Book Review: The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
May 19, 2017

Wide in scope, and methodical in its examination, The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse is not only a dire warning, but a call to action for those who are seeing the decline of modern adults and the transmutation and erosion of adulthood in modern times, and the erosions of Freedoms as well.

Examining a veritable panoply of issues, the author centers upon myriad issues in modern schooling such as age segregation, over-consumption, lack of knowledge or literary skills, and also the incomplete view on what Freedom really is and all that it entails, and more.

Speaking about the glaring disrespect for Freedom and all that it took the gain, the author incisively notes:

“Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, has created the tragically apt phrase “unlearning liberty” for the troubling turn from freedom of expression and academic freedom toward political correctness and speech codes on our elite campuses.

“Let’s state it clearly: This is nearly the opposite of hat American Revolution as fought for.  America declared independence from Great Britain in pursuit of liberty, not “safe spaces.”  Freedom, and particularly freedom of discourse and debate about the big ideas of life, death, and meaning, is the foundation of the American idea.  Fleeting notions of psychological safety from having to considering competing ideas are quite nearly the opposite.”[1]

Such is what takes place when people are raised wrapped in bubble wrap, and are only allowed to experience a fraction of the totality that the world holds.  Worse, these actions are antithetical to Freedom since they aim to castrate others of the very views Freedom aims to protect, even if they are unpopular.

At one point, the author centers upon the work of award-winning teacher, John Taylor Gatto, who has done yeomen’s work in sounding the alarm regarding the insidious nature of public schooling.  In his landmark book, Dumbing Us Down, the author notes that:

“…seven lessons are universally taught from Harlem to Hollywood,” in our cookie-cutter schools.  The main consequences for students are: emotional confusion, social class disparity indifference, passivity, intellectual dependency on experts, conditional self-esteem, and surveillance by those in charge.”[2]

In such a system that seeks to conform, Is it a wonder that many are merely shadows of what they are fully capable of?

That said, there are two contentions to note with the book.  The first contention centers upon footnotes.  Although the author has a bibliography, and does in fact does address why the footnotes are missing, it still leaves a lot to be desired.  Given that this book aimed to cover a large scope of information, for those wanting to not only verify the information given, but wanting to research it further, footnotes are black pearls, they are essentially priceless.  One can only construct the present out of the roadmap of the past, and without a roadmap, one is unable to know where to go.  One would have to spend hours trying to stitch together the book’s sourced material in an attempt to ascertain which statement correlates with what book in the Bibliography, and there in you STILL don’t know what page that statement came from.  Had he given the page in the bibliography this would have been alright, but such was not the case.

The second contention with the book is that although the author does note some of the incisive issues that are taking place within society, and rightly so, the author doesn’t go far enough and only does a cursory examination.  One could make a sound argument that a large portion of issues stems from the social engineering in education, which is wholly verifiable if one takes the time to look.  It’s certainly not the only reason, but a leading one.

In fact, the very work that the author cited of John Taylor Gatto, throughout his books shows at length many references for the system having been engineered this way.  It wasn’t random that America’s education is failing, and that critical thinking skills have been lost – It was meant to BE that way.  Gatto’s work is a crucial start to glean this.  Moreover, the work of whistleblower Charlotte Iserbyt, who was a former Senior Policy Adviser for the Office Of Education Research & Improvement in the Reagan Administration adds more fuel to the fire, and sheds more light onto the darkness.  Her intriguing book, The Deliberate Dumbing Down Of America, is a phenomenal foray into the insidious roots of this broken system.

Also noteworthy is a gentleman who came out pulling no punches on this very topic named Professor Patrick Deneen.  In fact, in a lucid article entitled “How A Generation Lost Its Common Culture,” he states the following:

“We have fallen into the bad and unquestioned habit of thinking that our educational system is broken, but it is working on all cylinders.  What our education system aims to produce is cultural amnesia, a wholesale lack of curiosity, history-less free agents, and educational goals composed of content-free process and unexamined buzz-words like “critical thinking,” “diversity,” “ways of knowing,” “social justice,” and “cultural competence.”  Our education system produces solipsistic, self-contained selves whose only public commitment is an absence of commitment to public, a common culture, a shared history.  They are perfectly hollowed vessels, receptive and obedient without any real obligations or devotions.”[3]

Such is the true nature of the beast.   Not only is society being dumbed down, but culture as a whole is being eviscerated, one child at a time.

In any case, Sasse does provide some solutions to these problems and they are worthy of consideration.  The solutions that the author offers are not only practical, but much-needed.

It would be prudent for those seeking to understand more thoroughly how all these issues came to be to not only read The vanishing American Adult but also to read up on the work of Gatto, Iserbyt, and Deneen.  Complement this piece not only with the prior authors’ work, but also with Dr. Joseph P. Farrell’s and Gary Lawrence’s Rotten To The Common Core, and Gatto’s books called Weapons Of Mass Instruction, A Different Kind Of Teacher, The Underground History Of America, and John Holt’s How Children Learn, and one will begin to have a firm foundation upon which to grasp the totality an depth of this disturbing issue and even some possible solutions.

The myriad ramifications of this book abound, and should be ruminated upon at length.  If the America of the future is to have a firm foundation, at present, action needs to take place, with an ironclad education at the vanguard.  All individuals that value Freedom need to realize their fullest potential in mind, body and soul.  The future that awaits seems rather bleak, and it will remain bleak as long as ignorance remains.

That is why being proactive should be a daily priority.  Change starts with the individual – every single one of us.  Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.  For if we don’t take time to teach our children, kit and kin about the lessons of life, a great majority will arrive at life’s end having learned nothing.

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Footnotes:

[1] Ben Sasse, The Vanishing American Adult, p. 250.
[2] Ibid., p. 71.
[3] Professor Patrick Deneen, How A Generation Lost Its Common Culture

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This article is free and open source.  All individuals are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________
About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, researcher, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, humanitarian, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

His other blog, BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com features mainly his personal work, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information nigh always ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

The Individual: The Foundation Of Society

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
April 26, 2017

“They [conformists] think society wiser than their soul, and know not that one soul, and their soul, is wiser than the whole world…Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members….Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist…. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

The collective is often promulgated as the vanguard of society – the gears that keep society moving forward.  Truth be told, nothing could be further from the truth.  This is because any collective, or any group, is nothing without the individual – it doesn’t even exist.  It can’t even exist.

