who is wrong? - No. I'm never wrong about anything. No but seriously, after already reading the bill, thinking it over logically, and personally knowing people who have immigrated to the United States legally who support this bill, I do not consider my opinion the problem here.

3) Are the liberals and the progressives who are fighting this law simply liars, who are actively trying to make this country weaker? - Possibly, to an extent. I do think that by their very nature, liberals do not believe in American exceptionalism, or absolutes. Without absolutes, it is impossible to believe in limits, (explaining their thirst for power, and total lack of self control when it comes to spending) or boundaries, (which explains their total lack of respect for this countries borders.) While I do believe there are MANY leftists who ARE liars, and who believe that the ends always justify the means, I don't believe this accounts for all of them.

4) Do the liberals and progressives who fight this law refuse to use logic and reason, and lack any sense of patriotism or American exceptionalism? - Yes. In the words of James Taggert, a progressive character of Ayn Rand's in her novel Atlas Shrugged "You can't use logic at a time like this! This is a crisis!" The libs keep refusing to use logic, which is why it should be no surprise that they are also completely unpatriotic. This country was born promoting ideals of logic and of reason! This country is a nation of absolutes, of right and wrong! Libs have no love for this country. They don't recognize borders or absolutes. They are the anti-logic.

Today, barely a day goes by where I don't use the example Mr. CS Lewis displayed in his book for me, to decipher a day's events. With a very basic understanding of logic, I can easily spot a lack of logic. I hope this nation embraces logic and reason, for I truly believe it is what makes us human. America still fundamentally stands for logic, which makes it the greatest nation on earth. We seem to be heading down a dark road, and I think that now more than ever, we must remember to think.

Letting the liberals think for you has disastrous results.

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