John Klar: A devotion to elitism

In her Feb. 3 Vermont House “devotional,” Rep. Mari Cordes, D-Lincoln, chastised Vermont and America for historic, unabated systemic racism and genocide. Our constitutions were condemned, and blatant racist statements stereotyping all white people went unchallenged, in a mockery of the very word “devotion.”

John Klar

Vermont’s guidelines for devotionals state that “a devotional is an inclusive … piece appropriate to the setting and is at most three minutes long,” and that the person offering the devotional “shall refrain from discussing individual political positions, and … respect the diversity of beliefs.”

Representative Cordes’ nearly seven-minute rant was divisive, incendiary and toxic. The question for voters is: will the House correct this vice-signaling legislator?

Vices are what were signaled, not the virtuous notes of character and bravery from which this self-righteous legislator is wholly immune.

In her pathetic, narcissistic pontification, Cordes butchered history, constitutional law, and the beliefs of the very speakers she invoked as authority — namely, Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass.

Cordes declaimed Vermont and white people (at 5:27):

So whether we agree or are aware or not, we are all, myself included, a part of a system of white supremacy that was fundamental to the birth of our constitutional government. If we were born in this country we were born into white supremacy. We have all been acculturated in it.”

That is a political view, certainly not inclusive of those who take exception to rewriting history and distorting facts. This offensive view is also at odds with established Supreme Court rulings that say it is unconstitutional for government to discriminate based on race — any race.

In her repeated calls to “repair” this system of oppression, Cordes cites not specific policy but conquering other white people with “fierce compassion.” This is the common theme of the new “hate not love” racism — it slanders and condemns; it offers racist policies that transfer money from white to black people, without evidence of either a causal connection to past wrongs or to effectiveness of policy. That is, it is rooted in hate and racism, not the altruistic glow that self-infatuates its vice-signalers.

Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King have been abused by Vermont’s uninformed legislator. Neither of them embraced “equality of outcome” as a constitutional or societal standard — both preached in favor of “equalities of opportunity,” which our nation has made great strides in achieving. (This did not stop Cordes from condemning Vermont’s Constitution — “while conditions for slavery still lived in our Vermont Constitution” (at 3:55).

Cordes opportunistically extracted black quotes from King out of context to further her own delusions, at the expense of their lifetimes of study and teaching. That is, she is exploiting Martin Luther King to undermine what he taught. Reading the very speeches she quoted from, we plainly see her ideological distortions.

Cordes’ “inclusive” devotional condemned unity in a way that contrasts sharply with MLK’s appeals for peace, not self-righteousness. Says the sage Cordes (in a silly paean to the “white silence is white violence” crowd):

Unity without the necessary work of repair isn’t justice. Quiet isn’t peace. Calls for unity without accountability are in fact a form of toxic passivity. The belief that no matter how painful or traumatic a situation is we should maintain a positive mindset. This is dismissive of very real trauma which then adds to the trauma.

No, actually, riling black people up to believe they have been the victims of white supremacy and malice, unabated for 250 years — that is what creates an unjustified new fear and trauma, “which then adds to real trauma.” But it is being done here by a sheltered white woman who invokes black men who endured real trauma, and who appealed for the unity and peace she here condemns.

In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, MLK declared:

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. … Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. … With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

It is hard to discern Cordes’ message in King’s words — the very opposite glares: she has taken it upon herself to distrust all white people, unless they bow to her ideology, of course. Even more glaring is the contrast between King’s high-sounding hopes and Cordes’ thinly veiled contempt for fellow Vermonters.

In the MLK speech from which Cordes quoted, Pastor King proclaimed:

This is a type of war that every Christian is involved in. It is a spiritual war. It is a war of ideas. Every true Christian is a fighting pacifist. Peace is not merely the absence of some negative force — war, tension, confusion, but it is the presence of some positive force — justice, goodwill, the power of the kingdom of God. 1) If peace means accepting second-class citizenship, I don’t want it. 2) If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it. 3) If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadening status quo, I don’t want peace. 4) If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated and segregated, I don’t want peace. So in a passive, non-violent manner, we must revolt against this peace. Jesus says in substance, I will not be content until justice, goodwill, brotherhood, love, yes, the Kingdom of God are established upon the earth. This is real peace–a peace embodied with the presence of positive good. The inner peace that comes as a result of doing God’s will.

Now that would have been an appropriate devotional for the Vermont Legislature, without distorting MLK’s teachings and beliefs for the personal political aspirations of a deluded white suburbanite. Vermonters agree with King, that “if peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated and segregated, [we] don’t want peace.” Cordes undertakes to impose those very burdens on white Vermonters, even if they hail from intergenerational lines of farm poverty.

