AUTHORITARIAN CONTROL

THOSE WHO FOLLOW
Into the Valley of death
Rode the 600

THOSE WHO DON’T
America’s
Founding Fathers

Patrick…

My dear old, Catholic Central classmate. Always at odds, aren’t we ??? Your views of Trump and mine.

• You the CPA, ex-Marine with the Semper Fi “Authoritarian” bent who voted for Trump in the past and are about to do so again… for the third time, and me “Never a Trumper.”
• You, Patrick… The Great Santini (1979 movie starring Robert Duval) and, me, the freedom-fightin’, Trial Lawyer, Atticus Finch (1962 movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck).

I was “Never a Trumper” (even at age 23)… when, on my first day of Law school at the University of Detroit, I was throw from my BSA Lighting Rocket motorcycle (as I was riding to my first class). As I lay on the ground, I heard an admonition thundering down, “Downtown Freddie, why does thou persecute your fellow man” ??? I looked up to see who was talking to me, and, lo and behold, I saw boldly written across the sky… live and let live !!!

I heeded the admonition and abandoned my 23-year-old Authoritarian bent and accepted the mantra of live and let live. Not a Libertarian, mind you. But, a team player, who wore a mask, socially distanced and got my Covid vaccinations, while still embracing my God-given, free will in the pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness… “a live and let live philosophy,” subject only to the “Do unto others” mantra that… my rights end where your nose begins.

Always at odds, aren’t we Patrick ??? Going back and forth with emails over the last seven or eight years, including my prior 61page missive in response to your views on race in Chicago and my views on White Supremacy in America. See Solving America’s Great Racial Divide. But, at long last, Patrick, the debate (like life itself) must draw to a close, and so it does. Let this be the day of closing. But, as always, we go forward as long-time acquaintances of mutual respect, but with intractable differences… on what’s good for America.

I
AUTHORITARIAN CONTROL
vs
LIVE AND LET LIVE

Patrick, lo and behold, I just got thrown off my motorcycle again today on July 4, 2024 and had another epiphany. This time… no voices about me persecuting anyone and no Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds hallucinations written on the clouds, but an epiphany, nonetheless. With 67 years of knowing you tucked under my belt, finally (I think), I know where the differences of our Political, Social and Legal Philosophies lie. You with your Marine Corps and Notre Dame emphasis on “Control”…controlling the masses of We the People. And me, the human rights lawyer, running around trying to liberate We the People from (both) Authoritarian, political control and right wing, religious indoctrination that Trump and MAGA seek to shackle America with… an authoritarian philosophy that you, Patrick, also embrace (perhaps, unknowingly). Today, July 4th 2024, 248 years after the singing of the Declaration of Independence… it’s your turn to hear what I heard 58 years ago as I started Law School, “Patrick, why dost thou join Trump and MAGA in the persecution of your fellow Americans” ???

As the Founding Fathers said , let our People be free… free to pursue the “self evident” truth of being born equal, free to pursue the “self evident” truth of “Life, Liberty and Happiness,” free from the Authoritarian grip of political and religious Dictatorships— that overwhelming control that undermines the joyous dance of the Life, Liberty and Happiness… that our Creator and our Founding Fathers gave to We the People. An oversimplification ??? I think not.

In short, Patrick, you are a CPA, Semper Fi, ex-Marine attracted to rightwing, Authoritarians… those who allow you to stay within your comfort zone of an all “controlling” Chain of Command… where Orders are to be followed without debate, without challenge and without question. Into the Valley of Death rode the 600 with the Light Brigade (Tennyson) and onto the Halls of Montezuma and the Shores of Tripoli charged the fighting Brigade of leathernecks… marching to the orders of Colonel Nathan “You can’t handle the Truth” Jessep (1992 movie starring Jack Nicholson… A Few Good Men). See also America… “You Can’t Handle the Truth” !!!

Patrick, there is a special place of honor for military heroes like you. But, foremost… America is (and must always be) a free country protected by the Military but not run (or controlled) by the Military. Our Founding Fathers knew “oh so well” that America is the land of the free … only so long as “We the People” (civilians) maintain the Constitutionally mandated “last word” over our Military-war machine. Translated, We the People, through the “Civilian” control of the military, always (repeat for emphasis “always”) retain the right to check (and, if necessary) overrule your Marine Corps “orders” and your Semper Fi motto.

