Diana James
11/29/2023
A number of years ago a client asked me whom he should vote for. It was a presidential election and I assumed he was asking
Dr. Wolf
- By Steven Lieberman
- March 22, 2023
- 7:30 am
- Freedom & Liberty, Politics / Government
Sitting back in my office chair, I watched the video on my computer intently. Security footage showed the famed “QAnon Shaman” casually walking through the Capitol, seemingly being escorted at times by the Capitol police.
This video was one of thousands Speaker McCarthy had released to Tucker Carlson of FoxNews and was now being broadcast.
Democrats were livid. Senator Schumer had the audacity to call for FoxNews to self-censor and stop playing the videos. Why? Because the video imagery directly conflicted with a carefully crafted narrative that has been established around the January 6th events. The fact that a senator would call for censorship of video evidence without a shred of self-consciousness, frankly, was more impactful to me than some dude wearing horns walking around the Capitol.
What really struck me, though, was not Tucker Carlson, or FoxNews, or the Democratic sycophants who bleated in indignation (and, yes… there were Republican sycophants who are as ensconced in the narrative as their Democratic colleagues). What really struck me was the reaction by the legacy media. Once, a long, long time ago, the fourth estate of government served a purpose. Now it has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Collectivist Inc. What little interest they showed was dismissive of the importance of the counter narrative.
Pundits, those philosophical prognosticators who really don’t report the news but rather opine on it, were equally dismissive. They may not be reporters in the classical sense of the term, but their offices are still financed by that once elegant institution called the American Society of Journalists.
Save one.
I have always been interested in Dr. Naomi Wolf. Her political ideology does not hide behind subtle prose. She wears her feelings of collectivism on her sleeve. This is something that I have found odd since she, like most modern liberals, gives putative allegiance to the individual, but usually, counterintuitively, through the full-throated support of collectivism. I believe she believes that pure individualism can only be achieved through participation in a wholly articulated subgroup… a tribe… and one that must be empowered through government intervention. From “feminism” to “ableism” each subgroup of the larger collective needs funding and power, and that can only come from the collective itself. Individual freedom (and I am not quoting her… rather interpreting her) can only be achieved by reducing the individual into a political construct within the sub-collective.
Needless to say… I usually don’t agree with her.
But… she is brilliant; she is an extremely talented writer, and she is, without question, honest… and willing to wear that honesty on her sleeve.
So, I suppose it came as no surprise when she penned the following apology to conservatives:
https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/dear-conservatives-i-am-sorry
I encourage you to read it. The fact that she wrote it in the first place is consistent with her personality, and she deserves praise for being as forthwith with her mea culpa.
I have spoken about the Hegelian Dialectic before, and I won’t bore you with another recitation of how that is supposed to work, but I feel the only way to arrive at anything that resembles a “truth” is through both an adversarial, as well as an inquisitorial, process. I have been told that what I look for is a “massaged” dialectic. I think Hegel actually presupposed this construct though. One thought, or one truth, is slammed together headlong into a contrarian viewpoint. This begins the adversarial process. Then… and this is the essential point that has been lost…the combatants retreat to their corners and begin an inquisitorial examination of their own positions.
The other day I was doing a CCW class and one of my students was a rabbi. As I was talking about “professionalism-at-arms”, I jokingly said to him that this is where moral relativism meets absolutism… something that he is all too familiar with.
While I do believe in certain aspects of absolutism, I also understand absolutism exists within a construct. Accepting a priori that a “thing” is a “thing” without the requisite inquisitorial analysis creates a form of unilateralism. If history is a guide… this never works out well.
So yes… we need to be ever vigilant in our ability to be inquisitorial. In short… we need to doubt. We need to embrace our own fallibility. Sometimes… occasionally… the other side might just be right. Sometimes, this awareness is the result of Divine Providence (many have been blessed with the transcendent spiritual moment that leads to salvation). Sometimes it is as pedestrian as watching security camera video.
Dr. Wolf could have easily sat on her hands, personally acknowledged the flaws of her beliefs, and maintained her respected position as a good soldier in her collective.
But she didn’t.