At society’s core, the individual is the main gear that makes the world go round.  Like imagination is the foundation of creativity, the individual is the foundation of society.

It’s crucial to comprehend this concept of Collectivism Vs. Individualism, because it’s not something pondered deeply in society nowadays.  Individuals are often given a bad rap, as if wanting to be your own being is a bad thing.  The term ‘lone wolf’ is often bandied about in negative light regarding individuals.  But individuality is not about living life alone, but about maintaining your identity – your individuality, what makes you distinct from everyone else.

No matter what societal structure, job, or group the individual is in, the individual that maintains their identity will be one step ahead of the curve because they will hold the ability to think like an individual, rather than forgo their mental faculties for the group.  This is vital, because many times the mental faculties of individuals wither within groups, which is rather deleterious.

For instance, we all have heard of group brainstorming, the epitome of collectivism.  Group brainstorming is one form of collectivist structure that seeks creation ‘by the group’ at the expense of the individual.  However, this tool is fraught with issues.

Focusing on why brainstorming often fails, author and psychology researcher Susan Cain explains in her milestone book, Quiet – The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking:

“Psychologists usually offer three explanations for the failure of group brainstorming.  The first is social loafing: in a group, some individuals tend to sit back and let others do the work.  The second is production blocking: only one person can talk or produce an idea at once, while the other group members are forced to sit passively.  And the third is evaluation apprehension, meaning the fear of looking stupid in front of one’s peers.”[1][Bold Emphasis added, Italics Emphasis In Original]

How many individuals suffer from such a system?  It’s certainly not optimal, although the illusion of it is always pushed as such.  Furthermore, due to all those reasons, the imagination and creativity individuals could employ otherwise remain stagnant, rarely if ever used except in rare circumstances.

Moreover, the larger the group becomes, the less efficient it is.  This, of course, makes individuals mere cogs in a machine when they could be harnessing their own endless creative potential.

Regarding large group inefficiency, Cain further notes:

“…some forty years of research has researched the same startling conclusion.  Studies have shown that performance gets worse as group size increases: groups of nine generate fewer and poorer ideas compared to groups of six, which do worse than groups of four.   The “evidence from science suggests that business must be insane to use brainstorming groups,” writes the organizational psychologist Adrian Furnham.  “If you have talented and motivated people, they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity and efficiency is the highest priority.”[2][Emphasis added]

Furnham’s words boil down this particular issue to the individual.  It’s at that level that individuals shine the brightest.

Hearkening back to issues regarding individuals taking part in groups, Malcom Gladwell, author of the book The Tipping Point, states:

“…when people are asked to consider evidence or make decisions in a group, they come to very different conclusions than when they are asked the same questions by themselves.  Once we’re part of a group, we’re susceptible to peer pressure and social norms and any other number of other kinds of influence…”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]

As we can gather, the collective is not where an individual’s maximum potential lies.

When the individual becomes part of the collective, creativity suffers, and thus, his imagination.

That is why it’s up to the individual to make sure they retain their identity if they are ever forced to work in a group, such as in school or work.

Ultimately, what choices an individual makes are dictated by what they see available.  When the availability of choices is forcefully narrowed down, the path the individual walks on is limited rather than boundless, and the individual’s choices are less than optimal to say the least. 

There is a great saying: “Knowledge is power. Lack of knowledge is lack of power.” A corollary to this would be: Individual potential is based on choices; lack of choices create lack of power.  The most significant ways an individual will lack power is when they merge with a group, as the example above detail.  As we have learned, brainstorming sessions in large groups are not terribly efficient.

Furthermore, as the individual identifies with the group, they tend to merge with the group mind and rarely ever voice their opinion, for various reasons. This is also highly inefficient because the whole point of group work is to cultivate idea and possibilities.

The ironic part is that group brainstorming, on paper, is about imagination, and yet group brainstorming is antithetical to it since it doesn’t maximize on the potential imagination of every individual and only employs a fraction of it.  On the opposite side of that spectrum stands the individual and their maximum potential, every single time.

Individuals which use imagination are self-sufficient in many ways.  The Individual that uses imagination not only seeks solutions, but creates them.  They don’t take anything at face value.  They check, recheck – they research.  Why?  Because individuals realize they control their own path and are responsible for it.  They live a better life, a healthier life, because they imagine better possibilities and put them into action.

These individuals don’t allow themselves to be stopped because they’re incapable of being stopped.  That’s not within their DNA.  It’s not part of their reality structure. 

Curiously, the proclivity to create is so ubiquitous in creative individuals that not creating seems rather foreign.  They always seek create beyond the lines, outside ‘the box’ – always in action, always creating.  This is why ultimately the individual is the foundation of society.

The canvas of endless possibilities is there for everyone.  It requires the desire to create to the nth degree coupled with conscious action for the canvas to become something more than a mere possibility.

What would happen if we all realized our canvas is reality itself?

As the philosopher Sun Tzu once intimated:

“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?”

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Footnotes:

[1] Susan Cain, Quiet – The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking, pg. 89.
[2] Ibid., pg. 88-89.
[3] Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, pg. 171.

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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________
About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, researcher, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, humanitarian, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

His own personal blog is BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com where his personal work is shared, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information usually ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

2016 Breakaway Books Of The Year

TheBreakaway
Zy Marquiez
March 8, 2017

A recent conversation with a close friend helped spawn this particular recommendation.  Following salient questions from my friend on what the best books of 2016 might be, the possibilities left me ruminating upon the answers.

Having reviewed 75+ books in 2016, it took a while to narrow down which ones were candidates for the best book in my opinion.  Each and every book had something to offer, although admittedly there were a handful which were quite a letdown.

Although most books reviewed here had something to offer, what follow are the best books considering the topics they cover.

The following books center around health and education.  These are the two most important topics considering they affect everyone.  Without both, we have nothing, and when both are had, the foundation for a better living is at least set.