By definition, America is America… only so long as its political and Military leaders remain… Non-Authoritarian and respectful and subservient to the “human rights” and freedoms that our Founding Fathers enshrined in America’s founding documents (the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights), including…

• • Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
  • 1st Amendment… Free Speech, Free Press, Free “Exercise” of Religion, Non-Establishment of Religion (i.e. Separation of Church and State), Right to Petition the government, etc.
  • 4th Amendment… no searches of our persons, houses, papers and effects except with a search warrant or exigent circumstances based on probable cause, Due Process of Law, etc.
  • 5th Amendment… Miranda rights, including the right to remain silent, right not to testify, right not to be put in jeopardy twice, etc.
  • 6th Amendment, right to Jury Trial, right to subpoena and confront witnesses, right to speedy and public trial, right to assistance of counsel, etc.
  • 8th Amendment, right to bail and no cruel and unusual punishment, etc.

Patrick, you are a CPA who lives in the land of “data”… as you have often reminded me, while, I am a Trial Lawyer who lives in the land of “challenging” your beloved data. I spent decades of my life in the Courtroom where “data” was always subject to cross examination and interpretation by Judge and Jury. In my Courtroom arena, I am called upon to stand up and challenge… challenge data, challenge witnesses, challenge experts, challenge Judge’s Orders. It is my job (as well as my natural inclination) to stand up and oppose Orders when I think them to be unfair and unconstitutional… orders of Judges, Cops, Military, Corporate America, etc. So yes… mine is not to do or die, following orders. Mine is to hold up a mirror to all that is Authoritarian, and tell those issuing the Orders, “STOP LOOK & LISTEN !!! lest you abuse your Authority.” Examples…

• A Federal lawsuit I filed against the U.S. Army… defending a U.S. soldier scheduled for a Court Martial hearing and a less than Honorable Discharge. And the Judge ??? World War I hero, Judge Thomas Thornton (a Jesuit educated, All American Football player at University of Detroit in the 1920s). The U.S. Army’s Court Marshal was stopped dead in its tracks, and I obtained an Honorable Discharge for my soldier, lawyer client, John Conlon, Esq. (See Fightin’ Irish of Detroit, Chapter XIV Irish Legend ). Thank heaven I presented that case in an American Courtroom, and not in some third-world, Authoritarian country where some Trumper Judge (who owed his “loyalty” to Trump) was in charge.
• Including a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against the City of Detroit and Detroit P. D. for a beat down that two White cops inflicted on my Black, homeless, 19-year-old client… who was just trying to survive the freezing, cold, Detroit winter by hiding out in the stairwell of the Renaissance Building. The White Jury told the officious, White, Law Enforcement, Authoritarian thugs of Detroit that their excessive force beating of Eric Spraggins (that resulted in Schizophrenia) would cost them $2.4 million ($3.9 million with interest and costs added). And my star Witnesses ??? A Neuropsychologist from the University of Michigan Hospital, Dr Stanley Berent, who testified about the “causal connection” of the beating and
  schizophrenia, and Dr. Charles Wright, founder of the Museum of African American History, who gave the Jury a snapshot of my client’s mental ability… “before and after” the beating. Thank heaven I tried that case in an American Courtroom, and not some Authoritarian Country like Russia where some Dictator Judge, pledging allegiance to Putin… was in charge.
• And, including the criminal case, People v Michael Wade, where my obligations under the Bill of Rights required me to call out and expose (to the world) an Authoritarian Judge, Annette Berry. My client, Michael Wade, a Night Watchman, guarded the, oh so dangerous, multi-acre Detroit Police Impound Yard in the “high crime” area of Schaefer and
  Grand River in Detroit (all for minimum wage). During a midnight confrontation with a trespassing, drug-addicted thief, my client Wade was assaulted with a tire iron, and then… in self-defense, fired a warning shot into the ground. The warning shot hit a piece of mental and ricocheted (undisputed by the State Police) into numerous fragments that pierced
  the heart and lungs of 50-year-old, Edward Browder, killing him. Outrageously, Wade was charged with and tried for Murder I. The Trial Judge was out to get Wade or, as she said in Court, on the bench and in her black robes (but off the record)…Security guards abuse people and then lie to cover it up. Unbelievably, she followed up her (admitted bias)
  by directing the Jury to find Wade guilty. Instead of using the Supreme- Court approved, Jury verdict form, Judge Berry changed the approved, Jury verdict form and directed the Jury to convict Wade of (at least) Manslaughter. The Court of Appeals reversed Wade’s conviction in a heartbeat… as an unconstitutional deprivation of the right to Jury trial (what else could they do). But, the (“oh so Authoritarian”) Governor Engler Justices on the Michigan Supreme Court (in a 5 to 2 opinion and order) reinstated Wade’s conviction, claiming “Oh, Yeah but“… Judge Berry’s “verbal” Jury Instructions were correct.” With less than a minute on the clock, I filed a Hail Mary Motion for Reconsideration, and pointed out (in no uncertain terms) that the Supreme Court’s overruling of the Court of Appeals was an abuse of their judicial authority… because Judge Berry’s “verbal Jury instructions” were the same as her Jury verdict form (“You must convict”). Pinned in a corner (as they were) and looking like the Emperor with no clothes on, the Supreme Court’s (Engler Majority) of 5
  Justices had to retreat and throw up the white flag. Bottom line. Both Michael Wade and the Constitutional Right to Jury Trial won 7 to 0 and abuse of authority lost… but, only after a five-year legal saga, and an unconstitutional imprisonment of three years were served by Wade. I didn’t come away unscathed either… as I gave up the $180,000 attorney fee owed by a client… who couldn’t afford it. But, in the last analysis, Michael Wade finally prevailed, only… because I refused to give in and follow orders. See my first book, Children of the Greatest Generation, Chapter 16, Detroit Judge… Slays Lady Justice.

