Rule of Men v. Rule of Law: Enabling Rule of Men

It looks like this "Rule of Men v. Rule of Law"
discussion must naturally grow into a series of
articles because it deserves further discussion.
This article is not the last in the series, but
the second of many.

Subtitle: Enabling Rule of Men: groupthink as a mechanism

It begins with groupthink replacing individuality
and the healthy self-interest necessary for the
diversity that leads to economic success for a
community. The identified (and often published)
8 characteristics common to all groupthink
societies have been identified as:

1. Illusion of invulnerability
Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking
extreme risks.

2. Collective rationalization
Members discount warnings and do not reconsider
their assumptions.

3. Belief in inherent morality
Members believe in the rightness of their cause and
therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences
of their decisions.

4. Stereotyped views of out-groups
Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses
to conflict seem unnecessary.

5. Direct pressure on dissenters
Members are under pressure not to express arguments
against any of the group’s views.

6. Self-censorship
Doubts and deviations from the perceived group
consensus are not expressed.

7. Illusion of unanimity
The majority view and judgments are assumed to be
unanimous.

8. Self-appointed ‘mindguards’
Members protect the group and the leader from
information that is problematic or contradictory
to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

Here's the current specific example.

Ben Smith posted my first article about "Rule of Men
v. Rule of Law" to the local discussion group known
as Yahoo's IronCountyIndependent. That brought a
person identifying themselves as "Shadowman" out
of a very long period of silent lurking to make
the following posting:

"You know I do believe Bill is fighting a losing
battle here. His FOIA case has been dismissed along
with having the judge removed. By the way here's
the document that is missing from the SC web site."

He posted the wrong file, later corrected by Ben
Smith who posted my copy at:

www.angelfire.com/planet/iron-river/ADM_file_no_2007-01.pdf

To this "Shadowman" replied:

"Sorry for the wrong file. Thanks for posting the
correct one for it kind of blows Bill's argument
that Schwedler is not the judge of record and
should not be hearing his case. Shadow"

And as if it weren't enough, John Faccin was unable
to pass up the opportunity by piping in:

"Hi Shadow,
It’s been a long time, I knew you were reading the
site, we may be of different persuasion, but your
opinion or facts are always welcome here. Good to
hear from you."

(John's posting begs the question, whose opinions
and facts are NOT welcome at the IronCountyIndependent?
That's answered by items 4 and 5 in the list above.)

John is the little pest best ignored. I've included
him in this article to demonstrate how it is that
even the bottom feeders like him fit into the
groupthink/rule-of-men scheme.

But back to the main topic, what we see is "Shadowman"
distracting the readers on IronCountyIndependent by
misleading them to think that the main issue is
Judge Schwedler and the FOIA lawsuit against
John Archocosky. Actually, very few of them have
any idea what that aspect of the discussion is about.
It hasn't been in the news.

This pair of "Shadowman's" short little "humble"
postings are active propaganda demonstrating how items
1 and 2 in the list above work . And when you get right
down to it, this sort of activity is the only reason
for "Shadowman" participating in any way in
IronCountyIndependent, to catch such political items
and to misguide the readers there to believe in the
viewpoints most beneficial to the political crooks in
charge of Iron County politics.

The referenced web page is actually evidence of
wrongdoing by the Michigan Supreme Court. If
you, the reader, is interested in how that could
be, please read Article VI of the Michigan
Constitution. If you're still having a problem
with it, wait a few weeks since the details will
be posted on the newly promised web page.

It is obvious from John Faccin's comments (he can
sometimes be useful despite himself, kind of like
Iron County's own Joe Biden) that "Shadowman" has
not been participating in the discussions for
a long time period. It is thus obvious that
"Shadowman" only comes out of hiding to guide
people's thinking back to what is in his, and
his political cronies interests. That's what
groupthink is all about.

In this community, the original political power
was in the hands of the agents of the mining
interests. And since they held the purse strings,
control of the population was really easy. The
mines did what they always did, control everything
to best maintain the peace, high production, and
maximize profits. Once the resources are all
used up, or the economy changes, they move on.

Once the mines left, those who didn't flee the
region when the mines closed were already accustomed
to being told what to think and what to do. It took
very little for their successors to step in and take
over. It continues through today. "Shadowman" is
enabling the Rule of Men by convincing the readers
to believe that his position is what is best for
them. Needless to say, it isn't.

Here's by far the best part. "Shadowman" and his
political cronies (including John Faccin) are
lining their pockets with your money and working
to promote their personal wealth, while I have
only the politics expressed by the Founding
Fathers as a weapon, and have no personal political
or financial advantage available from expressing my
beliefs.

I do have to wonder why anyone would give any
attention to a ;ocal politician who hides behind
a name like "Shadowman." If he had honest and
honorable intentions, shouldn't he or she be
posting under their own name. Shouldn't that
person be taking credit, in his or her own name,
for all ideas they claim are righteous?

Bill Vajk