Political Thought

All the signs are here. Iran-backed Houthi pirates are shutting down shipping lanes. The U.S. allowed an American journalist critical of war policy to die in a Ukrainian prison. People are taking sides for or against Israel. The Chinese Communist Party is poised to invade Taiwan using missiles purchased from North Korea. These events and others are rapidly dragging the U.S. into a geographical and potentially global conflict.

At the same time schoolgirls are gushing over good-looking terrorists posting videos of seized cargo ships on Tik Tok and Ivy League presidents need context before they condemn genocide. Meanwhile the military is woefully unprepared and understaffed, facing shortages of both ammunition and personnel. Many service people were discharged because they refused to be vaccinated. Perhaps the U.S. could draft the 11.4 million immigrants who now reside here? (Pew Research Center).

It gets worse. The U.S. is 34 trillion in debt with an annual deficit of over a trillion dollars (US Treasury). We can’t afford a war, let alone one on multiple fronts. The fighting age population is a mess with a third of adults aged 18 to 49 years reporting some form of mental illness (NIH). Illicit drug use is prevalent throughout the U.S. with states reporting usage of 10 to 20 percent of the population. Polls in 2023 indicated that only 20-40% of the people in the U.S. would be willing to fight for it. Confidence in the U.S. military dropped to roughly 60%, which represented the lowest since 1997 and the sixth consecutive year of decline (American Military News).

Jeffery Tucker opined that “Every war is preceded by a period of demoralization (I don’t matter), demotivation (there is nothing I can do), and dehumanization (those people are not worth saving). From there it is a simple matter of flipping the switch.” Barbara F. Walter during an insightful TED talk on civil war cited two predictors that lead to conflict. The first predictor is living in a country that is neither a democracy nor autocracy. The second is having political parties that vote based on identity and identity politics.

One does not have to look very far to see that these conditions are already in place or are developing. The pandemic demonstrated that many are unwilling to defend themselves against incremental loss of liberties. Let’s hope our captors are benevolent beings.

Perhaps the best rationale for a coming war came from Tucker Carlson who stated that the current administration of both political parties are seeking war. Might this be to cover up and distract voters from their incompetence? Coupled with a 2024 election, which is not looking promising for the Democrats, a war might also be sufficient to declare a state of emergency and suspend elections. Alternatively, voters might decide not to change leadership during war time, provided there is a perception that we could win, or are winning. Korea and Vietnam were not kind to incumbents.  

It also seems the media is eager to fan the flames of war, stretching the truth as needed, to increase ratings and marginalize those they hate. Conflict is good for headlines until it becomes normalized. Having media support is critical for governments to maintain public support for continued financing and the sacrifice of its youth. The posting of graphic images and video to social media helped Hamas to incite further violence from other terrorist groups and rally opposition from a few Western countries. The specter of war can both demoralize and inflame individuals to act in ways that both unify and divide. War is always more glamourous before it starts. In this current situation and point in history, it would be wise to be prepared rather than ignorant. And of course, know who you can trust. 

Mark Doggett, PHD

About Mark

Education: Doctorate at Colorado State University Interdisciplinary Studies with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Technology from California State University Fresno.

Mark has twenty years of experience in higher education with thirteen years as a full-time educator. Twenty years of experience in business and industry including defense aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, farm and irrigation products.

To contact Mark, email mark.doggett@wku.edu.

Jeffery Tucker, in a recent opinion piece published in Substack, asserted that the social contract within our society has been shredded. In this article, Mr. Tucker pointed to the failure of governments and institutions across the world to protect their citizens’ health, economic stability, mental welfare, and personal well-being. He cited the growing mistrust in medicine, burgeoning inflation, open borders, unhealthy food, and increased crime as prime examples of the chaos now being unleashed on the public. In addition, the social fabric of our cities and towns are being ripped apart by woke activism, ethnic tribalism, and civic apathy. Mr. Tucker is an astute observer of national and global trends.

In contemplating his article, it occurred to me that, if we do in fact, have a torn social contract, we are in worse shape than we thought. The destruction of the contract has grave professional and personal ramifications. It is possible that we are now seeing the beginning of a breakdown of the most basic of all human interactions. That is, the personal contract. What is a personal contract? According to legalmatch.com, “a personal contract is an agreement between two or more parties that creates a binding obligation for one or more of the parties to do something.” Personal contracts are both formal and informal. On the formal side, these include things such as employment agreements, rental agreements, and loan agreements, but they can also be informal.

Informal agreements are implied assumptions of goodwill and mutual trust towards a positive outcome. These implied agreements include things such as barter, exchange of services, or receipt for goods through informal communication. Informal agreements are the basic rules that we all operate by such as showing up at an agreed upon time or keeping a promise. The book of James summarized the essence of a personal contract when he stated “do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple Yes or No.” For a society to function properly, there must be some expectation that people will do what they say they will do. When they don’t, we lose faith in their integrity.