Bottom line. Taking on the U.S. Army, the Detroit P.D. and a rogue, strong-arm Judge and resisting their orders “forced” Justice for All on the unwilling.

Patrick, I suggest that your philosophy of politics, political leaders, political science and law emanates out of your Authoritarian, Military bent of Semper Fi… while mine arises out of the fundamental freedoms of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that all Americans have for the asking, but only If… (repeat, only If) they fight the never-ending, day in and day out battle to protect and maintain those rights. Or, as my dear Irish lawyer friend, Brian Lavan of Kiltimagh, County Mayo always said, “I will fight to the death for my right to be peaceful.”

As you can see, Patrick, in contrast to your Authoritarian bent, I have a Challenge Authority bent, a Challenge Authority bent that is necessary to protect Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights and the Human Rights… mentioned in the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights— a Challenge Authority bent that requires me to search for and find Truth and Justice via… challenging and questioning orders (repeat for emphasis… challenging and questioning orders) with the force of Confrontation, Confrontation and more Confrontation in a Courtroom arena… where words are weapons and the inarticulate come to the battle unarmed. As you can see, I would not have made a good Semper Fi Marine (though I did manage, almost two years of Military Schools, and 6 years in the Air Force Reserves… after I left the Air Force Academy) seeking to become a Trial Lawyer.

Bottom line. We both treasure America and its ideals, but you see your buddy Trump (an Authoritarian on Steroids) as good for your Authoritarian, Semper Fi bent while I see him as an Authoritarian, wannabe Dictator who must be stopped lest we Americans lose our treasured Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights, Human Rights and Democracy itself. I don’t think you or Trump really embrace those rights… except for “lip service.” I respectfully suggest that you and Trump (at best) support Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Democracy, freedom and liberty in the abstract only (but, never in any given concrete case). Authoritarians are the bane of a free society, especially your man Trump… he who now waits in the shadows of deception for a second term as the self-avowed Dictator and Angel of Vengeance.

