There’s always an interesting story behind every book. And, this one doesn’t disappoint. I’m actually hesitant to share these details publicly because our society is so divided at the moment about some very important issues. Because of the animosity, the impulse is to protect, but that comes at the expense of sharing helpful information.
Because of my experience in Canada, I’ve been awakened to the need to be more involved in the political process. It’s part of being a fully functioning adult in our society and a mature Christian. Our ancestors gave us the privilege of self-government through a representational democracy (or republic) and not only do we have the right to vote, but to also run for office, lobby, petition and even protest. In the transition back to Florida, I knew I wanted to get involved.
In reconnecting with a long time friend, he introduced me to another friend of his who has joined CCDF-USA in Hillsborough County. She’s an almost retired attorney in Tampa and is now devoting most of her time to assisting a group of volunteers engage at the county level. I was fascinated to hear how they have been helping parents and concerned grandparents express themselves effectively with local officials and decision makers.
A week later, I had the joy of meeting the man who is working on getting a local county level organization going in more places around the country. He’s a local business man, who in the last half of his life was inspired by the work that the Alliance for Defending Freedom has been doing, and saw that there was a need for an organization that could help citizens engage at the county level. He shared some stories from some work that that they had been part of, and I recognized them because I had read about them in the regular news. They had been a part of making a good, positive difference.
He’s the one that gave me a copy of this book. He wants to assist citizens in their desire to “defend freedom.” He was alarmed to discover the role and amount of money that was being inserted into local, county level officials from international sources, specifically organizations and foundations that are funded by George Soros. I’ve heard the name, but like J. Edgar Hoover, didn’t know much about the guy.
This book is new. It’s only a few months old. The author, Matt Palumbo, has taken an enormous amount of time to research and footnote the myriad trails of money that originated in the fortune of George Soros. It’s a difficult book to read because of the amount of just raw data and figures.
He opens by giving a biography of Mr. Soros. Born in Hungary, raised during the Nazi occupation, and sharing significant experiences that must have shaped his worldview. He also gave an explanation of the influence of philosopher Karl Popper on his ideas of how the world should function. It’s where the name “Open Society” came from and why it’s used as a name on many of his endeavours.
Allow me to admit that I don’t understand this philosophy. It wouldn’t be appropriate to fault the author’s explanation. It’s quite possible that I don’t understand, because it’s not understandable. It may exist outside of rational thought. Soros seems to be the only one that purports it, yet, as the author argues, he’s often operating in contradiction to it.
The most powerful chapter of the book for me was the one describing the donations that Soros funded organizations and foundations have made in local politics. It’s mostly the story of District Attorney’s and how they have shifted their approach to a much softer view of petty crimes, attributed poverty to the cause of crimes, and chosen to not prosecute some categories of crimes, or crimes committed by certain segments of the population. It’s been very difficult on communities and we’ve seen that in the news recently.
The main argument of the book is that Soros is funding all of this, and it all comes from his worldview and what’s implied is that our society would be better off without him meddling in not only our affairs, but those of other countries around the world.
I was also interested in the chapter devoted to Soros’s involvement in the Ukraine, because the Ukraine is dominating our news these days. We know the Biden’s had some business there. And, now, I can see all the involvement Soros has had there. Soros was a hero there. It’s difficult to refute any arguments that they aren’t completely and hopelessly corrupt and it isn’t their fault.
Here’s the bottom line for me. I’m grateful to read this. I needed to know how pervasive Soros’s money is. However, I’m not convinced that he’s getting what he wants all the time, as much as people are getting money from him and doing all kinds of crazy things with it. The guy is 91 after all. And, there’s no way for him to control the size and scale of the operation he’s funding. Anyone that will lie and manipulate others can be sure to lie to himself. Money doesn’t cure that problem.
Leaving the topic of Soros, we don’t have a CCDF organization here in Pinellas County. It would be good to get one going. I would think that citizens here would be interested to know if and when one of our officials has betrayed their oath of office. It would also be good to know which County Commissioners, School Board Trustees, or if the Sheriff, or District Attorney, or Supervisor of Elections has been on staff at one of these foundations or organizations that Soros funds, or has received funds from them. That doesn’t make them guilty of anything. It’s just good to know what we might expect from them.
What about you? How involved in the political process are you? How involved do you want to be? Feel free to comment (publicly!) or send me a message (privately!).
Go for a coffee... 