Vermonters are not well-served by the horribly toxic and detached psychological meanderings of elitist whites who believe they have the right to impose their rewrite of our history on fellow white Vermonters. There is no authority in an elected official to denigrate our culture while violating fundamental constitutional precepts.

Representative Cordes “whitewashed” Martin Luther King’s message so as to appropriate it as her own. The original, overtly Christian teachings of MLK:

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

That remains the vision and goal for Vermont. Rep. Cordes used a “devotional” to grandstand her abuse of public trust, abuse of Vermont and its history and abuse of her position as an elected official. But worst, she abused — even tortured — the teachings of a black preacher to serve her personal ideology. Vermont is not systemically racist — to say so reveals an obscene and intolerable contempt for our forebears, and a determination to lie about history.

Wake up, Vermonters. Cordes and her ilk seek to impose their new actual systemic racism in place of MLK’s effort to achieve true equality of opportunity.

John Klar is an attorney and farmer residing in Brookfield, and the former pastor of the First Congregational Church of Westfield. © Copyright True North Reports 2021. All rights reserved.

Image courtesy of state of Vermont

31 thoughts on “John Klar: A devotion to elitism

  1. Interesting that Cordes represents the party of the KKK and Johnson’s Great society
    which has spent 21 trillion on righting the wrongs but has accomplished nothing…

    Perhaps she should look into fixing her parties wrongs in dealing with the black inequities before blaming every white person.. The “D”‘s are the failure in fixing anything and their screaming racist at everyone is their attempt to keep blacks on the voting plantation when so many of them (blacks) are seeing the light…

  2. I’m soo glad I no longer live in Vermont. It’s a beautiful state and the native Vermonters are salt of the earth people. But it was hijacked over 50 years ago by the leftist, liberal, socialist hippies. They invaded the state and welcoming natives, said okay we welcome you. Mistake! But as has happened to other states, being inclusive doesn’t mean You will be included! No, it’s their way or no way! Vermonters, now is the time to be loud, stand up for your state and yourself . The Governor is only a republican in name. Make changes now!

  3. Cordes endorsements: https://www.maricordes.org/endorsements/
    U.S. Senator for Vermont, candidate for President of the U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
    “Mari Cordes leads by example – as a nurse, labor leader, healthcare reform advocate, and environmental activist she has demonstrated an inspiring commitment to building a better Vermont. She is exactly the type of leader needed in Montpelier, one who will tirelessly advocate for the needs of working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.”

    Even ex-Lt Governor Dave Zuckerman endorsed
    Full page: I consider these all a danger to the VT way of life.

  4. Another great expose and commentary Mr. Klar. The elitists posing as our betters of the permanent patrician class of the VT Democrat Party and including other assorted Marxists have become more brazen than ever. Ms Cordes presents as unsufferable bore as well as completely ignorant of the topic, race relations and its history. Extremely limited knowledge and scope revealing supposed knowledge as pure and utter folly. Doesn’t merely twist the truth cannot grasp the concepts period.

    Appears to be confusion re elite vs elitism – elitists perceive selves as elite whether they are or not as status alone defines self – not accomplishment.
    e·lit·ism
    or é·lit·ism (ĭ-lē′tĭz′əm, ā-lē′-)
    n.
    1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their superiority, as in intelligence, social standing, or wealth.
    2.
    a. Behavior arising from or indicative of such a belief.
    b. Control, rule, or domination by the members of an elite.
    https://www.thefreedictionary.com/%c3%a9litist

    e·lite
    or é·lite (ĭ-lēt′, ā-lēt′)
    n. pl. elite or e·lites or élite or é·lites
    1.
    a. A group or class of persons considered to be superior to others because of their intelligence, social standing, or wealth
    https://www.thefreedictionary.com/%C3%A9lite

    Interchangibly defining “elites” as elitists expresses limited view as it is in part based upon self-perception whether they in actuality are specially gifted and defined by behavior IOW its become a mutually-exclusive club:
    American sociologist C. Wright Mills states that the power elite members recognize other members’ mutual exalted position in society.[2] “As a rule, ‘they accept one another, understand one another, marry one another, tend to work, and to think, if not together at least alike’.”[3][4] “It is a well-regulated existence where education plays a critical role. Youthful upper-class members attend prominent preparatory schools, which not only open doors to such elite universities as Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth College, Yale, and Princeton, but also to the universities’ highly exclusive clubs. These memberships in turn pave the way to the prominent social clubs located in all major cities and serving as sites for important business contacts”.[3][5]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite

  5. Here is an e-mail I have sent to Rep. Cordes regarding her Devotional:

    Rep. Cordes:

    In your February 3, 2021 House Devotional you labeled all white people as being part of a system of white supremacy…….You judged people solely based on the color of their skin while giving no notice to character or behavior. You made the type of attack that Dr. Martin Luther King denounced years ago as being wrong and harmful to the advancement of race relations.