She broke ranks, and acknowledged the failings of her position and the soft foundation of her arguments. Dr. Wolf and I will have our continued disagreements. What she has earned, though, is my deep respect.
Steven Lieberman
Steven Lieberman Esq. is a Captain in the California State Military Reserve and a use of force attorney working with law enforcement and legally armed civilians in protocols, training, as well as civil and criminal culpability compliance issues. His knowledge of use of force protocols, as well as the institutional workings of law enforcement, provides clients with the necessary tools to avoid criminal prosecution, and mitigate civil liability.
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Comments (7)
I read Dr Wolf’s apology. It is sad such an educated intelligent person can be so deceived and hoodwinked by such obvious lies, distortion and propaganda. Imagine how easy it is to fool the general public. But I will give her credit for the apology. I am a conservative but I do not believe nor blindly follow the assertions of journalists and politicians of the right. I try to, as Steven suggests, inquisitorically question and research any statement from our government, politicians or press. Recent events have shown that none of them can be trusted without some investigation as to their veracity.
It gives me peace to know that someone like Naomi Wolf would apologize. I appreciate the fact that she gave me a little history, backed her statements with facts, and came out and gave us a change in perspective. It was a very well written article and I wonder what her apology will get her. Will her peers turn on her? Will she be lambasted? Will she be called a traitor? A white supremacist? Only time will tell. There has been a brainwashing that has gone on too long.
We grew up with a saying in our family. “Believe nothing you see, and 1/2 of what you read. Be a steward of research, and seek the truth when you are unsure.”
I am not a Republican, and definitely NOT a Democrat. I am realizing that I am a Constitutional moderate. I believe in the Constitution, being fiscal responsible, but also believing in helping and supporting those not as fortunate. All under the guide of the Constitution of course.
With that being said. I hope there is a change coming. One where we become united under a common goal, or theme. Where we are all one, regardless of color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, etc……. This article gave me hope we are moving in the right direction
I really enjoyed this article and Dr. Wolf’s article as well! I asked myself the same things about the January 6th Capitol event…how could there be a security breach??? Didn’t they have security protocols? Isn’t it okay to assemble?
It’s great that she being on the Democratic side of spectrum is intelligent enough to acknowledge that the actions of others on her side of thought are wrong.
It’s very uncommon for people who are limited by their beliefs to allow facts and truth to get in the way of what they believe.
It is good to see that Dr. Wolf is able put truth over ideology. Like you Steve, I generally disagree with her view of the world. This is a lesson we should all heed, from both side of the isle, that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle of the narrative being pushed.
I do hope that a new and in-depth investigation is performed into the death of Ashley Babbitt is done in light of these videos.
I’ve been following your blog Steven for awhile and look forward to it, I found this to be a telling tale of how any of us can be duped into believing a story made up to meet an agenda on a very large scale, this attachment is heartwarming and very shareable with my conservative associates. I would have missed this had it not been for you. Thanks for sharing your story and this important apology from the left.
There is a lot of material here to work with. What I found interesting is that when this news (video footage of J6) was broadcast, the leader of the Senate Minority (Mitch McConnell) came out, and without being asked to comment, held up a letter and stated (paraphrasing) that he essentially was following the the words of a letter from the Capitol Police. In that moment, it seemed to me, is when Mitch McConnell showed his hand as to his own beliefs. He must have felt as though he was “outed” by the video footage, and now he needed to run for cover because the rest of us would also know facts about that day that those in power thought we would never see. So, essentially Mitch McConnell is part of a larger problem in Washington D.C. But, as Naomi Wolf said, it is the people’s video, it belongs to the public, the tax payers. I am proud to be a part of a group of individuals who are so thoughtful as shown by the commentary here. Thanks for writing in a clear detailed manner, based upon facts Steven. What I have discovered recently is more positive news that many people are picking up on organizational blogs, which are sprouting like California Poppies in the Spring, right now! The evidence is clear, but how the final outcomes will change remains to be seen. People are speaking up, people are noticing, people are becoming more active, people are getting educated. Here is looking forward to Spring of 2023 and the beginning of America 2.0 Thanks again!
OK!!!