II
IN SEARCH OF…
“INTELLECTUAL HONESTY”
OVERCOMING INDOCTRINATION OF THE PAST

But despite our differences in political/legal stance, in philosophical focus and our differences in Leadership qualities that we admire… both of us owe it to ourselves, to each other and to our Country to decide The Truths of America and The Truths of Life with an open, unbiased mind, a mind of “Intellectual Honesty” (as far as it can be obtained). Repeat, “Intellectual Honesty.” But, many of America’s citizens never make the effort to become “intellectually honest.” Why ??? Because their brain was hardwired by their past indoctrination of their first decades of life… after which their already, hard-wired brain ossified, solidified and fossilized even more as they refuse to re-visit the indoctrinated, knee-jerk beliefs of their youth… religious beliefs, political beliefs, legal beliefs and otherwise.

These fossilized brains (fossilized and hardwired in the first 10 to 20 years of life) simply refuse to grow any further beyond the first few decades of early indoctrination and brain formation… refusing to put in the hard work that “Intellectual Honesty” requires. Call them lazy. Call them settled in their ways. Call them settling for less. Call them overworked. Call them exhausted. Call it raising and providing for a family. Call it hubris. Call it thinking they “already know everything they need to know.” Call it Fox Entertainment doing their thinking for them. These poor souls (though educated and gainfully employed) remain willfully uneducated and without intellectual honesty.

Patrick, we must all ask ourselves… did our minds stop growing after the first 15 to 20 years of life ??? Did our brains ossify with calcium after the first 15 to 20 years of life ??? If so, are we intellectually doomed by the indoctrination of our first 15 to 20 years of life ??? Will we ever be open to “intellectual honesty” ??? Will the brain of our first 15 to 20 years ever be capable of looking into the mirror of self re-flexion or capable of honest, open and self-critical observation ??? In short, we cannot be “intellectually honest” with a brain that is a hardwired slave, locked into and limited by the ideas and experiences of our first 15 to 20 years of our upbringing ??? These hardwired, brains of today’s old men routinely give themselves away when they tell the youth of today how easy they’ve got it, compared to how tough our lives were back in the day… usually the same-o, same-o exaggeration of old men talking down to the new generation. I hope that’s not me. You can answer for yourself… as each new generation suffers the travail of its own unique challenges.

As I say, all us humans, are required (No, make that… it is demanded of us) to reevaluate the forces that shaped us early on in life… forces that, undeniably, left their indelible mark upon our psyches (hard-wired our psyches, if you will). I got lucky. Law School was my serendipitous gift where I purposely erased the hardwiring of my upbringing. Entering the door of Law School at age 23, I provisionally rejected and erased everything I thought I knew or believed. I re-evaluated everything I thought I knew or believed. I reevaluated everything my parents taught me. I reevaluated everything the priests and nuns taught me. I then re-wired my brain to think anew… based on new ideas, new knowledge, new history, new philosophy, new challenges, broader perspectives (still an on-going process today in 2024, as we both have 8 full decades of life behind us, and now begin our 9th decade).

On the first day of Law School (right after being thrown from my motorcycle, and seeing the message “live and let live” in the sky), I walked into to my first class, Criminal Procedure. First words I heard in Law School ??? Professor Alan Sultan asks the entire class, “What do you think about homosexuality” ??? When no one answered, the Professor followed up with “What right does anyone in this class have to complain about what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedrooms” ??? I saw the light. I gave up the Authoritarian demand to have everybody’s sexuality conform to my views. I gave up the “control” over the sex lives of others. I was liberated from my (“our”) upbringing, Patrick, and from what the Roman Catholic Church told us was right and wrong, what the nuns and priests told us was right or wrong and what our parents might have thought was right or wrong. For me, it was the uncharted territory of “Live and Let Live.” The following week, I surrendered my strong belief in Capital Punishment, and I remain (to this very day) an adamant opponent of the Death Penalty… going on 60 years. I will save my philosophical arguments against the Death Penalty for another day.

