It sure seems that way to me.

The text says that G-d created the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9). Which means the possibility of evil existed before Adam and Eve ate the fruit. 

But throughout my long and bitter tribulations I never allowed myself to believe I was unfortunate; instead I told myself that I was privileged far beyond most men. For I had the faith that some day I would return to the heaven that is America and that when I did my happiness would far surpass any pleasure that I had experienced in the past. Adversity taught what all too few people learn – the lesson of appreciation for even the slightest of the many things our great country affords. – F.J. O’Gara

Note: I had originally intended this post for Memorial Day, but it proved a bit unwieldy to complete. But today is Flag Day, and my father’s birthday, June 14th, 1912. God rest his soul.

“These pie charts show the relative sizes of the major categories of federal income and outlays for fiscal year 2019.”  That’s from page 110 of the IRS instructions for your 2020 taxes.  Here are the charts:

I’ve always wanted to read Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” but have never gotten around to it.  I tried once, but I got distracted, and drifted away.  This summer I plan to read Harvey Mansfield’s “Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction.”  Maybe that will inspire me to try again.  Powerline’s Scott Johnson just finished reading “Democracy in America” and wrote a wonderful post on it today, which included the following passage:

Tocqueville wrote as a friend of freedom. He worried that the passion for equality (think “equity”) would overwhelm freedom and that democracy would therefore tend toward a new form of despotism.

It’s hard to imagine a more precise and concise description of our current situation in America in 2021.  And remember, Tocqueville was a Frenchman in 1840.  His prescience is simply astounding.  I’ve just got to read his work sometime.  And Scott’s summary should be shouted from the rooftops.  In fact, I just can’t help but repeat it right now:  “Tocqueville wrote as a friend of freedom. He worried that the passion for equality (think “equity”) would overwhelm freedom and that democracy would therefore tend toward a new form of despotism.”  And here we are.  Mr. Tocqueville would look at Critical Race Theory, our tax code, affirmative action, America’s entitlement industry, our educational system, and the modern Democrat party and he would just grimly nod his head.  He saw it coming.  And here we are.