Edifice of Trust
232 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingThe Edifice of Trust is a podcast that provides discussion and analysis of today’s current events from the perspective of America’s Founding Principles. Based on Enlightenment philosophy as espoused by John Locke and economic freedom as described by Adam Smith, the host, Victor Bolles, provides listeners a path toward understanding current events from these timeless principles. Many Americans believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction, the podcast tries to point out a new course that everyone can support.
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Episodes
The Specter of Nationalism
April 25, 2024 13:00 - 15 minutes - 15.7 MBNationalism is on the rise across the globe – and Yoram Hazony thinks that’s a good thing. Mr. Hazony, Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation is a promoter of national conservatism and rejects the universal values such as the unalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence. In this podcast, the edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the tenets of national conservatism and how it could impact the world around us.
Woke Pathology
April 08, 2024 14:41 - 12 minutes - 12.6 MBAmerican youth are in a mental health crisis. Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide are soaring ever since the introduction of the smart phone as documented by Jonathan Haidt in his new book, The Anxious Generation. Even worse, the pathologies of smart phone addiction mirror the pathologies of a woke ideology that has tightened its grip on American institutions in recent years. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates how this mass psychosis has spread and sh...
Why Slavery?
March 27, 2024 15:52 - 12 minutes - 12.5 MBSlavery has existed throughout human history and prehistory. But why? It all comes down to energy. Ancient humans only had the energy of their own body. The energy of slaves gave the slaveholder more power to do things for the benefit of him and his family. But slavery in America was different. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, explores why there is much less slavery in the modern world and why slavery in America was so different from anywhere else.
They Just Don't Get It
March 15, 2024 13:00 - 11 minutes - 11.5 MBPresident Biden’s State of the Union address was an angry, divisive campaign. He went on to propose massive increases in taxes along with massive increases in spending that combine for a massive deficit of $1.8 trillion. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at how both of the presumptive candidates for president of the United States don’t really understand what America is all about. What really makes America special.
Our Only Hope
February 29, 2024 16:39 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBThe Founders of America thought that democracy was the best tool to secure the blessings of liberty to its citizens. And, although not perfect, our democracy did a pretty good job of doing that while also providing prosperity. But right now America appears to be heading in the wrong direction and democracy does not seem to be helping. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at how to make democracy a better tool to fulfill its intended function – securing liberty.
NO LABELS' Fatal Flaw
February 22, 2024 14:00 - 11 minutes - 12 MBThe No Labels organization is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states for a presidential candidate yet to be named. Such a candidate might be able to save us from another Biden or Trump presidency but will do nothing to save us from the increasing divisiveness and extremism of our mainstream political parties. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles discusses what it will take for No Labels or anyone to get this country back on track.
Ameriphobia
February 13, 2024 15:31 - 11 minutes - 12.4 MBA recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal called the Michigan city of Dearborn a center of jihad and antisemitism. The mayor of Dearborn xed (tweeted) that the article was Islamophobic. The progressive left has changed the meaning of the word phobia and now uses it as a means to deflect criticism and avoid addressing the issues raised in the critique. In this commentary we examine the use of the word phobia as a tool of cancel culture.
Understanding Diversity
February 02, 2024 15:39 - 15 minutes - 15.3 MBA lot of people think that diversity is a good thing. But is it? People have to go out of their way to be diverse. Left to their own, people will self-segregate into groups with other people similar to themselves. Blue collar workers don’t want to hobnob with a bunch of chardonnay sipping, hors d’oeuvre munching intellectuals. They prefer to down a cold one with their buddies over at the bowling alley. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, delves into how diversity can a...
Can DEI Be Saved?
January 26, 2024 16:43 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBRecent commentaries in the Wall Street Journal set forth competing visions on whether Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs can be saved or should be eliminated. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, compares the two viewpoints and draws conclusions on which viewpoint seems more valid.
An Age of Agency
January 22, 2024 17:46 - 12 minutes - 13.3 MBIan Rowe, an educator in the Bronx, writes that developing a sense of agency is essential in liberating poor and minority kids from a dreary future of poverty. More than that, he has been on the streets providing kids with liberating education and teaching them American values for more than a decade. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some of the strategies employed by Mr. Rowe and how we can use them to help our own kids and grandkids.
Urgent Priorities 2024
January 09, 2024 17:46 - 30 minutes - 28.5 MBOnce again, while our so-called political leaders are completely absorbed by their campaigns for reelection, they ignore the urgent national priorities that need to be addressed, or worse, use those issues as political levers to galvanize their base at the expense of the American people. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, victor Bolles, revisits those priorities that have become even more urgent as we enter a tumultuous election year.