Book#1:  A Mind Of Your Own – The Truth About Depression & How Women Can Heal Their Bodies To Reclaim Their Lives by Dr. Kelly Brogan [Review Here]

Why is this book important?  Because depression affects more than 30 million people within the United States and even more around the world.  What’s more, the information within this book has the potential to help millions if employed.

Having known a few people with depression, one of which was due to a vitamin deficiency, this topic is very near and dear to my heart.  Such information regarding a vitamin deficiency as the cause of depression will never make it out of the bowels of Big Pharma, after all, since such a simple solution wouldn’t make money. The book is  chock-full of insightful information that would help anyone with health issues, but especially those with depression.

In similar fashion to Dr. Peter Breggin’s Toxic Psychiatry, Dr. Brogan not only absolutely eviscerates the depression is a “chemical imbalance” theory, but she also takes it one step further.  Dr. Brogan states that Depression is not a disease, it’s a SYMPTOM.  Following that very thread, if you treat a symptom, you can NEVER cure a disease, and maybe that’s the point.  By not having to address the core issue of depression, the pharmaceutical companies literally have 30 million people [and growing] to use as cashcows.  That’s quite a disturbing prospect.

The author buttresses her book with over 100 medical references that rip apart much of the nonsense Big Pharma expounds regarding psychiatric medication.

This book would supplement anyone’s library rather well.

Book#2:  Rotten To The (Common) Core:  Public Schooling, Standardized Tests & The Surveillance State by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell & Gary Laurence [Review Here]

Public schooling within America continues to torpedo down the hill, with nigh no end in sight.  Not only does common core continue to consistently create epic failures as the United States features some of the worst public schooling statistics in the world, but the consortium continues to push method, rather than content.  But that’s not the most disturbing part.

In Rotten To The Common Core, Dr. Joseph P. Farrell & Gary Laurence both lay out concrete evidence that in disturbing ways the public schooling system couples directly to CIA MK-Ultra.  The authors touch lightly upon that, while also noting the disturbing implications of the growing Artificial Intelligence that’s going to be seen more and more in the future.

This book is pregnant with implications, and if you have children, or are in any way shape or form concerned about the future, you might want to take a gander at this.  A dumbed down future society is a troublesome prospect already.  But one that has been possibly molded by CIA MK Ultra Mind control, that’s also tied to the surveillance grid, and couples into Artificial Intelligence?  It almost seems like the script for a Hollywood movie.  Shades of Huxley’s Brave New World fused with Orwell’s 1984 to boot.

Book#3:  Eat To Beat Disease – Food’s Medicinal Qualities by Catherine J. Frompovich [Review Here]

Catherine Frompovich has been putting out high quality work for quite some time.  Frompovich has also written on Vaccinations, Holistic Breast Cancer treatment, and more.

Eat To Beat Disease is a book everyone can put to use.  With diseases of all types increasing out of control, it’s time for a change, and this book provides the foundation for it in spades.

In Eat To Beat Disease, Frompovich details a bevy of information for individuals to take back control of their health doing what they already do – eating.  By using food as part of a common sense regimen, individuals of all types can attain great results.  This book has also helped me personally fine-tune some of my eating habits, and am definitely glad to have read it.  It’s a great reference book as well.

The veritable plethora of information within this book not only offers quality eating advice, but also features a common sense approach to tackling some of the most common ailments.  This book is really a well rounded book, and everyone that has disease, or is struggling with health should really make it a point to read it.

Honorable Mentions:

Finance, Rogue Networks & Secret Sorcery: The Fascist International, 9/11, and Penetrated Operations
by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D [Review Here]

The above book touches upon some of the more nefarious aspects of 9/11 in a way that most 9/11 researchers had not considered, and synthesizes previous information in a manner that’s as intriguing as it is disconcerting.  Highly thought-provoking through and through, this is a must read to understand many of the issues society faces today.

Food Forensics by Mike Adams [Review Here]

Food Forensics is an essential library in understanding toxins within foods.  If you want to know why people continue to get sick, read this book.  It serves as an excellent compliment to Catherine Frompovich’s Eat To Beat Disease.

What books offered you a lot of value/knowledge?  What were some of your favorites?  Make sure to share them below, we would definitely like to hear.

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This article is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.

Book Review: Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited By Aldous Huxley

TheBreakaway
Zy Marquiez
February 28, 2017

“It is rather alarming to find that only twenty-seven years [after writing Brave New World] quite a number of those forecasts have already come true, and come true with vengeance…Some of them were foreseen, and I think some of them I didn’t have the imagination to foresee, but I t think there is a whole armory at the disposal of potential dictators at the moment.”
– Aldous Huxley [1958]

Known for being one of the most influential dystopian authors of all time, Aldous Huxley, who was a jack of all trades, created his magnum opus, Brave New World in 1931, which was published a year later.  Nigh nine decades later, many of his ominous and scholarly insights are manifesting right before our eyes.  For these reasons, Brave New World should be read through rather carefully, for it serves as a severe warning not only about what might be coming, but what is already here.

This particular fusion of Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley truly is as fascinating as it is disturbing in scope.  The former offers his vision of what a dystopian world might be like, while the latter offers a trenchant examination of Brave New World.

While some may call some of Huxley’s ideas ‘prophetic’ in a sense, it’s more of a logical deduction given the available information that there was at a time.  If one has a reasonable amount of quality information, one surely would be able to postulate a reasonable result given humanity’s penchant for falling for propaganda in droves historically.  After all, most nations historically don’t operate under true freedom.  What’s more, many ‘modern’ nations already implement many of the disturbing trends written about in this sobering, if intense account of could have happened, although in fiction, which is now turning into reality.

Brave New World has been compared to Orwell’s 1984 due to the engineered control grid – each of which carries different methods – and with good reason.  Whilst 1984 is ruled with an iron fist, Brave New World is ruled with a velvet one.  Endless arguments have ensued in many circles as to which one we are gravitating towards, and it’s definitely intriguing although distressing contemplating such facts.

Huxley does an outstanding job of painting a disturbing portrait within his fictional realm.  The individuals within his society – who are essentially drones – have fallen over themselves for the ‘good of all’ – for the collective.  The book is littered with countless examples of this.

The individual, who is the foundation of society, is thrown aside, by the wayside.

