Since at least 2009, there has been going around on social media this little set of sentences that seems like a simplistic bit of conservative wisdom, but is something to be called out as wrong, misleading, and illogical. Here I present the sentences along with my take on counter argument.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. Antidote: As if there were just two people and one apple tree—with one apple. Both can receive. Our economy is strong enough to give to needy and still have plenty. And again, helping out those who can’t work can help the broader economy, as they turn around and buy groceries and clothes. 3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. Antidote: We are the government. We have decided that it is in our best interests to provide for some people, on moral grounds and for our country’s future. 4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. Antidote: This is not true. Consider a headman and his workers. To gain the harvest, the rich headman must make sure his workers can work to bring in the harvest. And again, giving more people purchasing power is an economic engine which can work to raise the general wealth of the society. 5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them; and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for - that is the beginning of the end of any nation! Antidote: As if half the people are going to decide to sit on the couch. People do things. Be aware, be prepared. Review online lists of common illogical arguments. Don’ let these things pass unanswered. You might be tempted to just call out the misleading title: Best sentences might be expected to include ones such as these: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (M.L. King, Jr. letter from Birmingham jail) “You were right, dear.” etc. But maybe don’t. The purpose of the misleading title is to lead you unsuspecting into a barrage of bad argument.
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This is a test blog post, a lifted essay from Robert Reich The Guardian Jan. 2, 2023 Addressing What We Need To Be Doing 1. Become a political activist to ensure Trump is not elected. For some of us, this will mean taking more time out of our normal lives, up to and including getting out the votes in critical swing states. For others, it means phone banking, making political contributions, writing letters to editors, and calling friends and relations in key states. 2. Do not succumb to the tempting anesthesia of complacency or cynicism. The stakes are too high. Even if you cannot take much time out of your normal life for direct politics, you will need to organize, mobilize and energize your friends, colleagues and neighbors. 3. Counter lies with truth. When you hear someone repeating a Trump Republican lie, correct it. This will require that you prepare yourself with facts, logic, analysis and sources. 4. Do not tolerate bigotry and hate. Call it out. Stand up to it. Denounce it. Demand that others denounce it, too. 5. Do not resort to name-calling, bullying, intimidation, violence or any of the other tactics that Trump followers may be using. We cannot save democracy through anti-democratic means. 6. Be compassionate toward hardcore followers of Trump, but be firm in your opposition. Understand why someone may decide to support Trump, but don’t waste your time and energy trying to convert them. Use your time and energy on those who still have open minds. 7. Don’t waste your time and energy commiserating with people who already agree with you. Don’t gripe, whine, wring your hands and kvetch with other progressives about how awful Trump and his Republican enablers are. Don’t snivel over or criticize Biden and the Democrats for failing to communicate more effectively how bad Trump and his Republican enablers are. None of this will get you anything except an upset stomach or worse. 8. Don’t decide to sit this election out or to vote for a third-party candidate, because you don’t especially like Biden and you’re tired of voting for the “lesser of two evils”. Biden may not be perfect, but he’s not the lesser of two evils. Trump is truly evil. 9. Demonstrate, but don’t mistake demonstrating for political action. You may find it gratifying to stand on a corner in Berkeley or Cambridge or any other liberal precinct with a sign asking drivers to “honk if you hate fascism” and elicit lots of honks. But this is as politically effective as taking a warm shower. Organize people who don’t normally vote to vote for Biden. Mobilize get-out-the-vote efforts in your community. Get young people involved. 10. Don’t get distracted by the latest sensationalist post or story by or about Trump. Don’t let the media’s short attention span divert your eyes from the prize – the survival of American democracy during one of the greatest stress tests it has had to endure, organized by one of the worst demagogues in American history. It cannot be overstated how critical the outcome of the next 10 months will be to everything we believe in. And the importance of your active participation. AuthorD.A. Brock, Member ECDP, retired minor Texas bureaucrat At a recent Democratic Women’s scholarship luncheon, Texas State Representative Donna Howard spoke eloquently of the values on which Democrats stand. In America, all should have the opportunity to rise above their situations, no matter how dire. America isn’t just a place; it’s an idea. Expressing an idea isn’t always easy, but Representative Howard was able to truly define what it means to be a Democrat: “We believe in healthy families, responsible government and opportunity for all.”
