# Can decent people and anti-intellectuals form a society together? (Part 1 of 3) Date: 2026-01-28 Next Part: https://disrael.github.io/blogs/raw/can-decent-people-and-anti-intellectuals-form-a-society-together.part2.md --- --- ### Can decent people and anti-intellectuals form a society together? Some people think that rule of law and a strong economy will be enough to patch up America, but I’m not sure. I live in Silicon Valley where we have rule of law and a strong economy and yet are also producing people, mostly men, too toxic to exist in a reasonable society. Stephen Miller is an example of this sort of toxic man and he also comes from a [background](https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/stephen-miller-hatemonger-biography/) with rules and money: > At 39, Miller is a millennial (51 percent of voters age 30 to 44 voted for Harris); he was raised Jewish in a Reform congregation (84 percent of Reform Jews voted for Harris) and grew up in Santa Monica, California (Santa Monica’s precincts ranged from 71 to 86 percent for Harris); he has parents with advanced degrees and himself graduated from top-ranked Duke University (56 percent of college graduates and a likely 75 percent of students at Duke voted for Harris) These men are toxic because, in America at least, it’s not enough to passively go with the flow. One must actively try to be a better, more intellectual **and** empathetic person or the entire country can fall back to the monstrous slaver nation it once was. ![By Tweedle — Own work, data taken from the Department of Homeland Security on Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2021, Table 1, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130834428](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/can-decent-people-and-anti-intellectuals-form-a-society-together-6c9536e509.png) *By Tweedle — Own work, data taken from the Department of Homeland Security on Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2021, Table 1, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130834428* How much and what kind of immigration should America accept? It’s very easy to grab extreme answers like completely open or closed borders but quite hard to educate oneself towards more justified positions. For certain Silicon Valley was founded on the wrong kind of immigration — importing talented people for profit while education simultaneously became less and less affordable for Americans. At a minimum a reasonable society would take those profits and reinvest them towards a better educated populace. Equally certain though is that the sort of immigration that allowed Stephen Miller’s maternal grandfather to [escape anti-Jewish pogroms](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/) is something any empathetic American should support. For most of my life I have been for lowering the rate of immigration for two reasons: 1. The high rate of immigration never polled very well and supposedly we live in a democracy. 2. Bringing more people in while America has such inadequate safety net and educational systems is dangerous. However with America now at 1.6 births per women, I currently generally positively view anything that would result in more children in this country. So democracy is tough enough without anti-intellectuals — people who not only don’t want to think about complex issues but are actively opposed to reason, logic, and learning. ### I claim that anyone or anything that undermines empathetic, intellectual thinking (IE woke) is a danger to American society and human survival. #### Exhibit A — you’ll blow yourselves up See story [here](https://indepthnews.net/the-man-who-saved-the-world-from-a-nuclear-war/). ![Vasili Arkhipov and Soviet submarine B-59, forced to the surface by U.S. Naval forces in the Caribbean near Cuba, with a U.S. helicopter overhead. Source: U.S. National Archives. — Photo: 2023](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/can-decent-people-and-anti-intellectuals-form-a-society-together-b630a88e5d.jpeg) *Vasili Arkhipov and Soviet submarine B-59, forced to the surface by U.S. Naval forces in the Caribbean near Cuba, with a U.S. helicopter overhead. Source: U.S. National Archives. — Photo: 2023* #### Exhibit B — everything must be regulated Immigration, the rich (taxation, leaving to offspring, political contributions, etc.), carbon emissions, and even [scientific research](https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/epp/sago/independent-assessment-of-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2-by-sago.pdf?sfvrsn=b0f90ad4_6&download=true): > Throughout the development of this independent assessment, it may be obvious to state that SAGO has only been able to analyze evidence made available to them and the public. However, SAGO and WHO are aware that more data exists. Some examples of this include requests for more information including: > a) the sharing of more than 500 sequences from individuals with COVID-19 early in the pandemic; (China National Center for Bioinformation, 2022). > b) more detailed information on the sources, locations, sampling and testing methods of animals sold at the HSM and other wet markets in Wuhan, including upstream farming or illegal trade; and > c) information on research and field activities in laboratories in Wuhan, including staff health records, biosafety and biosecurity information of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the Wuhan China CDC laboratory. The June 2025 scientific consensus is that we don’t know the origin of Covid-19 and that, as uncomfortable as it might make some people, human creation of a pandemic virus **is possible**. #### Exhibit C — organized religion is dangerous American Christians are divided among themselves between following some version of Christ and white nationalism. However the white nationalist group is much more aggressive. > The **National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)** serves as a major umbrella organization, representing over 45,000 local churches from about 40 different denominations, including Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and Holiness traditions. ![Walter Kim, PCA pastor and former Park Street Church minister, becomes the first leader of color at the helm of the 77-year-old organization.](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/assets/can-decent-people-and-anti-intellectuals-form-a-society-together-40c6c4a00b.jpg) *Walter Kim, PCA pastor and former Park Street Church minister, becomes the first leader of color at the helm of the 77-year-old organization.* Dr. Kim in this October 8th 2024 interview [says](https://youtu.be/MzjaIYMO6QA?t=471) that what defines Evangelicals is a “posture of engagement”. This posture of engagement led many pastors to endorse Trump to their congregation and the IRS now allows this political engagement without [loss of tax free status](https://youtu.be/lnTSv6wrAJI). Dr. Kim also [mentions](https://youtu.be/MzjaIYMO6QA?t=635) in this interview, “providing legal services for immigrants and strengthening communities desire to be multi-ethnic” and a whole host of good works Christian evangelicals do. Unfortunately I’m not convinced evangelicals can support empathetic, intellectual thinking. Christian doctrine is othering by nature — non believers are sent to hell **by god**. Christian doctrine is anti-intellectual by nature — the word of Jesus is all you need. > “We lament the suffering and recurring trauma of our immigrant neighbors, including many refugees who have fled violence or persecution and have followed every rule,” commented **Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals**. “These are not the nefarious criminals that we should deport. These are families with children whom our country initially welcomed. As evangelicals, we believe every person bears God’s image and deserves safety, dignity and fair treatment.” Dr. Kim can and does [use the bible to fight against racism](https://www.nae.org/kim2podcast/): --- **[Continue reading Part 2 of 3](https://disrael.github.io/blogs/raw/can-decent-people-and-anti-intellectuals-form-a-society-together.part2.md)**