If you believe that individual freedom and liberty must be held sacrosanct, Michael Schulte's sociocultural poetic analysis is the book for you. His favorite poem describes the thought process he follows when contemplating trends in Western culture:
Seek truth
with reason your guide
Your conscience
for no allegiance set aside
After two decades in academia, Michael Schulte gathered first-hand experience with cancel culture, trigger warnings, wokeness, and the academic thought police. He's seen victimhood, kindness, and personal feelings consistently garner more consideration than values like courage, honor, personal agency, and the pursuit of excellence. In his eyes, this surprising resurgence of fascism is especially popular among Millennials and Generation Z. He writes:
Coffee shops filled
with caffeine and the Quiet
Like Easter Island heads
living non-meat diets
Why, one could offend
or seem to defend
Soften your keystrokes,
don't start a riot
Formerly, this toxic indoctrination crumbled when graduates entered the 9 to 5 world of work; but such is no longer the case. A coalition of tyranny has blossomed, with academia, corporations, bureaucrats, politicians, and federal law enforcement joining forces. Trust in our institutions has justifiably plummeted. Speech restrictions are being encoded throughout Western culture. Hate speech and hate crime legislation are on the rise. His response:
We call it hate speech,
lest our tenuous psyche splinter
Sheltered, frail, puny
Despite all this, Schulte believes that hope is not unwarranted. Pushback by concerned individuals and organizations is on the rise, and the U.S. Constitution, although under assault, still stands. Readers on both sides of the political aisle can enjoy Libertarian Rants' unique stanzas, decisive voice, and relentless probing that question the fabric of our nation's politics.