Law School with the Jesuits was a game changer. I just stood back in “nonjudgment” fashion and opened my mind up with a more mature understanding of logic, deductive reasoning, and critical analysis… as I allowed my God-given, free will to reshape me and rewire my 23-year-old brain. I spent the next three years of my life embracing the fundamental philosophy that shaped early America. The Founder’s choice ??? Declare Revolutionary victory and model their new government after the Military, War Machine of the Imperial, British Monarch (with its God-awful boast that “The Sun never sets on British soil.”). Our Founding Fathers took a pass on their British past, and attempted to create a more perfect Union… modeled after the philosophy of fundamental, human rights (John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, and other Age of Enlightenment Philosophers)… including, Patrick, the political theory of civilian control over your beloved (Authoritarian) Marine Corps.

I was raised by an under-educated Father and Mother of no financial means, but who (from my perspective) were Champions of the Underdogs and the Downtrodden. My parents peacefully and humbly resisted control by the authorities they saw all around them… those who, invariably, sought to imposed their will upon (and control) my parents (Government, Cops, Corporate America and even their own Catholic Church who excommunicated my parents because of my Mother’s divorce from her first husband). After re-shaping and re-wiring my brain in Law School, I threw out much of my preexisting, hardwired brain, but held onto other parts, including the preference for the Underdog and the Downtrodden… a parental message reinforced by the historical Jesus of Nazareth and his brother, James the Just, who took over the movement after the Crucifixion of Jesus. See the book, Zealot, by Reza Aslan.

Patrick, you were raised by a strong Mother and Irish Uncles who nurtured your desire to attend Notre Dame on the GI Bill with you later volunteering for the Military… the Marine Corps who nurtured the strong Authoritarian bent that you found so important in defining who you were (and are)… an Authoritarian, Semper Fi bent that you still carry with you today (2024, almost 60 years later), just as I carry with me today my Law-School, rewired brain… which allowed me to truly be my own man, unbridled by the indoctrination of the first 20 years of my life.

As I say, Patrick, my first reaction is to question Authoritarian figures and their orders… and all those who would impose their will on me, my family and on my clients… just because they can, e.g. Trump, just because he is a Bully who wants to satisfy his own narcissistic needs… without any care or concern for anyone other than himself and his own needs. As Trump would say…”Semper Fi to my own needs.” So, Patrick, finding the freedom to question authority (e.g. The Government, the Cops, the Military, Corporate America, Religion) or to question Authoritarians like Trump is not something you grew up with, not something you were exposed to at Notre Dame or in the Marine Corps, and, hence, definitely not something that is second nature to you. Yet, precisely because you didn’t question the authorities of your formative years, you may have compromised your need to obtain “intellectual honesty.”

Patrick, rhetorically, I ask… In the never ending search for Truth and “intellectual honesty,” what have you done since you left Notre Dame and the Marine Corps to re-assess all you were taught in the first two decades of your life ??? Translated, are you still tied to what you perceive to be the overwhelming correctness of Semper Fi and obedience to orders ???
Alternatively, are you still growing, still evaluating, still assessing, re-assessing and still seeking Truth, Intellectual Honesty and Wisdom ??? I am sure you will tell me you have an open, “intellectually honest” mind, and I truly believe… you believe… you are open and “intellectually honest.” And, therein lies (perhaps) the biggest impediment to really having an open mind and striving to be “Intellectually Honest”… thinking you are when you’re not, a trap all of us can easily fall into.

What I see (as an outsider, who has known you 65 years…age 14 to 81) is a great kid I went to High School with… who grew into the Authoritarian bent of his upbringing in his first 20 years of life and who still uses his Authoritarian bent of yesterday to evaluate his world of today. Case in point… our previous discussion of your attack against Democrats in Chicago as the cause for Black on Black crime… which did a great disservice to Chicago Blacks. See Solving America’s Great Racial Divide.

