Common Genius-a book report

Guts, Grit & Common Sense How ordinary people create prosperous societies and how intellectuals make them collapse By Bill Greene This is another powerful book that rips apart history and re-writes from the basis of ordinary people. I came to possess it as a gift from some unknown person. It arrived in the mail from Amazon one day. I never received a bill nor was I able to learn who sent it to me. I would like to think it was from a friend who knew of my writings and wanted to share. The author explores history from long ago and points out how real progress was realized in isolated places where the people were not constrained by harsh government. The real meat is about the rise of America and the stagnant growth in Europe during the same time period. The people leaving Europe found a new land without rules or regulations restricting them from making lives for themselves. After the Revolution freeing America from England and the establishment of the Constitution and in particular the Bill of Rights for the next two hundred plus years America left the old world far behind. All sorts of new ideas generated new opportunities .There were of course difficulties to overcome such as the robber barons in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Teddy did his best to curb them. They exploited labor as much as they could while reaping great fortunes for themselves, not unlike what we are experiencing today. His main theme is that ordinary people left to their own devices can work miracles but when suppressed and controlled they atrophy. He points out how easy it is for people to come under the spell of leaders like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and others who collectively murdered over 100,000,000 people on their way to creating their empires. Eliminating peaceful religion is a necessity. A people without a moral compass are easily swayed. I am, of course, not including Islam as a peaceful religion. He stresses that the growing moral uncertainty, the blurring of right and wrong, and a loss of confidence in the principles that made America the most free and prosperous nation in the world is why we are floundering today with many factions warring with each other and no common ground. There is a vast amount of insight and information to be gained by reading. It will not be easy so be prepared. Jack B. Walters November 8, 2014