In respect to this troublesome and pernicious pervasive issue, which is seen more and more nowadays, Huxley noted the following words:

“Brave New World presents a fanciful and somewhat ribald picture of a society, in which the attempt to recreate human beings in the likeness of terminates has been pushed almost to the limits of the possible.  That we are being propelled in the direction of Brave New World is obvious.  But not less obvious is the fact that we can, if we so desire, refuse to co-operate with the blind forces that are compelling us.  As Mr. William Whyte has shown in his remarkable book, The Organization Man, a new Social Ethic is replacing our traditional ethical system – the system in which the individual is primary.  The key words in this Social Ethic are “adjustment,” “adaptation,” “socially oriented behavior,” “belongingness,” “acquisition of social skills,” “team work,” “group living,” “group loyalty,” “group dynamics,” “group thinking,” “group creativity.”  Its basic assumption is that the social whole has greater worth and significant than its individual parts, that inborn biological differences should be sacrificed to cultural uniformity, that the rights of the collective take precedence over what the eighteenth century called the Rights of Man.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

Furthermore, as Huxley notes, the:

“…ideal man is the man who displays “dynamic conformity” (delicious phrase!) and an intense loyalty to the group, an unflagging desire to subordinate himself, to belong.”[2][Bold Emphasis Added]

Talk about a conformity crisis!  That’s exactly where society is torpedoing to as we speak.  And it all starts in youth, through the public schooling system.

This conformity crisis in public schooling has been spoken about at length by John Taylor Gatto in his books, Dumbing Us Down, A Different Kind Of Teacher and Weapons Of Mass Instruction.

In Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling, Gatto mentions the following explosive remarks:

“Mass education cannot work to produce a fair society because its daily practice is practice in rigged competition, suppression and intimidation.  The schools we’ve allowed to develop can’t work to teach nonmaterial values, the values which give meaning to everyone’s life, rich or poor, because the structure of schooling is held together by a Byzantine tapestry of reward and threat, of carrots and sticks.  Official favor, grades, and other trinkets of subordination have no connection with education; they are the paraphernalia of servitude, not of freedom.”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]

“Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.”[4][Bold Emphasis Added]

“…schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet.  No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes.  The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”[5] [Bold Emphasis]

Gatto minces no words.  If you wish to see what is happening, right from the start via the public indoctrination system, READ John Taylor Gatto’s work.  It is HIGHLY recommended.

Returning to Huxley, the latter part of Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited also features Huxley’s letter to Orwell.  Additionally, and arguably more importantly, the second book, Brave New World Revisited is absolutely mind bending.

Brave New World Revisited includes intriguing information at length that supplements droves of added substance for the reader to familiarize themselves with some of the deeper niches of everything Brave New World stands for.  One could view it as a few different essays on many of the most disturbing components and trends, featured in Brave New World, which society is currently following.

Topics which are discussed include conformity, the collectivization of society, the attack on individuals, brainwashing, propaganda, social engineering, distractions within society, chemical persuasion, possible solutions and much more.  Brave New World Revisited encompasses nigh 100 pages of additional information that should be essentially mandatory in education.

It would be interesting to see what Huxley would have thought about the precision condition that is currently taking place on a mass scale in society today.  There are so many angles to this, that one could write many essays and analyze it in a myriad of ways.  Many have, and rightly so.

With the recipes featured in Orwell and Huxley’s books, the system seems to be changing day by day, and not for the better.  Propaganda, entrainment technology, social engineering, overmedication of the population, and more, are all being used to maliciously mold society to become not only uniform, but obedient to boot.

Incisive individuals who value freedom and have inquiring minds should not only make this part of their library, but should prepare for what’s already here and much of what’s coming soon.

Couple Brave New World with 1984, and you have the recipe of what the world is beginning to look like, which is a merger of those two ideals.  And that’s a very, very disturbing proposition.

Be warned.

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Sources:

[1] Aldous Huxley, Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited, p. 257.
[2] Ibid., p. 257.
[3] John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling, pg. 69.
[4] Ibid., p. 23.
[5] Ibid., p. 21.
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If You are interested in the subject, the Book Reviews below follow as highly suggested reading:

1984 by George Orwell
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto
 A Different Kind Of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons Of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
Rotten To The (Common) Core: Public Schooling, Standardized Tests & The Surveillance State by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell
The Tavickstock Institute: Social Engineering The Masses by Daniel Estulin
Technocracy Rising: The Trojan Horse Of Global Transformation by Patrick M. Wood
Propaganda by Edward Bernays

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This article is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.

13 Great Reasons To Study Logic

TheBreakaway
Zy Marquiez
February 1, 2017

In age where the public dumbing down is reaching new lows [Read Here For More], a much more proactive approach to an individuals education is vitally needed.  This will certainly aid them in gravitating away from the crumbling education paradigm that keeps failing us, because, as John Taylor Gatto stated in A Different Kind Of Teacher [Review Here]:

“Schools were designed by Horace Mann, E.L. Thorndike, and others to be instruments of scientific management of a mass population.  Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.  To a very great extent, schools succeed in doing this.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

In other words, school system is about social engineering the masses, and not producing educated individuals.

Furthermore, as Professor Patrick Deneen shared in his landmark piece, How A Generation Lost Its Common Culture:

“Our students’ ignorance is not a failing of the educational system – it is its crowning achievement. Efforts by several generations of philosophers and reformers and public policy experts — whom our students (and most of us) know nothing about — have combined to produce a generation of know-nothings”[2][Emphasis Added]

It isn’t by accident that the school system has reached the state of decline it has.

Knowing that, what’s an individual to do?  Go back to the roots.

For this, there is no better place to go but to the realm of logic.

Why is Logic so vital?

To answer this poignant question, let’s take a look at the work of Philosopher Peter Kreeft Ph.D has to to say.  Kreeft, in his phenemonal book called Socratic Logic [Review Here] outlines the many reasons why logic is important to an individuals growth.

Kreeft minces no words in stating that in the past, most students were privy to was called “the old logic”.  Due to this, those individuals were much better prepared to “think, read, write, organize, and argue much better than they can today”.[3]

Getting back to classical education, which employed The Trivium – composed of Logic, Grammar & Rhetoric – is what will ultimately help individuals break away from the downward avalanche public schooling is manifesting.  And Logic undoubtedly is an integral component of The Trivium.

