Almost 40 years ago, my first business mentor used to say, “Take the black robes off…” At first I did not know what he meant. Then I realized he was referencing the black robes that judges wear in courtrooms. And that he was humorously preparing me to receive information or guidance that he knew to be what we would call today “politically incorrect.”

Fortunately for me he knew that even if something isn’t comfortable to talk about, or even if it challenges the current wisdom, and acceptance by the general population, that does not mean it should not be talked about. And further, it does not mean that it is not true.

So, I learned to take off the black robes of judgment and just listen. There were many times when emotions would rise up in me as I did so. There were times when I did not want to listen anymore to him, and wanted to walk away. But, a still small voice within me whispered, “he’s right.”

To admit he was right meant I had to be willing to change. As I did, I affirmed for myself that he had in fact been right all along, and thank God had had the courage to tell me what needed to be said. Much of what I know about government, life, and economics I learned during his talks. The truths have stood the test of time. And each opened the door to more analytical research, and more truths.

He was right. And, I was simply ignorant.

It is time for many Americans to take off the black robes of judgment, settle down their emotions, and stop dramatizing their reactions to current events.

Most of us are sick to death of watching destruction, vandalism, and self-righteous pronouncements and disregard for the rule of law. We have had enough. And that includes having enough of the political establishment.

Hiding behind a good and righteous cause, they have all but obscured the validity of that cause by their disrespect at best, and treachery at worst. In the novel “White King and the Doctor” I laid out what I believed was to be a strategy a very real enemy would use against us all. That strategy was this: take America’s strengths and turn them into weaknesses. Take that First Amendment in particular, with all of its 5 Freedoms, and turn each one into something that actually destroys us and our culture.

Further, I laid out that mind control would be used to get us to turn from righteousness to self-righteousness. And, in so doing, all manner of “crimes” can be committed in the name of “righteousness.”

In our self-righteous zeal we are wiping out all remnants of history that don’t conform with one’s current view of the world–albeit a view formed by people who are still living in their parents’ basements, acting like Rip Van Winkles who just woke up. Regrettably, most are only in their 20’s now, and that would have made them toddlers and kindergartners when they went to sleep. Can we really expect the “woke” children to exercise rational thought?

A nation that does not learn from its history is doomed to repeat it. If a nation’s history is obliterated and erased, it is hard to learn from it. That makes repeating it inevitable.

So, wake up, my “woke” countrymen. Stop defacing and vandalizing anything you take exception to. Take off the black robes of judgment that cause you to override the rule of law, usurping the authority of city and state governments, and even more importantly, the rights of your fellow countrymen. End the tyranny of you in your “wokeness” dictating to your fellow Americans what we can and can not think.

I have a proposal for all of you who think you need to erase reminders of the past in order to never feel uncomfortable about the past. Go to Germany. Look the German people in the eye. Tell Chancellor Angela Merkel that she must tear down Dachau, because it just makes you so emotional and upset, and it should not be memorialized–that her nation must not look at its past. Tell the German people that they should not have to look at any reminders of that sad and sordid time. Better yet, tell the people of Israel that.

See how that goes over. But, be sure to visit Dachau yourself and then write an essay on just what it was that the Germans were trying to “wipe out” and obliterate from human history. Please send me those essays when you return. But you must GO to Germany, not do some sophomoric internet research.

And the next time you dare deface monuments in the United States, or throw Molotov Cocktails, or tear down anything in the name of racial justice–or support those acts from the safety of your home–may I humbly suggest you actually learn enough about history to know that Matthias Baldwin was an abolitionist. That Hans Christian Heg was an abolitionist and immigrant who gave his life in the cause of freeing men. That Grant was the Union General that defeated the Confederacy. And that Lincoln was the President who ended slavery–with the help of hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers whose bodies lay in fields across the Eastern seaboard. He was also President of the United States, and he paid the price of his own life to accomplish that emancipation.

Check out who “Uncle Ben” really was before you gleefully relegate him in your “wokeness” to the dustbin of history. Another black entrepreneur bites the dust if you have your way. His name was Gordon L. Harwell. He may have saved the life of your grandfather in World War 2.

And, as you send the Eskimo Pie there for the same reasons, do you actually know anything about the indigenous peoples of the North? When we love a symbol of something, we tend to learn about the history of that thing. We are curious why someone in marketing picked that symbol. I can assure you they did not do it to offend you and turn you off. They know that if you like and admire the symbol, you will want their product. The serendipity is that you also might have intellectual curiosity about the origins of the symbol. May I suggest you take this time to learn about the Eskimos and their two major tribes, languages and art?

No matter our race, I am quite confident we can decide for ourselves who we wish to like or dislike. We do not need to be railroaded and coerced into compliance with the thought process of those who sit in judgment on us all–every day, about everything in our past.

Last recommendation to my “woke” countrymen. I suggest you study the French Revolution, since you seem to despise the outcome of our American Revolution. Hint: It didn’t turn out well for Robespierre.