Mislabeled
December 15, 2023 15:42 - 14 minutes - 14.2 MBhow mislabeling political beliefs and governmental policies creates confusion and contributes to the divisiveness wracking our country.
The Attraction of Victimhood
December 07, 2023 15:49 - 12 minutes - 12.6 MBWhy do so many people in America identify as victims, the victims of an oppressive system? What is the source of this feeling? Why do so many people believe that they have no ability to live their lives as they see fit but look to the power of government to solve their problems? In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the root causes of this spreading syndrome which runs against the most essential of American values – agency.
Dr. - not Mr. - Spock
December 01, 2023 16:58 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBScientific inquiry is the process where we learn more and more about our universe through experimentation to support or disprove our theories. But increasingly, we are asked to make drastic, expensive and irreversible decisions based on a consensus of scientists as if there were no more need for further inquiry or experimentation. In this commentary we discuss how political activists assert that the science behind their progressive policies is “settled” by which they mean unassailable and no...
War in the Levant
November 15, 2023 18:24 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBIf you call the swath of land east of the Mediterranean Sea the Levant instead of Israel and Palestine, you can see the recent conflicts in the region with a new perspective. The part of the Levant that is now Israel was settled by Jewish refugees from Europe who defeated Arab Muslims in the region that had defeated the Roman Byzantines who had defeated the Judeans who had defeated….I think you get the idea. In this commentary we look at the Israeli/Hamas war from a different perspective.
The Slippery Slope of Fairness
November 06, 2023 14:00 - 26 minutes - 23.6 MBPoliticians are always promoting new laws and government programs to make things more fair. But fairness is not a good standard on which to base laws and programs because fairness is subjective and different people have different, and often completely opposite, ideas on what is fair. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, discusses an alternative standard that can unite people who have different concepts of what constitutes fairness.
Making Sense of Irrational War
October 24, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBTo our Western minds the horrific attack on Israel by the Hamas terror group was irrational and incomprehensible. But even more irrational and incomprehensible have been the protests in support of the genocide espoused by Hamas across Europe and America. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, victor Bolles, looks at the ideology willing to support an attempt to wipe an entire nation from the face of the Earth.
Shared Values and Common Goals Part One
October 17, 2023 17:31 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBAmerica has not been this divided since the Civil War. But poll after poll show that Americans left, right and center share many of the same values. So what is driving us apart. It is in the narrow self-interest of our political leaders to drive us apart for their political advantage. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles takes a closer look at the ubiquitous nature of self-interest and how it affects our lives.
Deficit of Hope
October 11, 2023 13:57 - 12 minutes - 10.9 MBFrom the dark days and widespread pessimism of the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s optimistic speeches gave American reason to hope for a better future. We are again living in dark days but today’s politicians give us little reason to hope for a better future. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles examines how today’s politicians are not leading the American people to a better future.
Numbers Guy
September 22, 2023 13:57 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBIs America suffering from a plague of psychic epidemics? Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote that man has no adequate protection from psychic epidemics which can be more devastating than anything in nature. The divisive nature of American politics is creating psychic epidemics on both the left and the right that will even more devastating than Dr. Jung predicted. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates some of the psychology behind the rage that is consuming Ame...
BILLIONAIRES SHOULD NOT EXIST
September 12, 2023 16:25 - 12 minutes - 11.9 MBClimate activists, parroting Bernie Sanders, hold up signs declaring “BILLIONAIRES SHOULD NOT EXIST” to justify vandalizing the property of rich people. But if billionaires did not exist we would be lacking many of the modern products and services we have come to rely on, like smart phones, flat panel televisions and lens replacement surgeries. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at why the progressive left does not understand the role billionaires play in a free m...
Peak China?
September 08, 2023 14:32 - 13 minutes - 13.2 MBHas China reached its peak of economic power as many talking heads and think tank fellows are writing and podcasting about? The reality doesn’t matter, only the perception of strength or weakness matters, and how that affects the thinking of Xi Jinping. And if President Xi believes that China has reached its economic peak, the countdown to confrontation with the West has begun. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates reports that China has reached a crossroad a...
Our Precarious Liberty
September 01, 2023 15:20 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBThe Declaration of Independence states that we all are endowed with the right to pursue happiness and the things that make us happy are usually in our self-interest. Government often makes policies that are supposed to serve the common good but that do not match the self-interest of everyone. It is not easy to find the correct balance between the common good and the liberties of citizens. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at the current policies of our government...
Surviving in a Multipolar World
August 22, 2023 14:57 - 12 minutes - 12.5 MBThe world is changing, and if you are one of the billions of people who have benefitted from the Western rules-based world order, not in a good way. Change, of course, is inevitable. But countries that hope to survive in changing conditions, and possibly even thrive, need to prepare for a future that is not yet clear. But even as the world changes, the US seems distracted by divisive domestic issues that often seem trivial. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, reviews how...
