Freedom And Logic By Mike Rowe

(In 2019 Nike places the Betsy Ross American flag on a sneaker line. Colin Kaepernick criticized it and the decision was made to cancel it. The following was taken from Rowe’s blog.)

Dear Mike,
Why would anyone in their right mind support Nike after this latest round of nonsense? Why would any public company with an image to protect take advice from an athlete? How can our attention be sucked up by people with nothing better to do than complain about fireworks and tanks on the fourth of July? Our country seems be losing its mind, or at the very least, its sense of history and perspective. As a man who has always seemed comfortable with our country’s flag, I was hoping you might have some insight to share on this, especially today.
Karen Murphy

Hi Karen,
I think Nike has the right to decorate their shoes with whatever flag they desire. I think Kaepernick has the right to offer marketing advice to any company that’ll take it. And I think you and I have the right to purchase whatever brand of tennis shoes we choose. The reason these rights exist, is because we live in the United States, and the reason the states are united, is because we decided, two and a half centuries ago, to be free of our British masters. So, we fought a war. Happily, the results of that war made us a free country. Then, four score and seven years later, we decided we could not call ourselves a free country, as long as slavery existed. So, we fought another war. Happily, the results of that war made us freer still. Had either conflict gone the other way, our county would not exist – not as we know it, anyway. And the flag we fly today would look nothing like the one I’m proud to stand for.
In other words, I’m tempted on this day to remind you that there’s nothing inherently dangerous about a sneaker company currying favor with a woke athlete, or fellow citizens complaining about displays of patriotism and military might. On the other hand, I think Ronald Reagan was right when he said we’re always one generation away from losing the freedoms we currently enjoy. Along with the siren song of socialism, the persistent promise of “free” stuff, and the breathtaking level of censorship on our college campuses, I worry about the growing belief among many that we can somehow improve our present by erasing our past; by toppling statues, outlawing “problematic” symbols, or rewriting specific pieces of our history in ways that leave us feeling less offended. George Orwell said it best…
“The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their understanding of history.”
Of course, Orwell also said this…
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
In other words, we can’t deny Kapernick’s right to speak his mind, but we shouldn’t ignore the flaws in his thinking. He has argued that the Betsy Ross flag is “racist,” because it flew at a time when slavery was legal in America. By that definition, aren’t crosses are also racist? Weren’t they on churches attended by slave-owning congregants? Why not demand their removal? What about the Bald Eagle? Wasn’t our national bird flying around when slaves were held? Why not protest it as well? What about the Great Seal? E Pluribus Unum? The Liberty Bell? It rang countless times while slavery was still the law of the land. Why not demand its removal? Kaepernick’s argument is unpersuasive, not because it’s unpopular, or unpatriotic. It’s unpersuasive because it’s completely void of logic.
As for the presence of tanks in parades, I’ll triple down with Orwell, even though its somewhat suspicious to quote an English writer on the occasion of our independence. But it’s tough to argue with this one.
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
Sleep well, Karen.
And Happy Independence Day

Mike

 Mike Rowe Slams Harvard’s ‘Segregation’ Celebrations.

Mike Rowe slammed Harvard’s “segregation” celebrations after the University once again said it would allow students to celebrate “graduation day with a series of affinity celebrations.”
(https://gsas.harvard.edu/commencement/affinity-graduation-celebrations)
In a lengthy post on Facebook, the “Dirty Jobs” host mocked the Ivy league school and asked, “What better way to celebrate Harvard’s rich commitment to diversity, then by encouraging diverse groups to celebrate separately?”
“These [affinity] celebrations allow students to separate themselves from each other based on their racial and ethnic identities, and then, celebrate graduation with their own kind,” Rowe wrote, with a link to the move by Harvard.
“I’m old enough to remember when this was called ‘segregation,'” he added. “At Harvard, they call it ‘affinity.’ To be fair, Harvard’s website says these celebrations are not in lieu of the official graduation, and open to all students who pre-register. But the celebrations themselves are clearly labeled, and the invitees are hard to misconstrue.”

https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks/status/1776071281265500538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1776071281265500538%7Ctwgr%5E42a2751180bd3f9fb1b724a2c8d8edc61255f362%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fmike-rowe-slams-harvards-segregation-celebrations