Please ruminate at length regarding what follows.  It shows how and why logic seeps into all areas of life.

Below follow salient reasons why to study Logic:

13 Good Reason Why You Should Study Logic

1. Logic brings order.

Logic builds the mental habit of thinking in an orderly way.

No course is more practical than logic, for no matter what you are thinking about, you are thinking, and logic orders and clarifies your thinking.  No matter what your thought’s content, it will be clearer when it has a more logical form.  The principles of thinking logically can be applied to all thinking and to every field.

2.  Logic brings power.  Logic brings the power of proof and persuasion.

The power of logic comes from the fact that it is the science and art of argument.  Any power can be either rightly used or abused.  This power of logic is rightly used to win the truth and defeat error; it is wrongly used to win the argument and defeat your opponent.

3.  Logic helps reading. Logic will help you in education and learning, for “logic will help you to read any book more clearly and effectively.  And you are always going to be reading books; books are the single most effective technological invention in the history of education.

On the basis of over 40 years of full time college teaching of almost 20,000 students at 20 different schools, I am convinced that one of the reasons for the steep decline in students’ reading ability is the decline in the teaching of traditional logic.

4.  Logic helps writing.  Logic will also help you to write more clearly and effectively, for clear writing and clear thinking are a “package deal”: the presence or absence of either one brings the presence or absence of the other.  Muddled writing fosters muddled thinking, and muddled thinking fosters muddled writing.  Clear writing fosters clear thinking, and clear thinking fosters clear writing.  Common sense expects this, and scientific studies confirm it.  Writing skills have declined dramatically in the 40 years or so since symbolic logic has replaced Aristotelian logic, and I am convinced this is no coincidence.

It is simply impossible to communicate clearly and effectively without thinking clearly and effectively.  And that means logic.”

5.  Logic brings happiness.  In a small but significant way, logic can even help you attain happiness.  We all seek happiness all the time because no matter what else we seek, we seek it because we think it will be a means to happiness, or a part of happiness, either for ourselves or for those we love.  And no one seeks happiness for any other end; no one says he wants to be happy in order to be rich, or wise, or healthy.  But we seek riches, or wisdom, or health, in order to be happier.

How can logic help us attain happiness?  Here is a very logical answer to that question:

(1)  When we attain what we desire, we are happy
(2)  And whatever we desire, whether Heaven or a hamburger, it is more likely that we will attain if it we think more clearly.
(3)  And logic helps us to think more clearly.
(4)  Therefore logic helps us to be happy.

Even fantasy is not illogical.  In fact, according to the greatest master of this art, J.R.R. Tolkien, “Fantasy is a rational, not an irrational, activity…creative fantasy is founded upon a hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on a recognition of fact, but not a slavery to it.  So upon logic was founded the nonsense that displays itself in the tales and rhymes of Lewis Carroll.  If men really could not distinguish between frogs and men, fairy stories about frog-kings would not have arisen.”

6.  Logic helps with religious faith.  Even religion, though it goes beyond logic, cannot go against it; if it did, it would literally be unbelievable.  Some wit defined “faith” as “believing what you know isn’t true.”  But we simply cannot believe an idea to be true that we know that has been proven to be false by a valid logical proof.

It is true that faith goes beyond what can be proved by logical reasoning alone.  That is why believing in any religion is a free personal choice, and some make that choice while others do not, while logical reasoning is equally compelling for all.  However, logic can add faith in at least three ways.

First, logic can often clarify what is believed, and define it.

Second, logic can deduce the necessary consequences of the belief and apply it to difficult situations.

Third, even if logical arguments cannot prove all that faith believes, they can give firmer reasons for faith than feeling, desire, mood, fashion, family or social pressure, conformity, or inertia.

7.  Logic helps attain wisdom.  “Philosophy” means “the love of wisdom.”  Although logic alone cannot make you wise, it can help.  For logic is one of philosophy’s main instruments.  Logic is to philosophy what telescopes are to astronomy or microscopes to biology or math to physics.

8.  Democracy.  There are even crucial social and political reasons for studying logic.  As a best-selling modern logic text says, “the success of democracy depends, in the end, on the reliability of the judgments we citizens make, and hence upon our capacity and determination to weigh arguments and evidence rationally.”  As Thomas Jefferson said, “In a republican nation, whose citizens are to be lead by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reason becomes of the first importance.”[Copi & Cohen, Logic, 10^th edition, Prentice-Hall, 1998.).

9.  Defining logic’s limits.  Does logic have limits?  Yes, but we need logic to recognize and definite logic’s limits.  Logic has severe limits.  We need much more than logic even in our thinking.  For instance, we need intuition, too.  But logic helps us recognize this distinction.

10.  Logic helps in testing authority.  We need authorities because no individual can discover everything autonomously  We do in fact rely on the human community, and therefore on the authority of others – parents, teachers, textbooks, “experts,” friends, history, and tradition – for a surprising large portion of what we know – perhaps up to 99%, if it can be quantified.  And that is another reason we need logic: we need to have good reasons for believing our authorities, for in the end it is you the individual who must decide which authorities to trust.

11.  Logic helps recognizing contradictions.  Logic teaches us which ideas contradict each other.  If we are confused about that, we will either be too exclusive (that is, we will think beliefs logically exclude each other when they do not) or too inclusive (that is, we will believe two things that cannot both be true).

12.  Logic brings certainty.  Logic has “outer limits”; there are many things it can’t give you.  But logic has no “inner limits”: like math, it never breaks down.  Just as 2 plus 2 are unfailingly 4, so if A is B and B is C, then A is unfailingly C, Logic is timeless and unchangeable.  It is certain.

And logic never becomes obsolete. The principles of logic are timelessly true.

13.  Logic helps one attain truth.  Logic helps us to find truth, and truth is its own end: it is worth knowing for its own sake.

Logic helps us to find truth, though it is not sufficient of itself to find truth.  It helps us especially (1) by demanding that we define our terms so that we understand what we mean, and (2) by demanding that we give good reasons, arguments, proofs.[4]

In the age of information, ignorance is no excuse.

