Shapiro has written a book which is supposedly diagnosing the problems with US, while actually promoting those problems.
Having read this book, I feel inspired to write another one – perhaps with the same title. It would be about the struggle between “unionists” and “woke” and would be just as unbiased and scholarly.
It would make points like:
Unionists believe that all real Americans are like them and agree with them; the rest are scum, not to be listened to, and possibly to be locked up, or shot in self-defense.
Woke believe there are lots of different groups in the US, that diversity is part of what makes people Americans.
Unionists believe that there is only one American history and everyone has experienced it the same way. There are no contemporary problems which arise from that history. History is a harmonious narrative of triumph over obstacles and in which slave owners cooperated with slaves and enobled them, and in which Native Americans knowingly surrendered to a superior culture.
Woke believe that history has been a different experience for different groups. Bosses and workers have not experienced history in the same way, white people not experienced it in the same way as black people, as Latino people, as native Americans and so on. This is normal. Histories of oppression still have effects on people, on where they live, on their general opportunities, on the way social institutions behave towards them and so on. Disharmonious history still has effects.
Unionists believe that talking about oppression, either recent or historic, just encourages fragmentation, and it should not be done. “I’m not racist therefore there is no racism”.
Woke people believe that not talking about oppression, either recent or historic, encourages and naturalises that oppression, and leads to fragmentation.
Unionists believe that the US “founding fathers” were men of extreme religious virtue, who followed a modern day protestant truth.
Woke people believe the US “founding fathers” had faults; many of them were slave owners, for example. These people were not modern day protestants, a lot of them were theists, deists and freemasons. They saw religions as potential sources of oppression of other religions, and were not keen on religious ‘irrationality’.
Unionists believe their religion is good and true and everyone should follow it. If they don’t they are probably satanic or communist.
Woke believe there are lots of different religions. Religions change and respond to similar and different challenges. Religions which encourage their followers to think they have the right to impose their virtues on others are dangerous to everyone.
Unionists believe religions should be able to discriminate against anyone they like, as long as it is not a fellow unionist.
Woke people are wary of giving people special permission to discriminate because those people say that is what God wants.
Unionists believe that the market always delivers the best results and governments always deliver the worst results – especially when governments try to curtail corporate power. In general, power based on wealth is not something they get concerned about at all – particularly if those wealthy people support or sponsor them.
Woke people believe the market does not always deliver the best result, and that people who are successful in the market tend to buy political power, so the country is ruled by the wealth elites for their own interest. On the other hand, the only thing which is remotely as powerful as the corporate sector is the government, so people should work to take back the government, and try to balance things out.
Unionists believe wealthy people deserve to pay less proportionate tax than poorer people.
Woke tend to believe that wealthy people can afford to pay more to benefit the society they use and benefit from.
Unionists believe that the only corporations and wealth elites who can be bad are recent: IT for example.
Woke people believe all corporations and wealth elites can be bad, some can be ok, and some can be mixed, but none of them should hold vast amounts more of power than anyone else.
Unionists claim the crimes of business leading to wealth stratification never happened or happened too long ago to matter.
Woke claim that crime matters whenever it happened, even if it did lead to current hierarchies.
Unionists seem to believe that any science which suggests some established corporate behaviour is harmful – such as the science of pollution, ecological destruction, climate change etc – must always be wrong.
Woke think the science is more likely to be right than assertions it can’t be correct because it would hurt the economy.
Unionists claim that any criticism of capitalism as it is, leads to tyrrany.
Woke believe that not criticising capitalism as it is, leads to tyrrany.
Unionists believe that America is a rights based society and that wealthy people on their side have more rights, because they are more talented and virtuous, and can afford to do things.
Woke people believe that America is a rights based society, but many people do not have equal rights, and we should aim to produce equal rights as best we can, even if that means that our own rights to discriminate against the currently less powerful are impaired.
Unionists say they want everyone to be able to succeed through hard work, while trying to make this impossible through reinforcing the wealth hierarchy.
Woke people want everyone to be able to suceed through hard work, and try to make this possible for everyone.
Unionists like authority. They want everyone to agree. They will lie to attain this. These are noble lies that keep everyone together. They don’t critisise the obvious lies on their own side, because those lies are useful to their power.
Woke people think diversity is normal and creative. Different views are likely to help problem solving. Getting as close to the truth as possible is the best aim, as policy is more likely to work.
Unionists will try to steal elections as a matter of course, because they are right and it is impossible that anyone could disagree with them without some kind of conspiratorial, or traitorous, bent. They claim the US is a republic (ie an ‘oligarchy’) and aim to use people to make this even more the case.
Woke people believe elections should be open and free, and that losing is part of democracy. They claim the US is an imperfect democracy and could be improved.
Unionists believe that union comes through everyone being the same, or having the same opinions.
Woke believe that union comes through learning to live with real diversity.
We are faced with the fact Unionists have an obligation to understand American history, rather than impose idology on it. They have an obligation to understand economics and social theory without imposing ideology on it. They have an obligation to understand American cultures. Finally, they have an obligation to learn to live with Americans who are not the same as them.
Given Shapiro’s book, this is not going to happen soon.
