Texas Scorecard

E Pluribus Unum

Strength is found not in diversity, but in unity.

E Pluribus Unum by Michael Quinn Sullivan “E pluribus unum.” No concept has been more uniquely American than the national motto first suggested in 1776 by our founding fathers. It is rooted deeply in a Christian view of our culture that has, sadly, been shoved aside in favor of the European tribalism favored by tyrants. There is a reason 20th-century dictators ranging from Adolf Hitler to Joseph Stalin railed against “the others” in their societies. By creating division, it is easier to exercise dictatorial control. In our American culture of the 21st Century, the same dictatorial impulses have done the same thing but with a twist. With a faux fervor that belies history and reality, we’ve become fixated on hyphens and modifiers in a way that would have baffled our founding fathers. Consider men like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Rush. They could not have been more different in their views of the world and even what motivated their participation in the cause of independence. In writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul emphasized the need for unity in the faith. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Just as the early church was built by a wildly diverse people who came together under Christ, so too was our nation built by people whose differences were unified in political liberty and self-governance. Such notions are antithetical to the whims of the ruling elite. They need us to be divided against ourselves. This is why we are told to celebrate that which makes us different. We must make ourselves the “other,” who is opposed, hated, or feared… And we must view all the others likewise. Our culture encourages dressing this up in that most delicious of self-centered sins. The algorithms of modern life have us find what most differentiates us from our neighbors, and wave it as a point of “pride.” Not coincidentally, Holy Scripture has a lot to say about the results of pride… and none of it is good. “Pride goes before destruction,” begins the line from Proverbs 16. It is so much easier, the tyrants know, to control people who have destroyed themselves. Strength is found not in diversity. Strength is found in unity. If we are to reclaim our republic, we must rejuvenate a culture that celebrates our founding principles. From many, we can be one people when we are united in liberty. E pluribus unum.

"If you thought the battles over social media “misinformation” were intense, just wait for the A.I. era. Lots of failed experts are engaged in a tactical retreat, regrouping for the coming battles. They passively admit “mistakes were made” but dodge specific accountability and refuse to acknowledge those who got the big questions right. At the same time, they are busy establishing new gatekeepers, taboos, and approved voices. The very people who got so many giant questions so very wrong over the last two decades are attempting to build a new information fortress for the next 20 years."

Brownstone Institute

To Outrun the Complacent Class

Communications bandwidth and data transparency empowered regular people and helped expose dysfunction among many existing “experts.”

Q. 44. What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? A. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. Luke 1:74-75; 1 Pet. 1:15-19.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert A. Heinlein

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." - Oscar Wilde

"Men do not quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Q. 43. What is the preface to the ten commandments? A. The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Ex. 20:2

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence." – John Adams​, 2nd U.S. President, 1797 to 1801

Today in History  On June 4, 1989, the Chinese Communist Party's troops—the People's Liberation Army—murdered protesters in Tiananmen Square. The number of individuals killed, wounded, and taken prisoner by the CCP remains unknown.

Q. 42. What is the sum of the ten commandments? A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves. Matt. 22:37-40.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot

"Nothing is easier than spending the public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." – Calvin Coolidge​, President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

Q. 41. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments. Deut. 10:4; Matt. 19:17.

Perfect!

"If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?" - T.S. Elliot

Do both.

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

"Many people die at age twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five." - Benjamin Franklin