A Conversation with Robert Kennedy Jr.
Imagine if POTUS Joe Biden agreed to debate Bobby Kennedy Jr. on national TV and the recording was distributed by Twitter, Rumble and other social media. Watch this and predict who would win!
https://twitter.com/lexfridman/status/1677172700932964354?s=61&t=_4VZIvLoUGD6I6xwJX5qYA
Robert Kennedy Jr. certainly has a checkered past.
No one, not even Kennedy, is denying that he has “skeletons in this closet”. But that was then, and this is now. The obvious wisdom he has acquired, combined with his impressive knowledge and critical thinking abilities, makes him a much better choice as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 POTUS election.
I am not American. I cannot vote there. I am certainly not a fan of the Democratic Party. However, a strong leader can begin the work to reshape that party into something than could regain a degree of respectability.
Biden has failed. Kennedy has the character and intelligence to begin to turn the ‘ship of State’ towards a better path. Like Trump, however, Kennedy he is a populist politician who wants to take on the Deep State power brokers who currently control America and are steering its course in a tyrannical direction.
I am a Less Government Advocate for a reason.
I believe that the West’s #1 problem is that its citizens have allowed our economies’ public sectors to expand well beyond the size, cost and scope of authority that best balances the interests of their nations’ consumers, producers and public officials (regulators). Our citizens are responsible for this problem because the majority voted for it.
I admire Kennedy but I do not have a crystal ball to predict how effective he would be as POTUS. The person who inhabits the Oval Office sits at the centre of a matrix of power and entrenched special interests that is so vast that its beyond the ability of any one man, or woman, to influence it to any significant extent. The decline of America began decades ago, and its resurrection will likely take as long.
The “hero worship” element of American culture in perennially manifest in the political realm in the same way that Americans revere the rich and famous - superficially. If you vote for leaders based on “form over substance”, you get more form than substance in the highest offices in the land.
One might expect that a nation of voters, who have the advantage of access to unlimited sources of information, would use that advantage to make better political choices than in the past. Instead, it seems that the same powerful information technologies, and institutions that employ them, are winning the contest between who gets to define and control “democracy”.
The power corrupts quote by Lord Acton was true in his day and is even more evidently true today when political and economic power dwarfs the powers of the past. Where is the “power of the people” to prevent further corruption? Could a populist Kennedy begin to redirect America’s destiny?
> has a checkered past
What black checker squares does he have, besides the general statism? The little that I know about him suggests that he's pretty squeaky clean - it seems like he's been fighting corruption and wrong-doing (in the environmental and big pharma domain) all his life?
> a strong leader can begin the work to reshape that party
> institutions ... are winning the contest between who gets to define and control “democracy”.
I disagree. I think the mobs are, and always have been, in control. Politicians are just actors, just a "fun" distracting spectacle for the mob's entertainment. They just like to play the victim in a shallow and pathetic and absurd attempt to evade their guilty consciences. The mobs benefit greatly from the current immoralities. Try taking away some of their bribe-money and see how far any institution/leader will last.
> citizens have allowed our economies’ public sectors to expand
Not "allowed", but rather "violently demanded"
> beyond the size, cost and scope of authority that best balances the interests
Obviously they don't want balance, whatever that means :p. (How would you balance the interests of a thief and the thief's victim, and why would you want to :P.) It is in THEIR personal short-term interest to receive the blood-soaked stolen money though.
> Our citizens are responsible for this problem because the majority voted for it.
Yep
> The person who inhabits the Oval Office sits at the centre of a matrix of power and entrenched special interests
Seems like the real center of power lies elsewhere, closer to the heart of Blackrock or the filthy-rich oligarch families, like the Rothschilds etc. That cabal avoids the spotlight (which they also control :p). We all saw how impotent Trump was in that office. Biden is literally a vegetable.
> any one man ... to influence it to any significant extent
Soros and Gates kinda did :P A billion bucks goes a long way. It can be very "persuasive" lol. 2+2=5^{a million dollars under the table}
> a nation of voters, who have the advantage of access to unlimited sources of information, would use that advantage to make better political choices than in the past
They are doing that, and they are being rewarded handsomely. They are impressively steadfastly avoiding the rot in their souls, which IMHO explains all the suicidality and self-destructive behaviours (which includes war, which is essentially a death-wish, a rotten soul finally pleading for justice).
> Where is the “power of the people” to prevent further corruption?
Obviously most people WANT corruption. The anti-corruption anti-people have always existed, always at around ~1%. They're usually called libertarian. Socrates was one. Diogenes another. The mobs did to him exactly as they are doing to Assange, Ulbricht, Trump, Rfk, Malone, Molyneux, etc.
> Could a populist Kennedy begin to redirect America’s destiny?
I've always wondered what "populism" even means. How is it different from "democracy"? Sounds like the typical dishonest/spin that commies do - when democracy goes the wrong way, it's called "populism"? :P
Anyways, nobody can change anyone else. Seems like humanity will just have to wait several more generations for the evil amoral genes to die off. That does seem to be the (painfully slow) trend of evolution - people are (painfully slowly) becoming more rational and less violent. Just think about how much dumber and more eager people were to go to ww1/2.
(Btw, regarding Lex, I keep noticing probable tribal in-group preference :P. Apparently most of his guests (80+%?) were of his tribe, and he seems to be nicer and warmer with them? I sensed a lot of awkward tension in his interview with very-Catholic RFK, which I don't think can be explained any other way. The dude is a literal hero, and a champion of science and Lex's own brand of minarchism/capitalism - yet he was still quite hostile and cold with RFK, the ending was suspiciously curt and cold -- unlike, say, his interview with evil Pfizer Borla, or Michael Malice, or Yaron, etc. (I've also noticed this dynamic with other clashes, like the awkwardly hostile Gordon against Molyneux. Something to keep in mind!))
I don’t believe the “White Hats” , Aliens or Angels will save us. Yes , people with the right ideals (I happen to agree with Kennedy’s stated aims so I call them “right”.) can turn the tide of a nation given the popularity and position (power) to do so.
But...that leads me to ask - “How does a person espousing certain aims gain popularity?” He (or she) correctly reads the fears and desires of the people and utilizes media and public forums to champion them.
The statement “Our citizens are responsible for this problem because the majority voted for it.” Is a strong and prophetic one. We will continue (as long as democracy endures) to influence our leaders as much as they influence us.
I recently read in an email attributed to be from Pierre Pollieve “The PC party continues to be the forerunners of this freedom movement that is sweeping the nation.” I nearly choked on my tea.
Anyhooo...not to compare apples to oranges , or Pollieve to Kennedy but...the way to redirect our destiny is, and always has been, in the hearts of the individual.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”
Grassroots will turn the tide.