Ukraine Model
August 08, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 14.1 MBMany foreign policy experts have been recommending the armistice between North and South Korea as a model for the resolution of the war on Ukraine. The circumstances of these two conflicts are very different. The seventy years of relative peace on the Korean Peninsula has allowed South Korea to prosper but has required a continuing military commitment to South Korea by the United States to preserve that peace. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles discusses whether the Un...
This Is How They Think
July 27, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 8.81 MBA recent open letter from some leftist college professors urges President Biden to defy the recent Supreme Court decisions. The letter not only exposes how the progressive left views the US Constitution as an impediment to the implementation of their woke agenda, it also reveals what they really think about the American people. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will reveal their plans and show how they really think.
Whither Europe?
July 25, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 9.65 MBThe welfare state was invented by German Chancellor Bismarck to placate the masses while he created an industrial empire to dominate Europe. The industrial empire envisioned by Bismarck has passed away but the welfare state remains. The never-ending welfare state is slowly debilitating Europe hastening its decline into irrelevance. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at some of the problems facing Europe and how these problems could also afflict America.
RINOS and DINOS
July 17, 2023 13:00 - 9 minutes - 9.62 MBI really like Joe. I thought he would have made a good Vice President. What? No, I am not talking about Joe Biden. I am talking about Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1989 but when the Democratic Party in Connecticut wanted to go further left, Joe Lieberman ran as an independent defeating the Democratic candidate and retaining his seat in the Senate. But as the Democratic Party veers even further left and Republicans veer to the right, Joe is thinking th...
The Wrong Way to Make Law
July 10, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBThe left is mad at the Supreme Court. They are mad because the Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is refusing to endorse the social justice policies that have been imposed on the American public through executive orders, administrative policies and even faulty opinions of previous courts – all without the benefit of having been made law by our elected officials in Congress. They view the Court’s decisions as politically based rather than based on the Constitution. In this podcast, the Edi...
The Difference between Lying and Delusion
June 29, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBRussian President Putin has a deluded vision of a Russian-led Eurasian civilization of which Ukraine is an integral part, justifying his invasion of that country. He lies a lot but it is hard to tell his lies from his delusion. But Putin is not alone. Many leaders around the world also suffer from delusions – and that includes in America. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, investigates the difference between lying and delusion and the impact those delusions may have on...
Postmodern Prehistory
June 12, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 12.8 MBIn their recent book, The Dawn of Everything, Authors David Graeber and David Wengrow attempt to redefine human prehistory through the lens of their progressive left ideology using the analytical techniques of postmodern philosophy. Using narratives, feelings and a lot of guesswork they attempt to show that human can create complex societies without income or social inequality or hierarchy. The book was well received by many left-leaning periodicals. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host...
War of Attrition
May 22, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 10.8 MBHistorian Stephen Kotkin asserts that the War on Ukraine has evolved into a war of attrition. He further asserts that two key elements to continue such a war are the ability to resupply the unceasing casualties and the depletion of military equipment and munitions backed by the willpower to continue the fight. The Ukrainians are willing to fight but the essential willpower is not Ukraine’s but America’s. Now some Republicans are showing an unwillingness to support Ukraine’s struggle. In this ...
Vivek Who???
May 08, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 10.8 MBWho is Vivek Ramaswamy? When Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States everyone (including me) said, “Who the heck is Vivek Ramaswamy?” Since that announcement, Mr. Ramaswamy has been writing position papers and appearing with the Sunday morning talking heads in order to become better known. But he still has a long way to go. In this podcast, The Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, tries to understand a little bit more about hi...
A Postmodern Future
April 27, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 10.4 MBThe bizarre and previously fringe philosophy that is postmodernism has become mainstream among US academics as the principal Counter-Enlightenment school of thought. It is the philosophical underpinning of the woke ideology that has infected the American left. But while postmodernism can be effective in pointing out the past transgressions of Western Civilization, it has little to offer for the future. Most progressive activists of woke ideology would like to keep that future vague. In this p...
Ideological Justice
April 13, 2023 13:00 - 12 minutes - 11 MBThe progressive left has long desired that the US judicial system become more activist in promoting their progressive agenda unconstrained by an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution. They want the courts to forge ahead on abortion rights, gun control and many other controversial issues due to the inability of Congress pass meaningful legislation on these issues. But such actions would essentially give the courts the power to enact legislation as was the case in Roe v. Wade, but t...
Explaining John Wayne
March 31, 2023 15:44 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBTo kids growing up in the 1950s, John Wayne was the symbol of what those kids should grow up to be. A bit gruff, but honest. Fierce, but protective of those in need. And from westerns to war movies, he represented what it was to be a patriotic American. But today’s kids don’t know who John Wayne was and they don’t aspire to be patriots either according to a poll by the Wall Street Journal. Why not? Was it Covid? Was it Trump. Or maybe it was “woke” ideology. In this the Edifice of Trust host,...