Democrats believe that proper healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Every man, woman and child in America should be able to see a doctor when ill, regardless of their economic status. It is a national disgrace that injured or ill Americans must sometimes choose whether to put food on the table or go to the doctor. Democrats believe that good health isn’t just for the wealthy; it’s for everyone. Every person in this country should be able to obtain a flu shot; no questions asked. It doesn’t just protect the person receiving the vaccination, it protects us all. We believe that it is time to adopt what so many other developed countries already have-single payer healthcare. It’s been promised by those seeking election for years. The time has come to keep the promise of good healthcare for all. We also believe that the government should work FOR the people-ALL the people. Elected officials should be held accountable for their actions. In the past year, one Texas senator called over half the voters “deranged.” A politician, once elected must enter office with an understanding that he or she represents all the people-not just a selective few. We also believe that it is unethical for politicians to use dark money to win elections. When outside interests write checks to candidates for thousands of dollars, they are, in effect, buying Democracy. This is unacceptable. We oppose voter suppression, gerrymandering and the buying of elections by rich donors. Our country should not be owned by the wealthy; we are not an oligarchy. As Democrats, we believe that government must serve all the people, not just big business. Democrats stand for Democracy. And finally, we believe in the American Dream. Democrats believe that everyone in America deserves the right to learn, grow and advance. We are stronger as a nation when we accept the talents of all, regardless of their country of origin. We are a land of immigrants, like my 3X great grandfather, who stowed away aboard a ship from Ireland when he was just 12 years old. He escaped the Irish Potato Famine and certain starvation to become a Texas Ranger and well-respected in his community. His story isn’t unique; it’s the story of America. Our country is filled with dreamers who have risen above life’s circumstances to make us all stronger as a nation. This is what we believe as Democrats, and I’m proud to be one. The average restaurant worker makes less than $20,000 per year. Considering the fact that the federal poverty threshold for a family of three is $20,420, these workers are barely able to make ends meet with their paychecks. For years, the National Restaurant Association, the lobby arm of restaurant owners, has poured millions of dollars into Washington politics in order to keep restaurant worker wages low. Now, the Trump Department of Labor wants to give restaurant owners a 6.1 billion dollar tip each year at the expense of their workers.
The Trump Department of Labor wants to change the Fair Labor Standards Act Regulations. In doing so, the Trump administration will be giving lobbyists a gift that they have long wanted-the ability to capture tips. The manner in which this new regulation is written will allow restaurant owners to pocket the tips which you believed you were leaving for your waiter. While a few restaurant owners might capture tips and distribute them to dishwashers and other non-tipped staff, most won’t. The new law is written to allow restaurant owners to do whatever they wish with the tips, including keeping all tips for themselves. These tips were earned by workers who are paid minimum wage-a measly $7.25 per hour. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that 12% of restaurants are illegally keeping tips. The enactment of the new “Fair” Labor Standards Regulations will make tip capturing by owners legal. It will cause extreme financial hardship for the 1.3 million tipped workers who earn the standard minimum wage. (Any claims that restaurant workers are well-paid is a myth.) Those tips don’t buy luxury items for workers. They help them make ends meet. It is tragic that those who serve food to others might forfeit their tips to owners and be unable to put food on their own tables. Government proposals are required to undergo a public comment period. Rather than allowing the usual 60 day comment period for this proposal, the Trump administration has limited the comment period to 30 days. All public comments on the “Fair” Labor Standards Act Regulations must be submitted by January 4, 2018. The comment period has been shortened and scheduled during the holiday season for a reason. People