Rhetorically, I would ask (not a test and no written answer required). Repeat, rhetorically, I ask ??? Over the many decades in your post Notre Dame life and your post Marine Corps life… have you ever made a wholesale, reassessment of the fundamental principles of American Democracy, or the fundamental principles of your Roman Christianity that you were raised on in Grade School (St. Monica), High School (Catholic Central) and College (Notre Dame) ??? I suspect you were not as fortunate as I was when we matriculated through the College educational world. While you were attending Notre Dame and being exposed to yet another, Authoritarian, indoctrinated version of Roman Catholicism, I was with the Jesuits at the University of Detroit (undergrad and Law School) being exposed to the ultimate, Bleeding Heart of Jesus… the man of acceptance and inclusion of everyone at the table of life, moral judgment for none, forgiveness for all, “Doing unto others” and “Being a man for others.” Patrick…

• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of American Exceptionalism to see whether it is a reality, an elitist delusion or partly truth and party fiction ??? What do you make of (first, Black Supreme Court) Justice Thurgood Marshall’s comment ??? “Ah America, the Greatest Country that never was, but, hopefully, always will be.” Anti American propaganda or the “ring of truth.”
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of America’s “preemptive strike,” invasion of Iraq in Gulf War II (2003-2011)… killing tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis because of Saddam’s Hussein’s, non-existent role in 9/11 and his non-existent “Weapons of Mass Destruction” ??? American War Crimes ??? (like Putin invading the Ukraine). Or, America entitled to do so because, well, because… America is exceptional and better than everyone else ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of Trumps threats to arrest and deport students engaged in assembly, petitioning the government and free speech for campus protests… those “right to life” protesters who are speaking out in support of life and against the disproportionate Military force, deaths and carnage in Gaza ???
• Same question for Trump’s promise to imprison and/or throw Americans out of their own Country if they exercise their 1st. Amendment, free speech right to burn the American flag in protest of America’s policies (first recognized during America’s “preemptive strike” invasion of Vietnam in the 1960s). Trump says he will deport any citizen who exercises that flag burning, Constitutional right to protest. Do you believe (as Trump does) that the exercise of a Constitutional right should be met with banishment from the realm ??? Something tells me that you would throw your Authoritarian support behind Trump and vigorously back him. Am I wrong ???
• When the Champ, Muhammed Ali, refused the draft in the Vietnam War on Conscientious Objector grounds, he was convicted and then, finally, vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court… 9 to 0. Yet, the Champ was roundly criticized by White America because of his “Conscientious Objector” stance. Do you still harbor that criticism of Ali… today (2024) ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of the concept of Christian Exceptionalism ??? See Reading God’s Mind – A Letter to the Galatians…
• What do you, your Notre Dame buddies and your Marine Corps buddies think of my attempt to elevate Humanity above Patriotism and above Religious Parochialism ??? As I say, First be a Child of God and then a member of some religious organization. First be a Citizen of the World, and then a Patriot of some, postage-stamp (size), piece of land (in the vast Universe). That way, we see ourselves in others, and it is so much easier to love our neighbors and extend our hands, and say… “May the Peace of Jesus be with you.” Your thoughts ??? Am I just another woke liberal ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of Christianity’s desire to knock the 1st. Amendment’s Separation of Church and State out of the Bill of Rights and replaced it with… “Christianity, the religion of America” ??? See Separation of Church and State Relentless Assaults by… Mind Readers and True Believers.
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of Christianity’s “Exclusion of non-believers” e.g. must be baptized with water and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior or no salvation ??? Compare that “unprovable,” Christian theme of exclusion… with God’s acceptance of his, loving, nonreligious, servant Abou Ben Adhem (poem by Leigh Hunt). Abou Ben Adhem (1834) – Leigh Hunt
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of the Catholic Church denying women the opportunity to be priests or deacons ??? Do you think that the Man in Sandals (who took on the “Patriarchal” power of the Jewish High Priests) would also forbid women from becoming Rabbis (or Priests or Deacons) ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of the concept that a gay life style is a sin ??? See Gay Rights and Obama Care Prevail.
• Have you ever re-assessed the propriety of the concept that “birth control” (not abortion)… is a sin ??? That argument (“birth control is a sin”) was recently mentioned by the right-wing, Catholic Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court as the reason for allowing the Little Sisters of the Poor to veto the Obama Care Law… a law that requires employers (like the Little Sisters) to provide birth control insurance coverage to their female employees (with Obama trying to solve the “sin” dilemma of the Little Sisters by “accommodating” them and picking up the insurance tab… all to no avail). I see no mention of birth control being a “sin” in the Sermon on the Mount. Do you ???
• Have you ever re-assessed, the recent, U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of 303 Creative in justifying Christians the “Free Exercise” right to discriminate against gay couples who are seeking to hire a web designer for their marriage… even though gay marriage is a Constitutional right ??? Sound eerily similar to the Jim Crow discrimination against Blacks by the “Christian” KKK ???… prohibiting Blacks from exercising their Constitutional right to use buses, restaurants, hotels, Public Schools, Crystal pool in Detroit (closed down rather than allow Blacks to swim in the pool and poison the swimming waters meant for white kids), etc.