And Logic, more than anything else, helps eviscerate that ignorance in a way that nothing else can.

That’s exactly why its been removed from the public school system, and exactly why all individuals need to employ it into their repertoire.

——————————————————-
Sources & References:

[1] John Taylor Gatto, A Different Kind Of Teacher, p. 16.
[2] Professor Patrick Deneen, How A Generation Lost Its Culture
[3] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Socratic Logic, p. 1.
[4] Ibid., pp. 1-7.

Book Review: Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

BreakawayConsciousness
Zy Marquiez
January 11, 2017

John Taylor Gatto is an award winning teacher that isn’t afraid to buck the trend.

Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto is a masterly an in-depth view into how public schooling really works.

Sampling many of his best personal essays, Dumbing Us Down features the true reasons why education in our modern day system is failing: because it’s meant to be that way.

Gatto reinforces his main premise with a thorough examination of public schooling in America.  He carries this out rather incisively given his no holds barred approach to the matter, and this is very refreshing.

While many others have tippy toed their way around the issue, Gatto harpoons the heart of the matter with statements such as:

“…schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet.  No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes.  The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

“Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.”[2][Bold Emphasis Added]

“It is absurd and anti-life to be part of the system that compels you to sit in confinement with people of exactly the same age and social class.  That system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety; indeed it cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present much the same way television does.”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]

Such scathing statements leave no question to Gatto’s courageous stance, and helps the reader understand the plight we face rather cogently.

Another component of this ongoing public schooling issue is how vital the community is, and more importantly, the family unit, in helping foster a healthier, more independent, more curious, and ultimately more self-sufficient individuals through proper education.  While this might seem obvious in hindsight, it isn’t being employed that much at all in our modern environs.

Throughout the length of the book, Gatto fiercely touches upon the many different factors that have helped cause this growing dilemma.  Some of these include the overwhelming amount of television being watched by society in general, and more specifically by children, while other components have to deal with the inherent designs of schooling such as the fragmentation of education, the removal of the family from an individual’s education, the poor life tenets individuals are taught, and much more.

One of the best parts of the book is what Gatto calls ‘The 7-Lesson School Teacher’, where the author shows what teachers are truly expected to inculcate into students.  Once read, this particular lesson to the reader might seem facetious, but it’s really not.  When one views what Gatto is stating with an open mind –  while keeping cognizance of the fact that he worked decades for the system – then one completely gets to be aware of why failure in schooling isn’t the exception, but the rule.

In fact, more specifically, Gatto gets at the heart of why public schooling is destined to fail:

“Mass education cannot work to produce a fair society because its daily practice  is practice in rigged competition, suppression and intimidation.  The schools we’ve allowed to develop can’t work to teach nonmaterial values, the values which give meaning to everyone’s life, rich or poor, because the structure of schooling is held together by a Byzantine tapestry of reward and threat, of carrots and sticks.  Official favor, grades, and other trinkets of subordination have no connection with education; they are the paraphernalia of servitude, not of freedom.”[69][Bold Emphasis Added]

Gatto has unbounded a phenomenal book in the field of public schooling and more importantly, what true education should encompass.  Please keep in mind, schooling and education are not the same thing.  Particularly, this differentiation and what each means is one of the main gems of this book.

To finalize, this book is a veritable fountain of information that is intense in precision and thought-provoking in its implications given that they filter into all aspects of our lives, and ultimately seep into the future.  This is why it’s vitally important for individuals to become autodidacts, and help others become so through our interactions with our families and communities.  Self-teaching is more important now than ever, especially with the deteriorating effects of public schooling.

Because of all the reasons mentioned above, and myriad more, this book is definitely a must read for everyone.

As the author saliently notes:

“Aristotle saw, a long time ago, that fully participating in a complex range of human affairs was the only way to become fully human…”[47][Bold Emphasis Added]

____________________________________________________
Sources & References:

[1] John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling, pg. 21.
[2] Ibid., pg. 23.
[3] Ibid., pg. 24.
[4] Ibid., pg. 69.
[5] Ibid., pg. 47.

Book Review: Yahweh The Two-Faced God: Theology, Terrorism & Topology By Dr. Joseph P. Farrell PhD & Dr. Scott deHart PhD

BreakawayConsciousness
Zy Marquiez
January 6, 2017

Yahweh The Two-Faced God By Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D and Scott deHart Ph.D is a book with resounding implications.

In the structure of the book, the authors post an interesting conundrum: that the theological terror and mayhem that has taken place since the spawning of the three Yahwist religions [Judaism, Christianity & Islam] is in large part due to the full fragmentation of people into dialectical positions that permanently pin people in opposing groups.  This has caused a culture clash in many ways as can be seen in present day and in historical times alike.

Arguably, the most vital reason this book should be read is to come to an understanding of how the big three religions are used by certain nefarious interests to socially engineer schisms due to their inherent nature which is deeply interrelated at the outset with Yahweh and his polar opposite tendencies.

This is best exemplified by the following passage by the authors:

“…a schism has been introduced into the social structure that is thus revolutionary in nature, for a dualistic dialectic has now become a defining feature of the social space:  all accepting the Yahwist revelation are exclusively within the realm of truth, of light, of illumination, of belief.  All outside of it, “Egypt” are in the realm of falsehood, darkness, idolatry, and unbelief.  This “cloven space,” to employ the metaphor of George Spencer-Brown, has become the common cultural and intellectual space of the Western world for two thousand years, and the cultural space and intellectual world of Islam for almost a millennium and a half.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

Such are the origins of the beast that society currently faces.

Further discussed within the pages of this book are subjects like the topological metaphor of the medium, social engineering and violence, culture clashes, moral schizophrenia, programming of behavior, the inherent set of moral contradictions, deaths ordered by Yahweh, and more.  Some of these topics are addressed at greater length than others, but they all weave seamlessly into the central thesis of the authors.

Particularly of interest is the fact that the authors home-in on the many problems with prophecies, the rapture doctrine, the ‘apocalypse’ meme and geopolitics, all of which are being employed in all their despicable glory to accomplish wicked agendas.

