Edifice of Trust
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230 episodes
Slavery has existed throughout human history and prehistory. But why? It all comes down to energy. Ancient humans only had the energy of their own body. The energy of slaves gave the slaveholder more power to do things for the benefit of him and his family. But slavery in America was different. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, explores why there is much less slavery in the modern world and why slavery in America was so different from anywhere else.
President Biden’s State of the Union address was an angry, divisive campaign. He went on to propose massive increases in taxes along with massive increases in spending that combine for a massive deficit of $1.8 trillion. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at how both of the presumptive candidates for president of the United States don’t really understand what America is all about. What really makes America special.
The Founders of America thought that democracy was the best tool to secure the blessings of liberty to its citizens. And, although not perfect, our democracy did a pretty good job of doing that while also providing prosperity. But right now America appears to be heading in the wrong direction and democracy does not seem to be helping. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at how to make democracy a better tool to fulfill its intended function – securing liberty.
The No Labels organization is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states for a presidential candidate yet to be named. Such a candidate might be able to save us from another Biden or Trump presidency but will do nothing to save us from the increasing divisiveness and extremism of our mainstream political parties. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles discusses what it will take for No Labels or anyone to get this country back on track.
A recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal called the Michigan city of Dearborn a center of jihad and antisemitism. The mayor of Dearborn xed (tweeted) that the article was Islamophobic. The progressive left has changed the meaning of the word phobia and now uses it as a means to deflect criticism and avoid addressing the issues raised in the critique. In this commentary we examine the use of the word phobia as a tool of cancel culture.
A lot of people think that diversity is a good thing. But is it? People have to go out of their way to be diverse. Left to their own, people will self-segregate into groups with other people similar to themselves. Blue collar workers don’t want to hobnob with a bunch of chardonnay sipping, hors d’oeuvre munching intellectuals. They prefer to down a cold one with their buddies over at the bowling alley. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, delves into how diversity can actually benefit society.
Recent commentaries in the Wall Street Journal set forth competing visions on whether Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs can be saved or should be eliminated. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, compares the two viewpoints and draws conclusions on which viewpoint seems more valid.
Ian Rowe, an educator in the Bronx, writes that developing a sense of agency is essential in liberating poor and minority kids from a dreary future of poverty. More than that, he has been on the streets providing kids with liberating education and teaching them American values for more than a decade. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some of the strategies employed by Mr. Rowe and how we can use them to help our own kids and grandkids.
Once again, while our so-called political leaders are completely absorbed by their campaigns for reelection, they ignore the urgent national priorities that need to be addressed, or worse, use those issues as political levers to galvanize their base at the expense of the American people. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, victor Bolles, revisits those priorities that have become even more urgent as we enter a tumultuous election year.
how mislabeling political beliefs and governmental policies creates confusion and contributes to the divisiveness wracking our country.
Why do so many people in America identify as victims, the victims of an oppressive system? What is the source of this feeling? Why do so many people believe that they have no ability to live their lives as they see fit but look to the power of government to solve their problems? In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the root causes of this spreading syndrome which runs against the most essential of American values – agency.
Scientific inquiry is the process where we learn more and more about our universe through experimentation to support or disprove our theories. But increasingly, we are asked to make drastic, expensive and irreversible decisions based on a consensus of scientists as if there were no more need for further inquiry or experimentation. In this commentary we discuss how political activists assert that the science behind their progressive policies is “settled” by which they mean unassailable and not up for further discussion.
If you call the swath of land east of the Mediterranean Sea the Levant instead of Israel and Palestine, you can see the recent conflicts in the region with a new perspective. The part of the Levant that is now Israel was settled by Jewish refugees from Europe who defeated Arab Muslims in the region that had defeated the Roman Byzantines who had defeated the Judeans who had defeated….I think you get the idea. In this commentary we look at the Israeli/Hamas war from a different perspective.
Politicians are always promoting new laws and government programs to make things more fair. But fairness is not a good standard on which to base laws and programs because fairness is subjective and different people have different, and often completely opposite, ideas on what is fair. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, discusses an alternative standard that can unite people who have different concepts of what constitutes fairness.
To our Western minds the horrific attack on Israel by the Hamas terror group was irrational and incomprehensible. But even more irrational and incomprehensible have been the protests in support of the genocide espoused by Hamas across Europe and America. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, victor Bolles, looks at the ideology willing to support an attempt to wipe an entire nation from the face of the Earth.
America has not been this divided since the Civil War. But poll after poll show that Americans left, right and center share many of the same values. So what is driving us apart. It is in the narrow self-interest of our political leaders to drive us apart for their political advantage. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles takes a closer look at the ubiquitous nature of self-interest and how it affects our lives.
From the dark days and widespread pessimism of the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s optimistic speeches gave American reason to hope for a better future. We are again living in dark days but today’s politicians give us little reason to hope for a better future. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles examines how today’s politicians are not leading the American people to a better future.