As California lawyer/journalist, Robert Hubble, recently wrote (6/29/2024)…

“You will be able to tell your grandchildren that you lived through a judicial revolution that rewrote the Constitution to suit the financial interests of corporate America and the social agenda of an extremist minority that fetishizes guns, hates government, and seeks to impose their narrow religious views on all Americans.”

See Also Religious Discrimination in America and Counterpoint on Religious Liberties.

• Have you ever re-assessed the concept of “heresy”… which takes away the human right to use our God-given, free will to think the thoughts we choose without being silenced, put to death, banished, shunned or discriminate against ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the legitimacy of the 1,700 year-old Nicene creed (aka Apostles Creed) ??? That which may not be questioned or changed… despite the ton of advances by humanity over that 1,700 year period.
• Have you ever re-assessed the claim that the Bibles are the word of God… versus the word of men (written by those who never saw or spoke to Jesus) ??? See Truth in the Holy Books
• Have you ever re-assessed the supposed, infallible Tales of the Bible ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the Biblical story of Adam and Eve appearing (at a given moment in historical time) as the first, walking, talking humans… despite the overwhelming contradiction by the 100,000-year old human fossil record of “slow walk” evolution ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the story that God ordered Adam and Eve not to eat from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge ??? (really ??? … no knowledge for humans per God’s order).
• Have you ever re-assessed the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial that resulted in a criminal conviction of teacher, John Scopes, for teaching evolution (along with the Biblical account of Adam and Eve) ??? Today (rather than ban evolution in the classroom), your, beloved Republican Party would ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory while also supporting the removal of books from our libraries ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the burning of Witches across Europe by Christianity ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the Roman Catholic Church’s threat of death to Galileo for his scientifically correct theory that the Sun is the center of the Universe (really, our solar system) ???
• Have you ever re-assessed the selling of indulgences for a “get out of Purgatory free” card (challenged by Martin Luther… who was excommunicated by the Pope Leo X) ???

In all of the above questions, there is (as I previously mentioned) the issue of “controlling” others (again and again, the go-to response of your group of rightwing Republicans) as opposed to my “live and let live” philosophy… allowing humanity pursue its own self-determination, its own God-given free will and its own Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness (subject, of course, to the prohibition that “my rights end where your nose begins”).

Patrick, I know your first reaction. I can hear it. “Lauck, you are full of sh_ _. I, Patrick McDonnell, am an open-minded work in progress, always have been, always will be.” But Patrick, after you graduated from Notre Dame, and after you left the Marine Corps and passed the CPA exam… did you ever take a second look at your hardwired brain and re-evaluate it through the lens of “Intellectual Honesty” ??? After knowing you for a ton of years and after corresponding with you over the last 7 to 8 years, I suspect you have not. I got lucky. Without my fortuitous chance to go to Law School… I suspect, I might have been in the same place you are. I think yours is an Authoritarian reaction to life’s issues… that was hardwired into your brain (to remain) the same… since you were in your 20s, while I was struck with “live and let live” philosophy of the Jesuits… with (I suspect) your Alma Mater, Notre Dame, probably telling us today that Jesuits are not really Catholics anyway. So be it. I am with the Jesuits.

Patrick, I think yours is the same-o, same-o, top down, indoctrinated Authoritarianism of Notre Dame’s, right-wing Catholicism and the same-o, same-o, top down, indoctrinated Authoritarianism of the Semper Fi Marine Corps… an Authoritarianism that still whispers in your ear today in 2024 urging you to vote for Trump, lest your side lose “CONTROL” over those damn ‘live and let live’ Liberals.”

Happy July 4th Patrick
Fred Lauck