{"id":10333,"date":"2017-06-28T14:58:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T21:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=10333"},"modified":"2017-07-04T23:30:22","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T06:30:22","slug":"10333-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/10333-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

From A Not So Angry Reader:<\/h3>\n

Dr. Hanson:<\/p>\n

I am a frequent listener to the Classicist. After listening to the episode “A Cold Civil War?” I had a few questions. I do not intend\u00a0this to be inflammatory, I simply do not want to make assumptions about your beliefs. First, do you believe\u00a0that approximately three million illegal votes were cast in the 2016 presidential election? Second, do you believe that President Obama was born an American citizen?<\/p>\n

In the show, you mentioned the varicosity of much of the discourse present today.\u00a0 I say this not in an attempt change\u00a0your\u00a0opinions but rather to provide perspective on the root cause. Much of this stems from different world views. Just as you would be outraged by the oppression an ethnic minority because of their ethnicity. Many people today do not see homosexuality as a choice and therefore see discrimination against them in the same vein\u00a0as discrimination based on ethnicity. This lens feels applicable to many issues facing society\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your time.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

John<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply:<\/h3>\n

Dear Not So Angry Reader John Vincent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for your reasoned and subtle critique (and without capital letters, obscenity, exclamation points, dots, and ad hominem invective). I shall answer the questions in the order you asked them:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. I do not know how many illegal voters cast ballots in 2016, but I believe it may have been a considerable number. Neither Trump nor his critics have ever systematically investigated the controversy. The state of California issues over 800,000 driver\u2019s licenses to illegal aliens, and claims that they are separated from citizen licenses that provide an automatic avenue to voting. I wonder. Nearly two million ballots were issues to deceased voters. The voting rolls are not systematically updated and audited. So yes, I believe improper voting occurs all the time; can you explain how in 2012,\u00a059 voting divisions in Philadelphia recorded zero Romney votes. I find that statistically improbable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. I believe that Obama was born a U.S. citizen. But I think rumors grew from the fact that he seems not to have objected later when his publisher issued a publicity booklet claiming that he was born in Kenya, an untruth which Obama might have not objected to given its multicultural resonance. As one who has provided publishers with book bios and audited the published version on over 24 different occasions, I find the excuse that the author was unaware of the publisher\u2019s mistaken bio ludicrous.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. I believe in most cases homosexuality is an inherited trait and biologically determined, though culture and fashion can affect the identity of a small minority who may not feel either consistently female or male. In that sense, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation I think is abjectly wrong and illegal. But that said, I don\u2019t think the current gay political movement is always fueled any longer by a desire to ensure civil rights to homosexuals (that goal has largely been achieved), but rather aims at punishing some, who in private and sometimes for religious reasons, do not feel homosexuality is an inherited trait, but rather a failure of ethics. All Americans are entitled to their private opinions and if they follow the law they should not be forced to conform to a particular world view. I would fight for the rights of a homosexual to be protected under the Constitution and likewise the rights of free expression of the critic of homosexuality who feels that it is a sin. I hope both those views are shared by both gays and non-gays.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Sincerely,<\/p>\n

          Victor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          From A Not So Angry Reader: Dr. Hanson: I am a frequent listener to the Classicist. After listening to the episode “A Cold Civil War?” I had a few questions. I do not intend\u00a0this to be inflammatory, I simply do not want to make assumptions about your beliefs. First, do you believe\u00a0that approximately three million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-2GF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11754,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-04-02-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":0},"title":"Angry Reader 04-02-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Dear Mr. Hanson, though your academic accreditations appear substantial, your view of history seems almost deliberately moronic. I generally don\u2019t like to wade into a debate with an ad hominem; but defending George Bush and his disastrous military policies?? The only rational explanations are intentional distortion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11925,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-7-30-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":1},"title":"Angry Reader 7-30-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Dont worry , no silly greetings for you. Ha ha ha , reading your opinion in Albuquerque Journal made me laugh out loud. Fortunately, I rarely read such Bull Shit. Such crap is beyond belief. Thanks for the Laugh , Darrell Little \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 Dear Angry Reader\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10968,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/02-12-18-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":2},"title":"02\/12\/18 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: I was surprised this morning. Usually when I read your column I want to throw up. But today\u2019s column was absolutely brilliant Nice job Mike Benbrook Oakhurst CA \u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013 Dear Reforming Angry Reader Mike Benbrook, Vomiting is not healthy. If I were to do so each\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11440,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-10-04-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":3},"title":"Angry Reader 10-04-2018","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: it is painful to see or read your columns. I usually ignore them;today\u2019s on Nunes was pathetic. Mr. Hanson,you are a fraud and in a just world you\u2019d be condemned to occupy a spot in that special place down below where it\u2019s always hot... Delusional is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12592,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-08-29-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":4},"title":"Angry Reader 08-29-2020","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: dang dude you\u2019re racist Jacob Kovacs-Goodman ______________________________________________________________________________ Dear Angry Something or Other Jacob Kovacs-Goodman, It is not wise to level an ad hominem charge of racism against someone without producing any evidence whatsoever to support your smear. Somehow your slang \u201cdang dude\u201d rings falsely, more likely\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":362,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":10333,"position":5},"title":"Angry Reader #3","author":"victorhanson","date":"November 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Private Papers Angry Reader #3 writes: I won\u2019t take the time to deconstruct your little essay line by line but trust me, almost everything you post is pure, unadulterated, kool-aid-inspired nonsense straight from the fever-swamp of the Reich-wing disinformation echo-chamber, all of it intended to create\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10347,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10333\/revisions\/10347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}