Captain Obvious

The recent pardon of Hunter Biden along with the media’s forgetfulness of what we learned on his laptop are frightening. Doesn’t everyone remember the details of that incriminating laptop proving both father and son were doing illegal international dealings?  Could it be that by pardoning his son he was attempting to avoid he was charged at some future time for those dealings?  This amounts to pardoning himself for devious and illegal behaviors, besides lying to everyone about them.  Yet, that laptop seems to have been completely forgotten by the press. This also is especially hard to stomach given Biden’s repeated insistence he would not pardon his son if convicted.

Biden’s pardon goes beyond the special treatment of elites which normally strikes immediate rage in the press. This makes me truly wonder whether the press has any ethical backbone. It is refreshing to see some Democrats breaking rank, and even some in the media are crying foul. But most of the press are still confirming my prior blog by gaslighting the American public. They have gaslit for decades now, but Americans have learned to see it. The consequent loss in public confidence and trust is tragic.

Anyone teaching Sunday School struggles to explain Christ’s repeated illustrations of how mercy and reconciliation trump equity and what we define as justice. Whether it is the laborer who is hired at the last hour or the prodigal son, many Christians will cry out (if they feel they are safe in doing so) “that’s not fair!” How can someone who just works one hour be paid the same amount as the person who worked eight? It is not fair, but the story is not about that at all. It is about the redemption of people, not being fair. After all, from God’s perspective, the person who is redeemed at the last minute is still that, lest they boast.

Explaining these stories requires a much deeper understanding of the concept of redemption vs. the simpler concept of justice. Jesus was emphasizing the end state that restores the person and the situation to harmony in the eyes of God. Jews refer to this state in their word shalom and the act of getting to it in the word chesed … which translates to unmerited favor. That is, the person doesn’t deserve it. This is not about fairness. The best illustration of these Jewish ideas is in Micah 6:8 answering the question of what the Lord expects of us: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

But, Joel, the word justly is right there in plain sight, and it is not justly correct to pay the laborer who only worked that one hour the same! Let’s take a closer look at the word justly.

In Micah 6:8, the Hebrew word for just is mishpat. Tim Keller from Uncuffed says “mishpat’s most basic meaning is to treat people equitably. It means acquitting or punishing every person on the merits of the case, regardless of race or social status. Anyone who does the same wrong should be given the same penalty. But it means more than just the punishment of wrongdoing. It also means giving people their rights. Mishpat is giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care. So, this term is to put the actions alongside the concept of mercy, obviously implying God is the final judge of the outcome.

We can clearly see the injustice in America’s past with native Americans, blacks, Jews and others. We repeatedly state this is the land where everyone has the same inalienable rights: The right to enjoy and defend one’s life and liberties, the right to acquire, possess, and protect property, the right to seek one’s safety, health, and happiness in lawful ways.
The details are important: We have freedom of speech, to worship or not, the right to travel anywhere in our borders, the right to self-defense, and the right to privacy.

Inalienable rights are different from legal rights, which can be removed by the government under certain circumstances, most notably the offense of crimes against another citizen. Yet here we deal with the concept of mercy and the pardoning of criminals by a president. The pardon by President Biden is illegal and unfair. It sets a precedent that will haunt us all for decades if it is allowed to persist.

Will any religious leaders weigh in here? Will the politicians use this as an excuse to use the pardon for almost everything they want to hide in the future? How is that justice and mercy for the average American?

It makes me wonder … no it doesn’t really. The phrase that now comes to my mind is “I smell gas!” You eggheads already know the rotten egg smell in natural gas is added intentionally by gas companies to allow people to easily detect gas leaks, as natural gas itself is odorless. Otherwise their homes and businesses would blow up.

So, by analogy, gaslighting is getting pretty stinky. That should be a warning we are in real danger.

I graduated college during the year that the most beautiful car ever created was introduced: the Jaguar XKE. It was a sensuous display of mechanical beauty and defined the color British racing green along with the intoxicating smell of tan leather seats and interior trim.

