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Black Rednecks & White Liberals
Dr. Thomas Sowell

Posted on 01/19/2023 7:24:04 PM PST by Mean Daddy

Yet the fact that nations and whole civilizations have also collapsed, with tragic repercussions lasting for centuries, is a sobering reminder that there is not an unlimited latitude for error or misconception. Sealing ourselves off from reality within a vision risks the the kinds of catastrophes that blind rulers have brought down upon themselves and their countries, from the days of the Roman Empire to the cataclysm into Hitler led Germany. The key factor in these calamities has often been a blocking of feedback from reality, epitomized by the figurative or literal killing of messengers bringing bad news.

When beliefs are not checked against facts, but instead facts must meet the test of consonance with the prevailing vision, we are in the process of sealing ourselves off from feedback from reality. Heedless of the past, we are flying blind into the future.


TOPICS: Books/Literature
KEYWORDS:
Excerpt from his book. Learned more about the state of race relations in the first 20 pages then I've learned in my 60 years of life. If you're a fan of Sowell, I'd be interested in trading this book for one of his other ones. PM me if you'd like to trade.
1 posted on 01/19/2023 7:24:04 PM PST by Mean Daddy
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To: Mean Daddy

Dr. Sowell is a national treasure.


2 posted on 01/19/2023 7:25:14 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim ( )
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To: Mean Daddy

Read John Milton’s Areopagatica, which argues (extensively) the same point, which comes down to (my paraphrase):

1. Only God knows the truth;
2. While a king may be closest to the truth,
3. Even a king does not hold the truth;
4. Therefore, error must be allowed in order to test accepted truths, even those of a king.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/608/608-h/608-h.htm


3 posted on 01/19/2023 7:29:01 PM PST by nicollo ("I said no!")
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Agreed. He is the Rush Limbaugh of the written word.


4 posted on 01/19/2023 7:31:57 PM PST by Mean Daddy (Every time Hillary lies, a demon gets its wings. - Windflier)
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To: Mean Daddy

“Agreed. He is the Rush Limbaugh of the written word.”
Indeed. In fact, he used to be a very frequent Guest Host of Rush’s program. Rush very much admired this man.


5 posted on 01/19/2023 7:36:22 PM PST by ocrp1982
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To: ocrp1982

I recall he and Walter Washington talking Rush’s show once. Quite the privilege.


6 posted on 01/19/2023 7:39:44 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim ( )
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To: Tijeras_Slim

“I recall he and Walter Washington talking Rush’s show once. Quite the privilege.”
I believe you meant to say Walter Williams. He too was a great Guest Host. While I enjoyed many of the Guest Hosts, those two men were my favorites. By far. Mark Stynne (sp?), gets my honorable mention.


7 posted on 01/19/2023 7:48:43 PM PST by ocrp1982
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To: Mean Daddy

Thanks for the suggestion. I have placed it on hold on the Libby public library app.


8 posted on 01/19/2023 7:52:57 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Blacks have placed stronger chains on themselves than the slave masters of old ever forged.)
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To: ocrp1982

You’re right. I agree, they were my favorite hosts too. When Walter’s wife passed I mourned, because you could tell how much he’d loved her.


9 posted on 01/19/2023 7:54:24 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim ( )
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To: Mean Daddy

I don’t have any to trade, but I strongly recommend reading The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy.

https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Anointed-Self-Congratulation-Social-Policy/dp/046508995X

Over 25 years old, and still relevant as could be.


10 posted on 01/19/2023 7:55:30 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Mean Daddy

With a little searching you can find all his audio books on youtube. I play them in my shop as I work. My faviorite, by far, (with the most ammunition to debate liberals (why bother, I know)) is “Vision of the Anointed.”

That book explains EVERYTHING going on in the modern world. Everything.


11 posted on 01/19/2023 8:33:32 PM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: ocrp1982

Yes. I remember Walter Washington, and that he was treated badly. Marion Barry was especially disrespectful to Washington when he succeeded him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Washington


12 posted on 01/19/2023 8:41:43 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Mean Daddy

One of my favorite books. It made a great deal of sense to me.


13 posted on 01/20/2023 5:16:58 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
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To: FreedomPoster

Agree 100%.

In my list of my top 10 favorite books, Thomas Sowell has three of his in there...


14 posted on 01/20/2023 5:18:32 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
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To: rlmorel

What are the other two?

I haven’t read his whole catalog, something I should probably work on.


15 posted on 01/20/2023 8:11:39 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: FreedomPoster
I had to laugh, because when I went to get the exact names, I saw more of his, so I would round out my top 30 books not my top 10. Here are my five favorites from my top 30 in order:

  1. Basic Economics-A Common Sense Guide To The Economy (I give this one as a gift to people. Basic Economics is brilliantly done, because it is written in a very approachable way on a subject many people have difficulty wrapping their head around. This should be required reading for ANYONE who professes to be a Conservative.)

  2. A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles (This is his best book to understand Leftism through a conservative prism. I found that I innately knew EXACTLY the things that were described in this book, because even though I could never explain them as well as Thomas Sowell does, I had created the same moral and intellectual basis over the last fifty years of observing them in action, and his writings fit perfectly into that framework in my mind and gave them both affirmation and a voice.)

  3. The Vision Of The Annointed: Self-congratulation As A Basis For Social Policy (This book explains the failures and fallacies of Leftist policies)

  4. Black Rednecks & White Liberals (His view of racial issues and divisions-when I read this, it explained many things that I never considered, but which make perfect sense)

  5. Intellectuals and Society (He explains in this book how Elitism/Elitists gets so many things wrong)

Basic Economics is brilliantly done, because it is written in a very approachable way on a subject many people have difficulty wrapping their head around. This should be required reading for ANYONE who professes to be a Conservative.

16 posted on 01/20/2023 9:23:08 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
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To: FreedomPoster
Basic Economics is in my top five, and A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles is high in my top 10.
17 posted on 01/20/2023 9:29:24 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
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To: rlmorel

Thanks.

I’ve read Basic Economics but not the other 3.


18 posted on 01/20/2023 9:32:14 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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