are busy and it’s easier to slide an unpopular proposal through. During this busy holiday season, please take some time to make your voices heard on this issue. Here is the federal link for public comment on the “Fair” Labor Standards Regulations:https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/05/2017-25802/tip-regulations-under-the-fair-labor-standards-act-flsa “Hey, guess what I’m doing?” That’s normally how my late sister Nita began a phone conversation. As usual, I had no idea, because Nita was one of the most creative and clever people I’ve ever known. When it came to intelligence, she was off the charts. Because it was nearing Christmas time, I thought it was related to the holidays. Turns out I was right. Nita had a small piece of land near Marble Falls, Texas and decided she needed a rooster. Unfortunately, she had buyer’s remorse pretty soon after the purchase because the rooster took his job very seriously. Every morning at 5 a.m., rain or shine, the rooster crowed. So Nita had a problem, but being the intelligent woman she was, she soon hatched a plan. When the usual “white elephant” Christmas party at her friend’s house rolled around, all the Christmas gifts were tucked neatly under the tree. Unfortunately, the family dog was not pleased with one of the gifts and went berserk (probably because the gift box had air holes in it and kept moving on its own.) Problem solved. One lucky guest opened a box containing a live rooster. The rooster went to a new happy farm and Nita didn’t have to wake up at 5 a.m. any more. Our family was big on education. My mother raised a physicist, an endocrinologist, an invertebrate paleontologist…all six of us had degrees. Nita decided to opt for a two-year nursing degree. At times, as an RN with a two-year degree, there were supervisors or others with more advanced degrees that assumed their intelligence or knowledge exceeded hers. Boy, were they wrong. Out of the six of us, we always knew that Nita was the smartest. There was no doubt. She was a life-long learner, and if she didn’t know it, you can bet that she would “look it up,” just like our parents taught us. We now have a word for condescending behavior by so-called experts-“nerdsplaining.” When one “nerdsplains,” they wrongly assume that someone doesn’t know as much as they do. The nerdsplainer endeavors to “help” with lengthy explanations on a variety of topics. When the listener tries to get a word in edgewise, the nerdsplainer may cut off the speaker mid-sentence. After all, how can anyone possibly know more than the nerdsplainer? If the victim of the nerdsplainer does manage to relay their knowledge on a particular topic, the nerdsplainer will quickly change subjects to a new “more challenging” topic. Mansplaining and nerdsplaining are two sides of the same coin. In an effort to be “helpful,” men sometimes assume women don’t understand as much about a topic due to their gender. (I once had the “pleasure” of listening to a lecture on the merits of various barbecue grills for 45 minutes.) Most of the time, we politely listen, because it’s clear the speaker is trying to be helpful. Sometimes, however, mansplaining can have negative consequences. When a woman is cut off mid-sentence, because the listener assumes she doesn’t understand a topic, she might not speak up as often. A lot of brilliant ideas may have been mansplained away, and that’s a tragedy. It’s a mistake to assume a woman isn’t an expert in a traditionally male arena. In order to pay her way through medical school, my sister Karen joined the Army. Karen was always very precise, which made her an excellent medical student. And when it came to military training, it also made her a crack shot. When she’s mansplained regarding weapons, she politely lets them know that she was first in her class in the operation of an M-16. Just because we look “ladylike,” doesn’t mean we can’t hit a target. There are some simple cures for mansplaining and nerdsplaining. Listen to other people. Try not to cut them off until they’ve finished speaking. Hear them out and be patient. Avoid dismissing their ideas. It isn’t necessary to continually offer suggestions. Just because they’re listening to you, doesn’t mean they appreciate your “help.” Most people will ask if they want your advice. Unless you have the ability to crawl inside someone else’s head, you have no idea of their expertise or intelligence. So as the holiday season approaches and the gatherings of family and friends begin, just remember to nix the mansplaining and nerdsplaining. We “got it.” And even if we don’t “get it,” we will ask if we need help or advice. |