Readers Respond: Mail Bag!

Written By Briton Ryle

Posted August 16, 2017

So, I knew I was taking on a sensitive topic in Monday’s Wealth Daily article, “Is the Constitution Wrong?” It may surprise you, but these kinds of articles can really get some people’s hackles up. And it wasn’t just people pointing out that the phrase “all men are created equal” comes from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution, either…

Today, I thought I’d share some of your comments. And I also want to say that I am very impressed with the thoughtfulness that so many Wealth Daily readers showed in their responses. It is an honor to engage in a discussion with you. 

If your honesty as a stock picker is any reflection of your honesty that shows in this article than you are truly a man to be read. I was impressed that you also did some home work

— Keith M.

Thanks, Keith, I do my best. 

If Democrats want to remove Confederate Flags, statues and History of their own party….Go for it.   All the more reason to be a Republican for sure.  Democrats fighting Democrats…about time…but we need to educate them that it is their own party they are fighting against.   The party of the KKK, Jim Crow, Civil Rights Bill’s filibusters, Slavery, racial inequality, racial demagoguery, class warfare etc etc…all Democrats, all from the LEFT !!!

— Ryan P.

Ryan, it’s not about Dem/GOP. South Carolina’s Republican governor Nikki Haley was the first to take down the Confederate flag. I’d prefer political parties stick to policy differences. No reason to disagree on equality, civil rights, and the rule of law.

The National Cathedral should then remove the windows of Robert E Lee and leave them out. The Curtis-Lee Mansion at Arlington National Cemetery should be burnt down, not rebuilt, but left in a rubble mess. Maybe we should just eliminate all of the southern states, blow them off the map since southern is equal to racism. There”s also a statue of Lee at West Point that should be removed. Washington, Jefferson and many more owned slaves, let’s remove them.  Let’s just remove everything that is offensive to everyone. Let’s remove, women, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Eskimos,  babies, the color fuscia, everything….because for some reason we have become a society that is offended by everything. But we won’t remove you white boy…how does it feel to have grown up to become a giant clam?

— Molly K.

Hmmm, do you go off the deep end much, Molly? Seriously, though, I do understand that once you start down the politically correct road, it’s tough to know when to stop. And I don’t have any answers for that. Still, I stand by my opinion on this particular matter. 

Briton Ryle,  thank God for morally courageous  Southern men, You are a credit ,to the beautiful South !!!!!

— Richard D.

I don’t know how courageous I am for a simple article, but thanks just the same.

I doubt your parents would agree with your assessment all you write about is critical correctness get a life

— Mike B.

It always amazes me, the degree to which people expect that others think like they do. Case in point: Mike thinks he knows how my parents think, that they must support the symbols of the Confederacy and white supremacy because, what, they’re an older generation? Sorry, Mike, they don’t. In fact, they shaped my views on race and equality, and I thank them for it. 

Sorry! Alexander Stevens was correct!

— Melvin C.

Well, there you have it. Melvin C., ladies and gentlemen. 

Wrong, General Lee’s statue should stay up, he was one of the greatest battlefield commanders in US history.  Your assumption that all Confederates were racists is wrong, that’s simply not true, not true.  You are wrong about this.  Yes there were racists and there still are but not all.  Most southerners did not own slaves, that was usually only for the rich elite.  The common southerner who fought in the civil war was just simply a patriot to his country which was decided by someone else.  Just because someone fought for the Confederacy doesn’t mean he was a racist. And no, the Constitution is not wrong.

— Wayne 

Wayne points out exactly why it’s such a complex issue. I never said that Lee and Confederate soldiers were racist. Only that they fought for a racist cause. For the soldiers, theirs was not to wonder why…

Unadulterated wrong imbecile….This country is being lost by those who founded it with their brains washed by zionist  supremacist jews…now their masters…

— Rodolfo N.

Yep, if it’s not African Americans, or Hispanics, it must be the Jews. Your brain has been poisoned, Rodolfo.

While I tend to agree with the concept of not having government institutions display the Confederate Flag I do not agree with your conclusions. I agree with you that Alexander Stephens was an ignorant racist. Anything that might honor him should be removed. However, just because someone lived in and fought for the Confederacy did not and does not mean he or she was racist. I am quite sure there were blacks fought and died for the South too.

Were Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, and Stonewall Jackson all racist? I don’t know. From my knowledge of history, and I’m not a history buff, Lee probably was not and I don’t have a clue about Stuart and Jackson. If they were racist, promoting slavery THEN I agree with you that they should not be honored. I believe research on that part of history is necessary before all of history is removed from public display. IF these men were hateful people like Stephens or Hitler, then anything honoring them should be removed, but only then. 

I would greatly appreciate that you reconsider what you said and modify your thoughts in print for all of your viewers. Or, add historical confirmation that these men were racist and gain my full support. I realize my support won’t make or break your day.Thank you for your time,

— Adrian R.

Adrian, you get to the subtlety of this issue, and I freely admit that I don’t know where to draw line. But I will ask: If you lead the fight to preserve a racist institution, can you then say you’re not racist? That you were just following orders?

Brit, I hear and understand your informed view on the symbols of the Confederacy. I am a Northerner, far to the left of Karl Marx. 
That said, I am a devotee of the the Spanish author, poet and Renaissance Man George Satayana, who famously said, “Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.” When we ban speech, any speech — oral, visual, pictorial, performance or otherwise — we are playing into the hands of tyranny. The solution to painful speech is more and better speech. Unless we are taught and learn the lessons of our own history, we will devolve into a nation of ignorants. Banning speech — any speech except hate speech and inherently dangerous utterances (e.g., falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theater) — is the beginning of the path to tyranny. The First Amendment of the Constitution is the sword and the shield of our Liberty. In solidarity, and with a hope and a prayer that all of our fellow citizens find their way to meaningful dialogue, I am a concerned and active citizen,

— Michele W.

Yes, Michele, we mustn’t forget our history or encroach on free speech. Plus, as a capitalist, I will say that there is a market-based solution here, too. What happens to a business that engages in offensive and hateful speech? It will lose customers.

Just yesterday, Wal-Mart’s CEO came out on this issue. And while he seemed sincere enough, there’s no doubt he knows who his customers are and has an idea of what they want to hear.

In addition, if you owned a business and one of your employees liked to march around on weekends wearing a swastika, how long would he/she have a job? Free speech, yes, absolutely, but it can have consequences.

Until next time,

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Briton Ryle

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A 21-year veteran of the newsletter business, Briton Ryle is the editor of The Wealth Advisory income stock newsletter, with a focus on top-quality dividend growth stocks and REITs. Briton also manages the Real Income Trader advisory service, where his readers take regular cash payouts using a low-risk covered call option strategy. He is also the managing editor of the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Briton, click here.

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