Published July 24, 2022
By Michael V. Wilson
In philosophy, in the sub-field of symbolic logic, there is a special symbol that negates whatever it’s in front of. That symbol is the tilde “~”. If you have a proposition labeled “p” and you put a tilde in front of it, “~p” (sometimes verbalized as not-p) it negates “p” and is the negative of “p”; therefore “p” and “~p” are opposites. Because they’re opposites, “p” and “~p” cannot both be true. If one of them is proven to be true, the other one must be false. Contraiwise, if one of them is proven to be false, the other one must be true. You can see this in the truth table below.
This all sounds a bit esoteric but it’s really quite simple. Let’s replace “p” with a simple proposition, “God created the universe in seven days.” The proposition “p” that “God created the universe in seven days” and the proposition “~p” that “God didn’t create the universe in seven days” cannot be both be true. It’s logically impossible.
Either God created the universe or evolution (blind luck) created it and there is no third option because they’re opposites. This means the two propositions cannot be combined in any way, shape, or form. Since the universe demonstrably does exist, the proposition, “God didn’t create the universe in seven days” is the equivalent of saying evolution created the universe over billions of years. Therefore, when some progressive leftist from the Dark Side wants to argue that God used evolution to create the universe over billions of years, he’s trying to say that “p” and “~p” are both true. He’s lying.
If he actually believes his argument, he’s lying and he’s insane.
The same thing holds true in regards to binary sex. There are only two sexes, male (p) and female (~p), and don’t bother bringing up “gender”. Gender is a made-up word, the product of the mental masturbation of a bunch of Freudian psychologists with too much time on their hands. You’re either “p” or “~p” and all the intellectual gymnastics and verbal diarrhea in the world won’t change it. Furthermore, you can’t Texas two-step your way from “p” to “~p” or vice-versa, it can’t be done.
This logic also applies to the leftist credo that there’s no such thing as absolute truth. That statement, in and of itself, is an absolute statement of truth – that there is no absolute truth. In other words, “p” is claiming to be “~p”. It’s self-contradictory.
Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise gave a simple yet wonderful example of this kind of self-contradictory statement during an amusing episode of the original Star Trek series entitled, “I, Mudd”. The Enterprise and its crew had been hijacked by androids and taken to a planet run by a likable scoundrel named Harry Mudd. Mudd informs the crew they’ll be forced to stay on the planet forever while he takes the Enterprise and goes about his merry way. Kirk manages to confuse the main android, Norman, by telling him, “Everything I say is a lie.” This self-contradictory statement is beyond the android’s ability to resolve; it short-circuits and the crew is set free.
Self-contradictory statements are inherently illogical. They are also insane since only logical statements and attitudes that agree with reality can rightly be considered sane. This brings us to the crux of the problem; leftists confidently assert on a regular basis, in self-contradictory statements, on subject after subject, that “p” and “~p” are both true.
There are only two possible explanations for these bizarre assertions; they’re either crazy or they’re evil. Let’s consider the crazy option first.
Over the rainbow they are craaaaa-zy!
A long time ago I drove taxi for about a year and one of my regular passengers was an elderly bag lady named Katarina, who bounced from one homeless shelter to another, and she always claimed President Bush (the first one) had stolen her million dollar check. There was no way to talk her out of it and even trying was liable to provoke a wild screaming fit. None of the other drivers wanted to take the crazy lady so they pushed her off on me because I was the new guy.
Katarina never worried about being crazy though; as far as she was concerned, she was fine. She thought all her problems were President Bush’s fault for stealing her million dollar check.
It’s long been a truism in the field of psychology that crazy people like Katarina don’t know they’re crazy. The very fact of their insanity precludes them from recognizing their condition. They literally can’t help themselves, they’re lost in a fantasy world in their head and are completely incapable of dealing with reality in any kind of coherent fashion. What’s worse, trying to point it out to them or arguing against their propositions invariably results in a wild screaming fit – or violence. This means crazy people are inherently dangerous and must be preemptively restrained for their safety and others.
The bad news is that starting in the 1950’s and 1960’s, mental health hospitals began to be systematically closed due to a trending “desire to desensitize psychiatric patients” and return them to the community in hopes of helping them recover quicker. The results, needless to say, have been less than stellar.
The good news is that only about 5-6% of the American population is dangerously or criminally insane. But if crazy or insane people are such a small minority, what accounts for the recent explosion of craziness and evil in the country?
For that, we have to turn our attention to the evil option.
My name is Legion
The Bible tells of a man who was possessed by so many demons that when Jesus asked his name, they responded, “My name is legion; for we are many.” (Mark 5:9) However, contrary to Flip Wilson’s popular comment, “The devil made me do it,” the devil rarely has to possess anyone to make them do wrong, most people are ready to commit evil all on their own. The reason is simple, people are natural-born sinners.
That’s sure to raise some hackles but it’s no different than the fact that being born in America makes you a natural-born American, whether you like it or not. Similarly, being born in a state of sin, due to a Fallen World bequeathed to us by Adam and Eve, makes you a natural-born sinner, whether you like it or not.
The fact we’re all natural-born sinners makes it easier for people to roll downhill into evil than to struggle uphill to righteousness. Today’s woke culture, with its emphasis on perversion and grievances, has accelerated the trend. This results in evil people who deliberately claim “p” and “~p” are both true, regardless of the subject under discussion. It’s a lie and they know it’s a lie but because evil is baked into them by birth, inclination, and culture, they don’t care. Often times they actually enjoy it, reminding us of the old phrase “hatefully happy.”
Worse than that, evil doesn’t have a natural, built-in stopping point where it grinds to a halt on its own. Instead, it continually escalates, going from name calling to cancel culture to violence to kidnapping, torture, and eventually, murder. Consequently, while crazy people are dangerous because they’re unpredictable, evil people are dangerous because they don’t have any limits. Your life, health, and well being mean nothing to them.
As a result, trying to reason with them or convince them their propositions are wrong is dangerous in and of itself. Their no-limits evil invariably leads them to furious anger, wild screaming fits, and physical violence. They have no other coping mechanisms. Their only method of defense is unrestrained offense.
Become Johnny Appleseed
John Chapman, born in Leominster, Massachusetts on September 26, 1774 became known over the years as Johnny Appleseed for his habit of planting orchards of apple trees all over the frontier so settlers could use them when they arrived. While his legend has been “Disneyified” over the years, the basics of the story are true. However, it takes around 10 years for an apple tree to grow up enough to begin bearing fruit. If Chapman had tended each orchard long enough to see them bear fruit, his results would have been far smaller and much more limited than they were as the result of him planting the seeds and moving on.
The theme of planting seeds and moving on is, in many ways, the essence of the modern Christian method of evangelism.
As we’ve shown in the forgoing, by definition, crazy and/or evil people can’t be reasoned with, so instead of spending hours, days, weeks, and even years trying to convince them of their lost or insane condition, follow Johnny Appleseed’s example; plant the seed of the Gospel and move on. Quit wasting valuable time that could be used to plant other seeds and let the Holy Spirit tend to the seedlings you leave behind. It’s a better use of your energy and frankly, on a practical level, a lot less likely to give you indigestion.