The car looked like it was sculpted in a wind tunnel, adorned with gauges and a stick shift that dignified that style of driving. It was not about how fast the car could go, but how good it could look even standing still. There was a reason it would be displayed in the Gugenheim Museum of Modern Art as the definition of automotive art.

Yes, the ignition was twitchy and unreliable, and you really needed a fulltime mechanic in your family if you owned one. Yes, you could get a hard top or even the 2+2 configuration to tote your small kids in the back seats. But, no … there was no other car on the road that defined the ultimate in raw sensuality … if a car can be defined that way.

Over the years, I have hoped that Jaguar would bring that car back along with modern technologies to make it reliable. I know there are electric versions of that XKE but I am not eager to hand out over $300,000 for one. Back when I graduated from college you could buy an XKE for about 2/3rd the starting salary of an engineer … about $5,000.

Today’s Jaguar line is good looking, and somewhat distinct. I do understand that modern brand management leaders are looking to find a differentiation, much like BMW did with their slogan “the ultimate driving experience” or Lexus’ “relentless pursuit of perfection.”

Somehow, in some dark room, a group of individuals crafted this for Jaguar:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jaguar-rebrand-is-pink-diverse-and-doesnt-feature-any-cars-904d2d12?st=LTNAQs&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

I can promise you they didn’t test this message against mainstream America. Perhaps they have identified their key demographic is somehow excited about this progressive abstract idea. It reminds me of the way the Infiniti car brand was introduced … without any pictures of cars. Here are those ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_a3fZVo12M Notice at least that the ads talked about it being a car. That ad didn’t work well then and doesn’t work now. People are visual. More so today than even then.

Cars are not commodities. They represent diverse perspectives, so yes, there are many brands that can be defined. Some will be utilitarian or even funky like the VW Beetle. Others will align with aspirations and personalities like the Corvette vs. the Mustang vs. the Dodge Charger, etc. Brand loyalties exist within each of these and make sense.

The rebranding ad from Jaguar just doesn’t do anything good, and it may be their ruination. As you watch the ad in the link below, look at the comment section below it to see the public’s reaction and compare that to Jaguar management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtFIrqhfng&t=1s

Here are just a few of the 29,000 comments when I watched the ad:

“Jaguar’s pronouns are Was/Were.” “As someone involved in the field of marketing and also from a consumer perspective this is one of the most embarrassing ads to study.” “This rebranding is going to be studied in marketing classes in colleges around the world for the next 50 years on how to instantly drive a prestigious brand directly into a wall at full speed.”

And, here are a few more:

“My Jag just lost 90% of its value.” “Who did this? The Paris Olympics opening ceremony creative team?” “102 Years Old Company… …Destroyed in 30 seconds.” “Jaguar is officially dead, they’ve been dying for like the last 10 years this just the nail in the coffin.” “This will go down as one of the worst marketing decisions in history.”

Now, some … a very few … have suggested this rebrand video was deliberately done to get Jaguar the attention to its new electric fleet with its edgy look.  I hope for their sake they are right, but the timing of a woke approach right after one of the most dramatic election rebukes of these woke ideas seems deadly to me.  

Stay tuned … we will see very shortly, won’t we?  I personally believe everyone associated with this at Jaguar is about to be fired.  Media outlets around the world are having a field day, all with utter condemnation.  

I find that comforting.  However, I really would like to see these new car designs.  Hopefully, the damage done by this ad will not destroy the market for them.

How honest are we with ourselves about how we feel or think? My father was loyal to the Ford car brand … to the point he could not buy a General Motors car even if it was better or cheaper. When I bought a Pontiac Firebird as I graduated from college he bristled with disagreement, and I still remember when he took it for a spin and then dismissed it as a toy. I admire any company that can create that kind of loyalty.