He then provided a list of the events, such as “The Latinix Celebration, The Black Celebration, The Arab Celebration, The Jewish Celebration…The Lavender Celebration, (LGBTQ, etc.),” and his “personal favorite, The First-Generation Low-Income Celebration.”
He closed out his post noting that mikeroweWORKS (http://mikeroweworks.org/scholarship/) — a foundation that promotes the importance of skilled labor — “couldn’t care less about the color of your skin, the country of your origin, or the number of Y chromosomes you were born with.”
“We are likewise utterly disinterested in your star sign, your blood type, your eye color, or any other characteristic out of your control,” he added. “We do however, care about your thoughts on personal responsibility, work ethic, delayed gratification, a positive attitude, and various other virtues we still believe can lead to a successful life and career. “
Several people blasted the former TV host’s criticism of Harvard, and Rowe hit back, nailing why they were wrong.
One person wrote, “Segregation is not optional. The Affinity celebrations are. Why do you care? Why can’t we celebrate how we choose?”
“No one is saying you can’t celebrate the way you choose, or with the people you prefer to be around,” Rowe replied. “I’m just saying that organized celebrations sponsored by an Ivy League institution that revolve around the color of a person’s skin are so…1960…”
Another wrote, “Mike, You’ve never been made to feel like an outsider based on your inherent identity and it shows glaringly. You’ve always been on the inside and at the very top of our society’s multi-tiered pyramid that has masculine, heterosexual, white, cis-gender men in charge of most things….”
Rowe replied, “I’m not responsible for the way other people treat other people. I’m only responsible for the way I treat other people. And I choose to treat other people as if their color and ethnicity don’t matter…I’ll continue to do my best to ignore the things that don’t matter, and celebrate the things that do. I’d encourage you to do the same.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rowe-slams-harvards-segregation-celebrations

 The One-Percenters
by Mike Rowe
Independence Day, 2016

John’s a farmer in Hopewell, New Jersey. Like many working farmers, John feeds lots of Americans who have no idea where their food comes from. But unlike many of his peers, John is not struggling to make a living. He’s prospering. In fact, John is downright rich.
So too is Frank. Frank made his money doing whatever it is international businessmen do. Something to do with The Mercantile Exchange. He was born in Wales and educated in the very best schools. After becoming a legal citizen of this country, he made an absolute fortune. Now he employs more people than he can keep track of.
And then there’s Richard. Richard is one of the wealthiest lawyers in America. He studied law at Princeton, which his ancestors helped build. Now he sits on the bench of The New Jersey Supreme Court, where his reputation as a jurist earns him the respect of politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Not long ago, John, Frank, and Richard sat down with dozens of other wealthy Americans at a private Men’s Club in Philadelphia to discuss, among other things, the future of our country and the current tax code. Not only do these men believe their taxes are far too high, they feel their money is being squandered by America’s leaders. They're also offended, deeply offended, by the continual assertion that they are not paying their “fair share.”
John, Frank, and Richard, listen attentively as a number of powerful men address the group. They talk with great passion about the need to elect a leader who will stop dividing the country. So the men draft a manifesto outlying their frustrations, and announce their refusal to stop paying taxes to an administration they believe to be corrupt.
John, Frank, and Richard each sign the manifesto, along with everyone else in the room. Then, they send it off to the largest media outlets in the country and head home, to and wait and see what happens next. Well, they don't have to wait long.
In the halls of power, America’s leaders are livid. “How can these wealthy men who have enjoyed so much good fortune complain about paying a little extra for the good of their country? Do these elitists seriously think they could have prospered without the governments help? Maybe it’s time to teach these guys a lesson?”
And so they do.
When Frank arrives at his mansion in New York, it’s been thoroughly looted. Armed troops occupy his estate, and confiscate everything of value, including his wife. She’s locked up for three months with little food or water, and not even provided a change of clothes. She dies not long after her release. Frank is crushed with despair.
John doesn’t fare much better. Troops have occupied his farm in Hopewell. John learns the Occupiers have orders to execute him. Recently widowed with 13 children, John goes on the run, moving from place to place under cover of darkness, and living on the lam for the better part of a year. Eventually, the stress kills him.
Richard’s wealth and status make him an even bigger target. Armed men barge into his home, and drag him from bed in the middle of the night. He’s locked up, starved, and tortured. Richard survives his incarceration, but never recovers. His vast fortune is stolen, and he spends his final days utterly dependent on the kindness of friends.
John Hart.
Francis Lewis.
Richard Stockton.
If their names are unfamiliar, it’s probably because they’ve been overshadowed by other men who signed the same manifesto. Men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. In total, 56 men, some more famous than others, whose names are now preserved for posterity on the bottom of that troublesome document that so enraged The Occupiers in The Red Coats.
Unlike most revolutions, ours didn’t start with an angry mob armed with pitchforks and guillotines and nothing to lose. That was France. Our revolution started because fifty-six wealthy men with everything to lose, put everything on the line, for a country that didn’t even exist yet.
The Internet is full of exaggerated accounts of what happened to the original signers, and that’s a shame. Because the truth of what really happened back in that exclusive Men’s Club in Philadelphia, also known as The 2nd Continental Congress, is remarkable enough with no embellishment.
These 56 men, these one-percenters of 1776, could have easily paid whatever new tax was being demanded by their King. They could have easily lived out their lives in comfortable peace. But they didn’t. They chose liberty over safety. When they signed that troublesome manifesto, they weren’t just declaring their independence, they were signing their own death warrant. And when they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, they weren’t just making a promise to The King of England, or to each other, or to the rest of their fellow colonists,
They were making a promise to you and me.
And they kept it.
Two hundred forty years later, as the hotdogs plump up on the grill, and the fireworks explode overhead, their promise, and their courage, are still worth remembering.
And celebrating.