These agendas are all inherently divisive, as the authors cogently note:

“…the contest is not between “Christian and infidel”, but Yahwist and infidel, between those who wish to return the world to a mediaeval barbarism of bonfires and beheadings for thinking the wrongs things or being “an infidel”, howsoever defined, and those who do not.

“In short, the violent division of the social space and its final violent apocalyptic apotheosis in nihilism that constitute Yahwism in all its forms can only be combated by alert minds and warm heart…”[2][Bold Emphasis Added].

While this book’s tackling of the three monotheistic religions and how they have been instrumental in socially engineering many of the inherent issues that we have to deal with at this time will not get as much attention as the other books written by the authors or Dr. Farrell’s work, it’s still vital for the deep comprehension of the current state of our global cultures and how and why they clash.

—————————————————————————————-
Sources & References:

[1] Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D and Scott deHart Ph.D, Yahweh The Two-Faced God, pg. 25.
[2]Ibid., pg. 118.

Book Review: Propaganda And Mass Persuasion – A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 To The Present

BreakawayConsciousness
Zy Marquiez
December 13, 2016

Propaganda And Mass Persuasion – A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 To The Present by Nicholas J. Cull, David Culbert & David Welch is broad surveying of a large portion of the propaganda that has historically taken place the last five centuries or so.

For the record, the book has many other contributors than the ones listed above.  The ones listed are only three of the entire group.

In any case, the book is divided alphabetically, which certainly helps, and is footnoted to the hilt, which is greatly appreciated.

Showcased within the book are the smorgasbord of ways propaganda can be used.  Common methods such as television, radio, and media are delved into, while also cursory glances are given to posters, leaflets and other tools used historically.

A wide sprinkling of Individuals, methods, movements, ideologies, movies, countries and more are each given a decent gander within the confines of this piece.

Propaganda And Mass Persuasion exegetes the precise historical periods of some of the largest propaganda campaigns that have taken place.  From World War 1, to World War 2, Vietnam War, and even many other wars, the book delves into how propaganda played a role in assisting and/or countering an opposing side.  Along with this, the book even shows how mass persuasion has been viewed by the establishment, and how it has served a major purpose in pushing particular agendas.

Ultimately, steering vox populi is the main focus of any propagandist, and this book shows why.

In its totality, Propaganda And Mass Persuassion is quite didactic for a neophyte, given its expansive historical range.  That said, given the size of the book, it can only really home-in on certain historical applications with great precision.  Because of that ome areas were somewhat lacking however.

The data set addressed was rather scholarly, although admittedly from an establishment point of view.  Much deeper layers of this topic are only given mere glances, or simply glossed over in their entirety. Simply stated, the book is congealed – or so it feels – to cement official narratives.  Giving you enough scholarly data for it to be legitimate, but not following additional published documents/data sets that that would confect a much larger and complete picture.

It is up to the reader to take cognizance in the lacking breadth and scope of the book.

As a starting point, it’s certainly quite superficially comprehensive, and it certainly belongs in a researcher’s library.  However, the glaring omission of social engineering – which is propaganda’s ultimate goal – are to be looked at quite askance.   That subject alone could be written about at length, and isn’t even given a glance.

If you are a student of propaganda, mind control, social engineering and the like, and happen to get this book, just realize this isn’t the end-all-be-all of sourced material.  There are many books by many great people on Amazon, and countless documents published which go into farther depth than this book has.  Make sure to spend time and search for those in order widen your repertoire and be more able to keenly ascertain when such tools are being used against you, and your kith and kin.

Book Review: Esoteric Hollywood – Sex, Cults & Symbols In Film by Jay Dyer

BreakawayConsciousness
Zy Marquiez
November 23, 2016

Let me preface this with a cautious preamble:  This is NOT a Hollywood Scandal book.

Esoteric Hollywood – Sex Cults & Symbols In Film by Jay Dyer scholarly analysis that delves into the inner workings of the abstruse aspects that pervade many movies within the film industry, and even some literature, past and present.

While other professional movie reviewers will review movies based on more mainstream criteria, Dyer goes beyond that into the subtle nuances that pervade many of the biggest blockbusters that contain hidden messages that are “intended to be understood, but not immediately apparent”[1] as the author himself states.

That reason, as well as many others are why Dyer does what he does – to show the reader / viewer that there is more than just a man behind the curtain.  In fact, some might argue that there is an entire culture pulling some strings, and they wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

Getting back on track, in its nascent stage the book opens up with a short glossary, which will be extremely helpful for people that might not be familiar with the terms, or perhaps were and just forgot what they meant.

After a solid introduction where the author lays the groundwork for the rest of the book, the book is split up into four parts:

Part One: Hollywood Babylon And Kubrick
Part Two: Spielberg’s Android Space Brothers
Part Three: 70s-80s Fantasy Dystopia
Part Four: 007 And Hitchcock

In each of the above parts Dyer goes on to harpoon not only on some of the more popular movies within each of those categories, but ones seeping with overwhelming meaning, and even hidden/darker agendas.  Some of the topics within these are philosophy, theology, geopolitics, espionage, literary theory,  transhumanism, and much more.

Esoteric Hollywood is similar to the authors blog, but Dyer kicks it up a notch academically, and that’s one of the many appealing aspects of this particular book.

While all of the movie analyses were interesting for me in one way or another, the ones which fascinated me the most were H.G. Wells, Science Fiction Propaganda & Spielberg Mythos, Eyes Wide Shut, ET, Moonraker, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Minority Report, Labyrinth, The Never Ending Story and Blade Runner, AI, as well as the James Bond reboots.

Another salient component of the book are the dozens of small description boxes within various parts of the book.  These either give a small synopsis of important individuals or showcase instead vital data that reader will need to comprehend the analysis.

Concurrent with the above are the hundreds of footnotes throughout the book.  For those that love delving into the finer strands within research, footnotes are invaluable.  The fact that Dyer put so much hard work into that is also greatly appreciated as it’s an aspect within research books that gets easily glossed over.

In its entirety, the book displays very high standards.  That’s something quite noteworthy given how many of the subjects tackled within this book dovetail with many other conspiracy subjects.  If individuals aren’t careful, it’s easy to get bogged down by many rabbit trails which at times either have a questionable basis or no basis in fact, or are lacking in quality sources even though they usually sound interesting.  Because of this having some solid ground to venture from is priceless.