    I’m a 78 year old white man. I made my living a banker and in doing so have dealt with thousands of large and small companies throughout New England. Upon finishing my private sector career, I worked for the State of Vermont in the Douglas Administration.

    I have witnessed how the system works. After all of these years working in both the private and public sectors, I am unable to relate to your charges of being part of a system of white supremacy. In the past couple of years, the terms white supremacy and systemic racist have been all to easily tossed around by many and now including you.

    While charges of white supremacy are now common, what is not common are concrete examples of what you and others are talking about when you label people as being part of a system of white supremacy. My guess is that most people don’t even know what white supremacy is or what they have supposedly done to be painted as racists.

    In an attempt to understand what you’re talking about, I looked up the term white supremacy. Here’s Webster’s Dictionary’s definitions of white supremacy:

    1. the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races

    2. the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races.

    You claim that you are part of this system of white supremacy…….So that must mean you believe that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over other races. Additionally, you must believe that our social, economic and political systems are designed to maintain power over other races.

    Is this what you really believe? Do you believe that all white Vermonters and other Americans believe that they are inherently superior to other races and want to dominate them?……If so where are these people and what exactly have they done to warrant your labeling, other than having been born?

    I have never observed any such behavior in all of my working and now retired life. Are there people in our society who hold such believes? Probably so, but they have to be in a very small minority.

    Just as it is harmful for even a small minority to hold racists views, its equally wrong to project the views of a small portion of society to the whole of white society.

    Maybe it’s time to rethink the views you hold on all white people or come up with a comprehensive list of actual incidents and behaviors that support your charges.

    Negatively painting with a broad brush is always a sure way to make a mess and that’s what your Devotional has done

    Rep. Cordes, if you believe it’s wrong to speak out about the harm in judging people based on the color of their skin, your thoughts would be most welcomed.

    This e-mail will be shared with reader’s of truenorthreports.com……If the readers agree or disagree with these thoughts, they can voice their own views.

    Peter Yankowski

    • Thank you…a wonderfully concise response to the illegitimate concept when applied with such a broad brush as she an others do.
      And what does she (they) say to the fact that thousands of white northern young men gave up life and limb to free the slave population? Were those brave and heroic young men white supremists?
      Rep. Mari Cordes has no perspective but a lens that allows no cognitive recognition of truth.

    • Isn’t it funny that all of these Progressive’s heroes were Woodrow Wilson who showed Birth of a Nation with all the Klan guys running around burning crosses in it. Or Margret Sanger the founder of Planned Parenthood who thought blacks were inferior and Margaret Sanger stated, “Colored People are human weeds and they need to be exterminated” The deliberate placement of their clinics in African American neighborhoods has never ceased since the first one in Brooklyn in 1916. Hitler got his ideas from her.

  6. Being that she is a Caucasian female looming large and fierce, she will wield her white privilege with a heavy handed iron fist and ruin this State with the might of a thousand Marxists – enjoy your meadow muffin sandwiches from here on out!

  7. Cordes’ rants are just that. She is but one of many very opinionated but ill-informed members of the Vermont legislature. Were the legislature to appoint a czar of “reality”, she could be a top pick.
    The current fervor over “Systemic racism” is very similar to the religion of “climate change”. based in emotion with very little- but manipulated- fact. She was taught to be a “useful idiot” by others and now she is in a position to blast her diatribe out, in words and legislation. And that legislation is the dangerous part, for all races. We’ve seen it, lived it and as a society paid the price for perhaps well intentioned legislation that backfired as the unintended (and intended) consequences became clear.
    The religion of “systemic racism” looks to do the same.
    As more legislators and citizens become enamored of these backward ideas- and turn to assuage their collective guilt by forcing payments (to whom, for what?) we will sink farther into totalitarianism.
    Perhaps, government is the key holder to the problem. Perhaps legislation intent on rectifying past ills in the 1960’s cemented minorities into the molds they claim oppress them. It may be that LBJ, Ted Kennedy, Robert Byrd and others are the culprits for todays perceived problems. Many think so. It will fall on deaf ears, but Ms. Cordes might want to read Thomas Sowell or Walter E Williams and try her diatribe again. To label every citizen of Vermont guilty of “systemic racism” is nothing more than the rantings of confused and deeply troubled thinking. There should be no place for it under the golden dome- but unfortunately rantings like this are revered in the legislature.

