We have a new member from the UK, and as we often do, some joking around and poking fun at politicians was done. It's just so easy, inviting, and universal, so it's easy to include everyone in that pastime.

Then more thinking occurs.

I have my moments.

ALL other freedom? Really?

Yes, pretty much. When feral, wild, nomadic, mankind as singular beings roamed the earth, most guys were looking for two things (food & opportunities to mate,) he had to work hard for both. Every other man wanted the same things, and might kill him to take away what he had. Anyone larger, stronger, faster, meaner, smellier, or with a longer spear or bigger rock ruled the area. And I'm pretty sure smarter people then left to find emptier valleys.

At some point, a man and a woman liked each other well enough to stay together. They still wanted the same two things, for the most part, but they found a lot of benefits in keeping the other one in their life. They discovered that they could watch each other's backs, hunt better, gather more food, and make more spears to fight off that smelly guy they left behind 3 valleys over.

He discovered what it was like to see his reflection in the faces of his children. The improved nutrition, slightly lower infant mortality rate, and increased down-time that came with the invention of the family (and subsequently, the tribe,) meant more time improving the spear (and inventing other weapons,) educating the children, learning to follow, or keep, the herds, cultivating edible plants, etc.

And the improved spear was needed, because Ol' Smelly was still there, wanting to take everything. Taking is usually easier than doing things for yourself. It's quite likely Smelly invented politics so that the tribe would stop looking toward a common grandfather for leadership and start looking to whomever was biggest, loudest, had stolen the best spear, whatever.

But our caveman friend is still upset, even though he can scare some people into following him and doing what he says.

As long as people can choose to be together, he doesn't truly rule everything. As long as parents teach their children to think, and take care of themselves and each other, he doesn't completely own them. He needed to destroy the husband/father/protector to steal his "magic." Then the woman has to go back to spending ALL her time foraging, fishing, taking whatever game she can, filling out forms to keep the benefits rolling in, etc. This leaves her children available to be educated by others, who then teach them that fathers are not needed, the family unit is a joke, the males have no real future, life is a free-for-all. (Welcome to Chicago and Detroit.)

Anyone who disagrees can try to convince me. But it was less than a century ago, that conservatives of the USA firmly established that the right of arms for defense of self & family was for everyone. Then the "progressive," liberal, racist elements of society, got concerned - to them the RISE in numbers of strong black families, close-knit, educated, employed, church going people, and doing well for themselves, was some kind of threat.

They actually put a lot of effort into figuring out how to destroy the family as the basic unit of our lives, targeting black families first. Much like gun control isn't about guns, it's about control. And it's easier to control someone who hasn't had any guidance toward self control. It's easier to out-think someone who isn't taught to think. It's easier to lead someone into the life someone else has chosen for them, who hasn't been led to want something better.

And as long as they were destroying black families, they decided it was ok to do the same to native populations, low-income people, and anyone else who isn't them. And it works so well as long as they can convince anyone that they're "helping."