Regardless, this book is a veritable treasure trove of information, some of which might be admittedly quite disturbing if people aren’t familiar with the subjects or agendas involved.  Either way, each of the subjects discussed in the book are subjects which the mainstream media rarely ever covers, and which also gets glossed over by most of the alternative media as well unfortunately.   Those factors as well as others make this particular book quite unique.

As a caveat, am not personally in agreement with everything the author said in the book.  That said, he does source his material, and makes for an intriguing read and as an open-minded skeptic, his work deserves a fair gander if we as a society, but more important, as individuals, are to home-in on the truth.  Especially on such abstruse subjects as these.

Hopefully the author considers doing a similar follow up piece, or perhaps something along the same lines.  For it being Dyer’s first book, this book as an initial salvo is as compelling as it is rigorous.

Plain and simple, this book is a must read because it will show you some of the hidden agendas that are going on within film right under society’s nose.  And if we do not become cognizant of these issues they will continue to undoubtedly affect us in nefarious ways.

______________________________________________________________
[1] Jay Dyer, Esoteric Hollywood, pg. 4.

Book Review: Rotten To The [Common] Core by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell & Gary Lawrence

BreakawayConsciousness
Zy Marquiez
August 3, 2016

Rotten to the (Common) Core by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell and Gary Lawrence is a sobering, honest, unique and yet much needed foray into the topic of Common Core.

The main strength of this book is that it doesn’t fall for – as the authors note – the ever-present red herring regarding this topic, which is that of focusing on the Common Core curriculum standards, but instead goes beyond that and delves deeper into the inner workings and the “follow-up assessment (testing) process)”.

This is quite notable, because unless the populace realizes what are the true issues at hand, the problems we face concerning this growing dilemma cannot be solved to their fullest extent.

In a sense, this book is about the multi-tiered approach by the Edu-garchy [the authors words] which encompass a “complex interlocking network of foundations, professional groups, government agencies, testing services and corporations” that stand to benefit greatly in many ways from the implementation of Common Core in all its unholy glory.

Noted cogently by the authors, they remark that most of the greatest minds of all time [Plato, Tesla, Da Vinci, Dostoyevsky, Mozart, etc.] not only weren’t privy to our modern education system, but they thrived without it.  However, instead of society proceeding with the classical education model that helped the aforementioned great minds excel, for various reasons we’re fast approaching a time of hyper-homogenization of society while also dumbing down society at an immense scale.

The  authors incisively note the implications:

“The historical record indicates that, if anything, the implicit collectivist impulse in standardized testing stands in stark contrast to the basic values of individual genius and responsibility that formed the central core of the founding of the republic itself.”[1]

Farrell and Lawrence promptly proceed through the bowels of Common Core by beginning with an examination of whistleblower testimony from within the belly of the beast.

From there, various examples of standardized testing are gone through with a fine-toothed comb outlining their inherent [intentional?] flaws of such tests, while also delving into some more disturbing fluid elements that will no doubt leave the reader aghast that such “test questions” are even allowed to see the light of day.  In fact, the authors troublingly note that in some cases the there are vacillating metrics taking place on standardized testing.   No, this is not said in jest!

Regarding the standardized testing, the authors home in keenly:

“…such tests in the end punish, rather than reward, real ability, with the end result that such tests really measure the ability of an individual to conform to the outlook and interests of the elites composing such tests…”[2]

Thankfully, the authors also touch upon the troubling issue regarding the veritable attack on individuals, their creative potential, and how the system is being set up to establish conformity from every angle imaginable.

Later on, the authors sink their teeth into various components that encompass the edu-garchy in manifesting this top-down educational control/conformity system:  the foundations, the agenda pushers and dogma.

The authors even touch upon the fact that at certain points in history the powers that will cease to be even bought into their own propaganda, which might be hard to fathom to some, but goes to show the irony of the matter.

Also, the enormous powers foundations [Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates, etc.] wield in the social engineering of individuals cannot be overstated.  These institutions as they currently operate are a true antithesis to freedom, individuality and progress.  Folks need to be weary of such foundations as they wield power far beyond their manipulative wholesome appearance.

Other disturbing aspects the authors shed light on regarding Common Core not only include the revolving door between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Educational Establishment, but also the connection of to the CIA, mind control and MK Ultra.

While Farrell’s other books will undoubtedly get more attention, this is arguably the most important book he’s penned – with co-author Laurence of course – given that it centers upon the top-down educational control grid that will be foisted upon the populace if we don’t take action.  Topics like the Nazis, Breakaway Civilizations, Ancient Antiquity, Alternative History, et al won’t matter if people are too dumb down to be able to understand them, their context, and deeper implications.  This is why it’s imperative for individuals not only to refuse in every way shape and form this incoming wave of conforming change, but to also strive to further their education away from the current one-size-fits-all system that seeks to dumb people down.

Regarding our plight, the authors note that Common Core is:

“A deliberate plan against liberty and intellectual and pedagogical freedom.  In short, the Common Core assessment process and its implicit philosophy and cosmology are nothing but a conspiracy against the individual, and his or her own humanity, genius, and aspirations.”[3]

Common Core is one component of the Full Spectrum Dominance humanity is facing.  Full Spectrum Dominance is only going to be solved with a Full Spectrum Response.   And the only way that takes place is by making sure our education, that of our kith and kin does not get hijacked permanently.  This book goes a long way in showing the reader how that will take place if we remain stagnant.  That alone is worth the price of the book.

__________________________________________________________________

P.S. Rotten To The (Common) Core touches upon social engineering quite often. Given that, a book that might be of interest for many of you is Daniel Estulin’s Tavistock Institute: Social Engineering the Masses. Its a fascinating foray into many facets of social engineering that are currently taking place as well as many of the elements that were/are used to manifest it

__________________________________________________________________
Source:

[1] Dr. Joseph P. Farrell and Gary Lawrence, Rotten to the (Common) Core, pg. 5.
[2] Ibid., Pg. 57.
[3] Ibid., Pg. xviii