Is America suffering from a plague of psychic epidemics? Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote that man has no adequate protection from psychic epidemics which can be more devastating than anything in nature. The divisive nature of American politics is creating psychic epidemics on both the left and the right that will even more devastating than Dr. Jung predicted. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates some of the psychology behind the rage that is consuming American politics.
Climate activists, parroting Bernie Sanders, hold up signs declaring “BILLIONAIRES SHOULD NOT EXIST” to justify vandalizing the property of rich people. But if billionaires did not exist we would be lacking many of the modern products and services we have come to rely on, like smart phones, flat panel televisions and lens replacement surgeries. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at why the progressive left does not understand the role billionaires play in a free market economy.
Has China reached its peak of economic power as many talking heads and think tank fellows are writing and podcasting about? The reality doesn’t matter, only the perception of strength or weakness matters, and how that affects the thinking of Xi Jinping. And if President Xi believes that China has reached its economic peak, the countdown to confrontation with the West has begun. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates reports that China has reached a crossroad and discusses how we must prepare to meet that challenge.
The Declaration of Independence states that we all are endowed with the right to pursue happiness and the things that make us happy are usually in our self-interest. Government often makes policies that are supposed to serve the common good but that do not match the self-interest of everyone. It is not easy to find the correct balance between the common good and the liberties of citizens. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at the current policies of our government to determine if it is unduly constraining the liberties we have an unalienable right to enjoy.
The world is changing, and if you are one of the billions of people who have benefitted from the Western rules-based world order, not in a good way. Change, of course, is inevitable. But countries that hope to survive in changing conditions, and possibly even thrive, need to prepare for a future that is not yet clear. But even as the world changes, the US seems distracted by divisive domestic issues that often seem trivial. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, reviews how the world is changing and suggests how to prepare for the future.
Many foreign policy experts have been recommending the armistice between North and South Korea as a model for the resolution of the war on Ukraine. The circumstances of these two conflicts are very different. The seventy years of relative peace on the Korean Peninsula has allowed South Korea to prosper but has required a continuing military commitment to South Korea by the United States to preserve that peace. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles discusses whether the United States will be willing to make a similar guarantee to Ukraine.
A recent open letter from some leftist college professors urges President Biden to defy the recent Supreme Court decisions. The letter not only exposes how the progressive left views the US Constitution as an impediment to the implementation of their woke agenda, it also reveals what they really think about the American people. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will reveal their plans and show how they really think.
The welfare state was invented by German Chancellor Bismarck to placate the masses while he created an industrial empire to dominate Europe. The industrial empire envisioned by Bismarck has passed away but the welfare state remains. The never-ending welfare state is slowly debilitating Europe hastening its decline into irrelevance. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at some of the problems facing Europe and how these problems could also afflict America.
I really like Joe. I thought he would have made a good Vice President. What? No, I am not talking about Joe Biden. I am talking about Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1989 but when the Democratic Party in Connecticut wanted to go further left, Joe Lieberman ran as an independent defeating the Democratic candidate and retaining his seat in the Senate. But as the Democratic Party veers even further left and Republicans veer to the right, Joe is thinking that America needs some new political animals. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at what Joe Lieberman and other patriots are doing to bring America back to its senses.
The left is mad at the Supreme Court. They are mad because the Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is refusing to endorse the social justice policies that have been imposed on the American public through executive orders, administrative policies and even faulty opinions of previous courts – all without the benefit of having been made law by our elected officials in Congress. They view the Court’s decisions as politically based rather than based on the Constitution. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at recent decisions by the Supreme Courts and shows how this Court is trying to reestablish Constitutional order.
Russian President Putin has a deluded vision of a Russian-led Eurasian civilization of which Ukraine is an integral part, justifying his invasion of that country. He lies a lot but it is hard to tell his lies from his delusion. But Putin is not alone. Many leaders around the world also suffer from delusions – and that includes in America. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the difference between lying and delusion and the impact those delusions may have on us.
In their recent book, The Dawn of Everything, Authors David Graeber and David Wengrow attempt to redefine human prehistory through the lens of their progressive left ideology using the analytical techniques of postmodern philosophy. Using narratives, feelings and a lot of guesswork they attempt to show that human can create complex societies without income or social inequality or hierarchy. The book was well received by many left-leaning periodicals. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, explains why the authors fail to make their case.
Historian Stephen Kotkin asserts that the War on Ukraine has evolved into a war of attrition. He further asserts that two key elements to continue such a war are the ability to resupply the unceasing casualties and the depletion of military equipment and munitions backed by the willpower to continue the fight. The Ukrainians are willing to fight but the essential willpower is not Ukraine’s but America’s. Now some Republicans are showing an unwillingness to support Ukraine’s struggle. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates why such unwillingness undermines America’s global leadership.