The key elements of a personal contract generally include one party making an offer, and the other party accepting the offer. All parties must agree to the terms. Our society functions properly when something of value is exchanged for something else of value. It is this fundamental system of transactions that keeps our economy prosperous and our professional relationships healthy. It is also the basic building block for interacting with our neighbors and forming productive connections within our communities. If we cannot depend on the integrity of basic human-to-human exchange, we begin to question everything else as well.  

At the state and federal level, one could assert that institutional bureaucracies have always been unresponsive and generally deliver less than expected. In certain instances, their unresponsiveness works. All students are tested using the same assessments for their grade level. All members of the military must have a certain IQ. All police officers must undergo firearms safety training. We want consistent standards for learning and membership in public safety roles. However, the one-size-fits-all approach naturally breaks down at the local level. The vaccine mandates were a perfect example of trying to force-fit a medical solution on an entire population that was only needed for certain at-risk groups. Open borders are another example of the chaos that ensues when national policy does not consider the burden on local neighborhoods and schools. Prosperous communities are built by attracting people who become productive citizens and improve the local quality-of-life, not take from it.

Institutions create wealth and intellectual synergy. Corporations exist to make money. As companies are successful and grow, they employ more people who share in the company’s prosperity. With more regulation and bureaucracy, corporations start to act like government. Corporate leadership moves from boardrooms to government policy and vice versa. CEOs retire with golden parachutes and become lobbyists for special interests who give advice to the legislatures. College presidents become consultants for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit foundations. The NGOs and non-profits fund higher education grants and contracts.

The working-class may begin to realize that institutions are no longer looking out for them. The road to prosperity then is not to work hard or achieve, but find the angle, hustle, or grift that produces the greatest pay-out with the least amount of effort. This message trickles down over time and is reinforced at every level. Children overhear their parent’s conversations. Students see that graduation is not a result of better performance. Employees discuss how their paychecks no longer keep up with inflation at the water cooler. Local officials are powerless in preventing homelessness. Entrepreneurs seek wealthy buyers rather than build the company. Farmers sell their land to the developer to fund their retirement. Get mine and get it now.

How does all this affect the personal contract? Let’s take a neighborly example. Most people have property lines, but they are frequently not well-defined. A row of trees or shrubs typically distinguishes where one property begins and another ends. Good neighbors generally cooperate and do not encroach on each other’s property. That is until Neighbor A wants to sell or improve the value of their property by building a fence that happens to extend onto the property of Neighbor B. A personal contract, either formal or informal, should be agreed upon before construction. The assumption is that good neighbors inform each other of their intentions. This is the way the world should work and the basis of the personal contract.

However, what used to be assumed is no longer the case with the erosion of the social contract. Neighbor A is going to do whatever he pleases, and nobody can stop him. Call the police? They will file a report. Lawsuit? Sure, but it will cost you. As the personal contract breaks down, so does the social fabric. Your employer wants you to provide your financial history as a condition for employment. It’s none of their business, you say. Doesn’t matter. You must provide it or lose your job. The city where you live has just banned gasoline powered chain saws and mowers. You must now either buy expensive new electric equipment or pay someone else to do it. Can you vote the city council out? The election is not for another three years, they can do whatever they want. The lobbyists will continue to fund their climate candidates in the next election. What happens when the basic interactions between human beings can no longer be trusted? When ordinary citizens can no longer count on institutions to look out for them; when personal contracts are meaningless and hold no weight, when only an elite minority can make decisions. The personal contract is broken when things start to break, and nobody can or will fix them; when you call for help and nobody responds, when your neighbor sets up a drug lab next door and your neighbors are too afraid to report it. The personal contract is on life support. Yet, there is always another distraction to take your mind off the breakdown of society. The institutions will cancel you or bribe you to stay quiet. There will be plenty of entertainment for the masses while they slowly squeeze the liberty out of your soul. What we engage with becomes our life. What we tolerate becomes the least common denominator for our communities.

Mark Doggett, PHD

About Mark

Education: Doctorate at Colorado State University Interdisciplinary Studies with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Technology from California State University Fresno.

Mark has twenty years of experience in higher education with thirteen years as a full-time educator. Twenty years of experience in business and industry including defense aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, farm and irrigation products.

To contact Mark, email mark.doggett@wku.edu.

Voter turnout figures are in for Kentucky’s primary. Here’s how they compare to past years

Facebook Post by Tonja Tuttle

The “libertarian-populist narrative worked” in the May primaries.

We have a lot of room to grow in Warren County, but I’ll take our successes and look forward to more.

Look forward to an enthusiastic conversation at the Warren County Conservatives meeting Tuesday at 6:30. There is always room at our table for any conservative that wants to join our discussion.

Read the full article here: Northern Kentucky incumbents ousted in legislative primary