My wife and I now feel the same about the Lexus car brand, having bought the first LS400 to come onshore and having bought new models about every 10-15 years since then. However, we would freely buy another car brand if we liked it better … but we don’t.  We just looked at every alternative once again.

In like manner, people seem to become brand loyal to their political parties as well. I respect that as well, and as I have conversations about political points of view, I find it fascinating to see how people positively interpret things that most everyone else knows are wrong.

After all, everyone knew President Biden’s mental and physical acuity was falling rapidly, but it was only after that debate that the painful truth needed to be faced. Once again, I understand and admire loyalty, but in this case our country was at risk. Yet, everyone within the party ranks insisted President Biden was fully capable.  Similarly, look at the 538 polls about Vice President Harris’s approval rating at the top of this blog.  The sharp uptick occurred when she was designated as the Democratic candidate for POTUS.  What changed?  Was it bias or brand loyalty that kicked in?

Whether it was the word salad or her irritating witch-like cackle, most Americans simply found her unfavorable … that is, until she was the candidate for the highest office in the land. Then, miraculously as if she had become a different person, somehow, she arose from the dead.

What changed? Think about it! No … really … please think about it. Nothing changed. But, now Democrats had to show their brand loyalty … they didn’t have a choice. She never got a single vote in the primary. Nobody wanted her as POTUS, but now she was their choice.  So, when polled, her favorability rose sharply.

I watched this and thought it was remarkable. The Emperor’s New Clothes story was playing out in real time, and nobody seemed to be reporting on it. The Australian media were having a field day mocking our political process, but the American media was so loyal to the Democratic Party and the leftwing policies they were espousing, they ignored it all.  Others are now pointing this out.

Now, after the landslide rebuke of it all, let’s see if anyone learns anything.
This all reminds me of the person I met in New York City snapping his fingers at the entrance to the subway station. I stopped to ask why he was snapping his fingers incessantly and he told me it was because it kept the tigers away. When I reminded him that there were no tigers on the loose in New York City he remarked: “See … it works like a charm!” So, those of you who are brand loyal to the Democratic Party … look at this:

Do you see a pattern here? Do you still want to focus on a person, or are you willing to focus on what you say you believe?  Then, when essentially everyone who is not brand loyal rebukes your ideas, are you willing to learn from it?

Dialogue and discussion are truly needed.  The media has a great deal to learn.  I am seeing some of them press the restart button.  Let’s hope for more.

I must admit I would have never expected someone to argue with me that doing the right thing is always the right thing to do. It never goes out of style. Sure, it can be harder at times than going along with the consensus but standing on principles always seemed to me the higher calling in life. As a kid I was called “goody two shoes” for this position.

What troubles me, according to modern thought, is that it now appears right and wrong are subjective and therefore depend upon personal beliefs and cultural norms. Could this explain why many politicians will privately admit that cheating to achieve their political goals is appropriate.

The branch of philosophy called ethics addresses this question. Let’s focus on just one: are moral truths objective or subjective? In other words, are moral truths (like “don’t cheat” and “don’t steal”) objectively true and thus true independently of what our society says? Or are they subjective and thus relative to what our society says?

Some recent research indicates that about 95% of students answered that moral truths are subjective. One might be tempted to think that this is a generational phenomenon: perhaps a millennial thing, but it is much more widespread.

Another possibility of thinking that morality is subjective could be rooted in some sort of intellectual humility. Perhaps people understand those who disagree morally need to be listened to and given intellectual room so that there is no tone of superiority by those with whom they disagree.

However, one can argue that morality is purely logical, using the argument from common sense. If morality is subjective (and thus relative to society), then there is really nothing wrong with slavery. But slavery is wrong. Therefore, it follows by logic alone that morality is not subjective. This argument is short, but powerful. Intellectuals will now argue with me that you really need to define slavery, because many modern business models have elements of slavery in their design.