  8. A devotion to elitism is good.
    It has been practiced for millennia
    Without it, we would still be in the DARK AGES

    Elite people flock together at elite universities and other places of intellectual thought.
    They have been doing that for many centuries.

    Invariably, the best ideas and products and services come from these places, including COVID prevention drugs; they definitely do not come from government.

    Elite students become leaders in all parts of society.

    In fact, if you did not go to an elite school, you likely lacked intelligence and inner fortitude.

    Of course, some people get into elite schools because of CONNECTIONS, but those are the very few exceptions.

    Very few intelligent persons, with inner fortitude, are deprived of an elite education, because there is plenty of scholarship money to help the highly intelligent, but with insufficient financial means.

    Most elite schools have about a 50-50 male/female student population, which is encouraged with financial federal grants.

    Online teaching could greatly reduce the cost of education.
    Thousands of enrolled students could remotely watch classes taught by the best teachers.
    Thousands of not-enrolled students, young and old, could silently observe as well.

    Many more students could enroll in private ELHI schools on that basis, which would enable to escape from being entrapped in the government-managed Public School.

  9. So here is my question, why don’t all these ID10T’s just step down from all offices they hold, these WHITE, SYSTEMIC RACIST officials, since they are WHITE and SYSTEMIC RACISTS? I mean if they are serious about it they should not be in positions of any kind of leadership if they are part of the problem because all white people are part of the problem. . .

  10. “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

    – George Orwell

    • Cynical Theories – an excellent book just released by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay – summarizes nicely how we got to where we are. Very briefly, it’s the result of ‘applied postmodernism Theory’, incubated In academia and successfully inculcated into our culture and institutions. This Theory believes that knowledge or truth doesn’t really exist and what we consider knowledge or truth is only socially and culturally constructed: Acquire the powers of ‘language discourse’ and the systems of hierarchy power in society, and hence one is able ‘create’ whatever knowledge or truth of one’s choosing. This book should be widely read as it’s too difficult to fight a war in ignorance or in not understanding your enemy’s tactics and ends.

      • She’s an unkowingly pawn or truly evil, certainly not well read. She cleary doesn’t eve understand the speech she was quoting, nor any education from which the man garnered the wisdom to write such a speech.

        As a state we are the least educated in the latter book, of upon which western society was build. I’m sure she’s well read in the book of radicals. The goals she has are not peace and reconciliation, she aims for hatred and division, she will be praised by the NWO pimps and hailed as a hero with great courage.

        This is a perfect example of why our educational format forced upon teachers and students is utter garbage, suited only for fascist and socialist countries, totally inadequate for free men and women.

  11. Foment of horrid abuse of actual history, of actual constitional law, Of the abuse heaped on our school young and some of our most terribly susceptible adults – that nothing in America is any good, in fact every dam thing in America is horrid and hateful. They can name no one better, they just issue hatreds.

    There is room in our tolerance for a few of these people, but we must not honor their rants or accusations with any regard or acceptance. Facts are their enemy.

    We in Vt. have a wonderful history of liberty for all, and fighting valiantly in many wars to free the oppressed, throughout our fine history.

  12. Cordes is a prime example of what happens when the Word of God and the Constitution are taken out of we the peoples lives! Be not deceived,God will not be mocked,whatever a person sows,that they will reap!! This is exactly what happens when we allow Vermont to be the least Church State in the nation!!

  13. Thank you John Klar for exposing Cordes. While appalling, her remarks are not surprising. Prior to the November 3 election she posted the following on her Facebook page, “If you support tRump (sic) you are a white supremicist. A Nazi”. She was re-elected despite telling the Republicans in her Addison 4 district, (1/3 of the voters in her district voted for Trump and the two Republican women running for State Representative against Cordes), that they were white supremicist Nazis. She was given a pass by the Democrat/Progressive voters in her district for this divisive, insulting and hateful FB post. Hopefully your expose will give them pause if it makes the rounds. Or does she reflect the prevailing attitude of Vermont’s Democrat party? I sure hope not.

  14. I grew up watching the marches that Martin Luther King led, not as a black child, but as a white who was concerned about the injustices that slavery imposed on America. The need for tearing down Jim Crow laws in that hour and opening educational and employment opportunities was great.

