Sermon vs story
I've noted often that Deepstate was created by Wilson in 1918, severely constrained by FDR, then reborn with new strength in 1946. The reborn version intended to become permanent, which meant that all human connections to reality and biology and Natural Law had to be ripped out.

The late-40s series 'This is your FBI' played a part in this ripping. The scriptwriters were still operating in the realm of reality, but the moralistic sermon at the start of each episode, presumably written with the approval of Lady Edgar, gave us a hard dose of Newthink.

This 1949 episode has an especially strong sermon. The story is naturalistic, with proper empathy and understanding of the clash between NATURAL talents and social obsolescence. It centers on an old-fashioned actor whose NATURAL talents were devalued when movies came along. His NATURAL ability still comes through in his current alcoholic life, and ends up helping the cops to trap a criminal. An excellent fable for the infinite variety of NATURAL AND PERMANENT talents and tendencies.

Thus the moralistic sermon is especially dissonant and especially salient.

= = = = =

Let's take it sentence by sentence.

There are certain phrases that, because of their constant use, have acquired an aura of truth about them. Phrases like 'benevolent dictator' and 'born criminal'.

In fact there are benevolent dictators, which we understood before 1946, and in fact there are born criminals, which we always understood. Cops and prison officials still understand the distinction, even after 70 years of falsehood.

Despite the public acceptance of the phrase, the fact remains that there is no such thing as a born criminal.

Note the classic FLAT ASSERTION of a lie that everyone knows to be a lie. Repetition isn't the key point. The key is this unemphatic and ordinary assertion, injecting the lie into the compartment reserved for background phenomena like gravity and light that don't need checking.

A child might be born to a pair of the most hardened criminals, and yet, if given the proper amount of affection and moral upbringing, could grow up to become anything. A doctor, a minister of the clergy, or a copy of his parents.

This is how genes work. With complex tendencies like criminality, lots of genes are involved, so a wide spectrum of combinations are possible. If the child gets less of the criminal tendency, he's less likely to become a criminal. If he gets a larger share, he will become a criminal in one way or another. Some uses of criminal talents lead to jail, others lead to riches and respect and high status. Bank robber or banker, murderer or politician, rapist or priest, con man or Innovative Disrupter. Again this concept was DEEPLY understood in the '30s, so it needed to be smashed by Deepstate.

Go to any maternity hospital and see the flock of newborn children. See how alike they are. Even the parents have trouble identifying their own baby.

Obviously false. Even the flatness of this assertion wouldn't have persuaded parents.

It is true that there are such things as young criminals. Some children under the age of ten have arrest records.

Strong innate talents always show up at 9. Great artists, great mathematicians. great housekeepers, great criminals.

But there are no infant criminals or any who are born to be. The basic character of any criminal who breaks the law for profit is greed. Pure unadulterated greed. And that is taught to us, for children are not naturally greedy.

Not naturally greedy? Again parents would need some SERIOUS persuading, which this sermon didn't provide.

If parents keep their children ignorant of greed, then the crime wave will have been dealt a major blow.

Ignorant of greed: This is the PAYOFF. If you train your kids to ignore and disregard all natural tendencies, Deepstate will be able to get away with all sorts of crime. Middle-class parents in the '50s did exactly that, and Deepstate did exactly that.

Labels: From rights to duties

  ¶ 3:30 AM