Secondly, one can use the argument from disagreement. Consider a simple example of subjectivity: taste. I think vanilla is better than chocolate. Chocolate is alright, but clearly not as good as vanilla! But ask yourself this: if we were to have an argument about which is better (chocolate or vanilla), would we really be disagreeing about an objective fact in the world? No. Clearly not. That’s because this whole dispute boils down to a matter of taste. And taste is subjective.

So here’s the argument. Analogously, if morality is subjective, then no two people could ever really disagree about a particular moral issue. But that’s ridiculous. Just turn on the news for a few seconds, and you’ll see people clearly disagreeing about moral issues! Therefore, it follows by logic alone that morality is not subjective. To suppose that morality is subjective flies in the face of common sense and leads to the totally implausible conclusion that we can never really morally disagree with one another.

Morality is objective. It is independent of us and independent of what society says. Therefore, and consequentially, doing the right thing should never go out of style!  Plus, if we believe AI is going to be the basis of future decisions, how can we expect the best for society if we can’t agree now on what is right?

To answer the question posed in the title of this blog, clearly and sadly, yes.

As of Tuesday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made their final pitches for victory.  Now, as Americans from coast-to-coast cast ballots, polls showed a razor-close election likely to come down to seven top battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona.  We still don’t know the outcome …

This past year of nonstop political nonsense on both sides of the isle has convinced me that Americans failed math … almost everyone. Nobody understands what the average of anything means. They don’t understand the most likely events, nor do they understand the importance of the “tails” of the distribution … things that are not “likely,” but still happen.

Even when I tell the story of our timeshare in Cancun that was hit by Hurricane Gilbert the year after we bought it. We were feeling pretty good that hurricanes don’t hit that part of Mexico because the salesperson properly quoted that “Cancun had not been hit by a hurricane in 37 years.” At the time, I viewed that with some level of comfort, but in retrospect I should have assumed “we are due,” and would have been correct.

No one seems to appreciate the risk of using numbers to make certain types of decisions. The pre-election polls always indicated the country was about evenly divided between republicans and democrats … and that my friends is a important part of our democracy in that it can create checks and balances on just about everything in our lives. Conservatives like myself have been terribly concerned that the progressives’ rightful leanings need to be considered, but should flatly be denied in areas that affect our public safety.

Therefore, I firmly disagreed with the defunding the police and the idea that some jobs just need diversity in their constituent base other than excellence in talents in abilities. Go ahead and try to rebalance areas where public safety isn’t critical to experiment with new ideas, but please leave pilots, physicians, engineers and others who must have excellence in their abilities alone to properly execute their jobs.

What truly surprises me is the complete lack of appreciation for averages and the distribution of outcomes underlying those averages. The average seldom represents very many people. There are about equal numbers of males and females, but relatively few can be defined as an average … although we seem to be obsessed with these deviants in the mathematical distribution.

No, all too many today will want to quarrel with me on my last label about people who can’t quite decide whether they are male or female because some progressive thinkers now want to offer these deviants from the normal distribution their special spot in the sun.

Yes, these individuals have been marginalized in the past and been the target of hate, but I might remind everyone that I grew up with that kind of hate because I was a geek … a nerd. Our son was bullied by the quarterback of his high school’s football team … so everyone looked the other way … because on average, winning the football games mattered more than doing the right thing.

Averages work well to understand the risks at things like gambling where the odds are useful to predict the likely outcome of repeated bets on a certain strategy. Yet, while the odds are clearly against everyone, since it is a business and the “house” has to make money on average, people repeatedly flock to this activity that is just stupid because of the opportunity and thrill of winning occasionally.

Perhaps that is the summary. Everyone seems to be looking for the adrenaline rush of that occasional win rather than playing a game where the odds are stacked against us. Maybe the thing we call our democracy is nothing more than a game of craps where we just cheer wildly when we win and then keep betting in the hope our horse will come in.

It is funny how we characterize each other to make ourselves feel better. The optimist says the glass is half full and the pessimist says it is half empty. We engineers feel righteous in reminding everyone that there appears to be twice as much glass as we really need.