    According to WallStreet24/7.com, Vermont now has higher educational attainment among our black residents than among the white. Among black Vermonters 37.0% have at least a bachelor’s degree. Among white Vermonters 35.1%. We should CELEBRATE the improvement in opportunities for the minorities here, not dig to find injustice

    As someone who has worked in 12+ public schools in Vermont for 15+ years, I have never seen black students being treated any different by teachers or peers. My son’s black baseball team member has graduated and is happily engaged in working in and around NASCAR. He received plenty of encouragement and opportunities to grow in leadership skills in our community.

    The best way to bridge prejudices that may linger are not to fan flames of injustice, but to provide opportunities for cultural exchanges and have educational opportunities that give limelight to leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds that encourage unity along with celebrating diversity.

  15. There may be 200-1200 neo-Nazi members in 32 different states. The largest neo-Nazi group in the U.S. is the National Socialist Movement, which is estimated to have 400 members. Regarding the Ku Klux Klan, Wikipedia states the KKK has “between 5,000 and 8,000 members nationwide.” It has that in the 1920s the KKK included about 15 percent of the nation’s eligible population, or about 4–5 million men.
    Today the U.S. is a nation of 323.1 million people. In our republic, if the experts are to be trusted, there exists an estimated 9,200 philosophically committed militant racists. This is .000028 percent of our population.
    In the last century the hearts and minds of an overwhelming majority of Americans have undergone a massive, positive paradigm shift in how we view one another. This is the good news. The bad news is how sad it is to see so many good citizens buying into the media narrative that anyone who has an opposing view is somehow a Nazi or a racist.

    • It isn’t “sad”…………… It is disgusting. This person’s face and crazy eyes are disgusting. It’s long-winded
      and hateful twisted remarks are disgusting. We do not owe silence and should never be silent in the face of such disgusting words.

      -Dennis Morrisseau West Pawlet, VT

    • In Vermont and a growing number of other parts of the country. You can get elected and re-elected to office if you make the followers feel smart, important and morally superior. Race, gender and the environment will get you in.

  16. Has anyone noticed, since let’s say George Bush Sr., the hatred and division has grown more and more? Now, 2 weeks into a new administration, we are talking about locking people up? We just hung and fired a man in public for saying hatred racist words. Will this solve our problem? Will this bring love toward our fellow man? Will ruining somebodies career and putting their family in financial ruin make them more kind? Just asking.

    See all the division and hatred is being programmed, much of it from our little “smart phones”, the greatest propaganda tool ever invented. It’s a pipe line putting dumb ideas directly into brain, feeding one’s narcissisms and pride with rocket fuel. You’ll get little wisdom, science and love from your phone, you’ll have to be searching for some time.

    So the link below is a wonderful man, Daryl Davis. He brought peace between him and the leader of the Klu Klux Klan. Daryl is a black man. In this interview with Joe Rogan, you’ll find how we are being played on both sides of the aisle to hate, we are being fed lies, we are fostering ignorance.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj-4Q416C8w

    They want us fighting family members, calling each other racist, libtard, misogynists among other things. When we feed off and repeat half truths, we are easily manipulated.

    This man also demonstrates how someone in a minority, with no power can have a conversation and win people over. This man, Daryl Davis give the VTGOP perhaps the most excellent example on how to have a conversation with in what has become a socialistic state. This is how we heal, this is how we come together.

    We need to be more loving, less prideful; we need to be more loving and respectful, rather than winning the argument. This will lead us to a more perfect union.

    There are many who don’t want this. Why? Because it makes them money and power, they follow and different book. Daryl was using the right book. TGBTG

    • So this man asks the question,

      How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?

      Now if you are a conservative in Vermont…..wouldn’t this be an excellent question to be able to answer? Same for people on the left!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6FDQ301Q7s

      Organizations the fuel hatred for power or money are not new. In this interview he speaks of the KKK. There are other more powerful, more hateful, more oppressive than the KKK has ever been or dreamed to be. These organizations work within some of our government political parties. These organizations have people fearful, one of the oldest tricks in keeping people under control is telling them the world is going to end, it’s thousands of years old. Of late it has become particularly sophisticated.

      There is so much hatred in our country right now and it’s all fostered and fueled by organizations. If we took politics, the organizations that are fueling this hatred out of our conversations, we’d all pretty much get along. How is it we can get along with everybody………….until the discussion of politics comes up?

      It’s because we’ve made politics our god, our idol, we are so prideful we have all the facts and our neighbor is evil, ignorant and racist because he wore a red hat and voted for Trump.

      What do you put above family? I told my family members, I’m happy to discuss, debate argue about any political item they choose, but I’m not putting it above my love and concern for them. I would rather Love them than try and prove I’m right (prideful).

      We are in interesting times. Don’t be a pawn of hatred.

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