Books: What's With America's Love Affair With Self-Denial

Does white America suffer from an identity problem? Joel Godfrey Johnson asks some interesting questions in "Wake Up America." Our question is, is he a brave thinker, or are his ideas suspect?

Why do people who claim to celebrate diversity not deal with it in their lives? Why do people who have obvious problems with themselves claim to know the answers to everyone else's? Why do people claim they don't see color when they look at an individual, yet they openly talk about people in reference to their color? And lastly, why is it that so many seem so concerned with the downtrodden of the world when in reality they only associate with people of economic or educational privilege?

Because, according to Joel Godfrey Johnson, author of the newly released book Wake Up America! A Nation That Hates Itself Will Not Survive, every person under the sun and then some in this beautiful nation of ours is currently under some form of a pixie spell when it comes to dealing with their reality. People have relationship problems and refuse to admit their part in them, children have identity issues plus behavior problems and parents just shrug it off, and our fearless leaders cower over all to claim how they actually care about the people and then they call everyone a coward for not supporting pointless wars for America's supposed benefit. They are all in self-denial, and that seems to be the trend of the day regardless of class, gender and political affiliation, how silly all of our lives have become because of this.

"We have been tainted," according to Johnson, and it's not natural in the least for human beings to deny reality. So why are we denying it? We seem to have an identity problem and to Johnson, addressing the roots to this problem are not allowed, for if we do that we could lose our jobs, our livelihoods and our friends. The Man behind the curtain must not be disturbed.

Joel contends that the self-denial factor begins with our education in school. School has become political where "Debates are practically staged, objective thought is punished and anything that pertains to a normal American identity will be knocked, insulted and ridiculed." So people begin to deny who they are, what they really think and why they think these ways. He also contends that, "They have altered history to meet their agenda and have force fed us to believe in it by not offering or accepting any form of countering argument through their offensive intolerance of objective thought."

It seems Johnson feels that we are at a point where the freedom of speech is on the line. And we are denying it, because many aren't even aware of it. He has a very clear way of viewing the world and pretty much tells us that we've been lied to about almost everything we've learned to accept. To him history courses have been skewed, yet we're not aware of it, race exists, yet we're punished for acknowledging this, not everyone makes a good immigrant, yet we're defamed for believing this, and finally, our schools are just as for profit as any of our big businesses, yet we're conveniently not taught this.

To Joel, it seems there is but a house of cards holding up a fragile system that relies on hate and negativity to prosper. He feels idealism coupled with Socialist historical perspectives are designed to keep people in the dark, keep us resentful towards one another and punish us for thinking outside of their homogenous box. "With today's political agendas wrapped in half of our children's lessons, one will normally find nothing short of bigots and racists rabidly rapping and killing anyone who looked different from their white selves. Counter to what many lazy uninformed people teach nowadays, our ancestors were in fact not these people at all." Yet because of all the misinformation and victim mentalities taught, "There are fights that go undisciplined, harassments that never end, and teachers that won't question the reality of division caused by their utopian anti-white textbooks." Yes, Johnson claims Socialism is anti-white and anti-Christian when you look at its roots and its results, and he also claims if people don't accept its ever approaching intolerance, all Americans, regardless of race, will eventually be punished by the incredulous bureaucratic monster it creates. According to Joel, self-denial in a sense is safety. Johnson walks the line of taboo and does it unabashedly. His book really does make you wonder about what the truth really is and why so many fear its ramifications.

Wake Up America! A Nation That Hates Itself Will Not Survive! can be ordered from Rasmus Shire Press, PO Box 6004 Minneapolis, MN 55406

Joel Godfrey Johnson is from inner-city Minneapolis and a product of its public school systems. He grew up in black neighborhoods and white, he has dealt with diversity on all levels. His book was written after many years of searching for the truth and trying out different ideologies for life that always seemed at odds with productive results. He has dined with Marxists, he has lived amongst the poor of the world and he has had life fulfilling experiences with all shades of right wingers and left wingers alike. He has also studied several topics related to the American identity, history, human psychology, ethnic diversity and evolutionary biology. He has a degree in Linguistics and owns a successful business operating out of Minnesota. He is happily married.

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