Perp Walk
March 23, 2023 19:04 - 12 minutes - 9.64 MBIs Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg trying to indict former President Trump in order to incarcerate him or to assure that he becomes the presidential candidate for the Republican Party? And what is going through the mind of the former president as he announces on social media is coming arrest and arraignment calling on his loyal followers to protest, protest, protest. In this Podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, analyzes the impact of the former president’s legal woes and what it means ...
Two Decades
March 17, 2023 13:00 - 15 minutes - 15.5 MBWhere will we all be in two decades? A better question is where should we be in two decades? Seventy percent of American think we are heading in the wrong direction. But what is the right direction? We need to think about where we want to be in twenty years in order to determine what direction to go. And then we need to start going in that direction - starting now. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, ponders these important questions and tries to discover some answers t...
The Fed that Should Be
March 08, 2023 16:00 - 13 minutes - 14.5 MBThe Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System have been put in charge of running the US economy. But it shouldn’t be this way. The Fed wasn’t created to run the economy, but only to manage a small part of the economy. The Fed has the tools and the expertise to manage the money and the interbank interest rate in order to assure the stability of the financial system. Beyond that it lacks the powers and expertise to run an entire economy. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor...
Democracy is not a Verb
February 28, 2023 16:21 - 12 minutes - 12.6 MBYale professor Timothy Snyder recently did a Ted Talk where he asserted that democracy should be a verb, something that you do. He asserts, “democracy has to be understood as a spirit.” He appears to believe that the more democracy the better. Then why did the Founders include limitations on democracy in the Constitution? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, examines what Professor Snyder asserted in his Ted Talk and investigates why the Founders had their doubts about de...
A Color Blurred Society
February 17, 2023 14:59 - 9 minutes - 10.8 MBDespite heightened rhetoric about systemic racism and arguments about disparate outcomes, everybody from ordinary people to superstar quarterbacks are the blurring the lines that define racial and ethnic identity. There is a growing disparity between the world defined by diversity, equity and inclusion activists and the one we see around us. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at the changing demographics of America and discusses how that affects the conversation ...
The Junzi Way
February 13, 2023 15:29 - 15 minutes - 16.9 MBLee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 until 1990 incorporated the concept of junzi, the Confucian ideal of being a moral person, as a key element in his plan to raise Singapore from a swampy, corrupt backwater into a modern metropolis. Henry Kissinger describes how Mr. Lee accomplished this feat in his recent book on leadership. Twenty-first century America has a lot to learn from Mr. Lee’s accomplishments because we seem to have forgotten how we became rich and powerful oursel...
Can Artificial Intelligence Cure Healthcare?
January 30, 2023 15:51 - 12 minutes - 13.9 MBHealthcare in the United States is a mess. And it is a mess because of people. Different people want different things. And powerful people and the institutions they lead have the ability to enact policies that primarily benefit themselves. All these different people and different policies have resulted in a healthcare system that is costly and inefficient and doesn’t serve anyone very well. But maybe we can take people out of healthcare policy. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Vict...
Non-Trivial Pursuits
January 24, 2023 14:05 - 12 minutes - 13.9 MBGotchas, paybacks and vendettas do not make for a legislative agenda. They may appeal to the Freedom Caucus, but most Americans want Congress to address the important issues that affect their lives. Not raising the debt ceiling is another act of political theater that will not solve our public debt problem but only compound it. Speaker McCarthy needs to develop a plan to address perpetual deficits and unsustainable levels of public debt. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Boll...
Urgent Priorities 2023
January 12, 2023 16:57 - 30 minutes - 32.7 MBLast year I published a podcast (Urgent Priorities, December 30, 2021) on the urgent priorities that America had to confront in the year 2022. Since many of those priorities were addressed very ineffectively or were not addressed at all, I was tempted to simply republish that commentary again this year. But the world is dynamic, and conditions change so I felt that America’s urgent priorities had to be updated to reflect those changes. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles...
Wakanda Dreamin'
December 27, 2022 14:00 - 11 minutes - 12.5 MBOn a recent podcast, professors Glenn Loury and John McWhorter were discussing how slaveowners had used techniques to break a slave’s bond to their past (their history, their language, their religion, their culture) to make them easier to control and dependent on the slaveowner - a process called natal alienation. But this process seems very similar to the role of the government in the modern welfare state, replacing familial and community bonds with the tendrils of state control. In this pod...
The Real Message of Welfare
December 07, 2022 17:27 - 11 minutes - 12.9 MBMany people may need public assistance from time to time but the structure of the American welfare state encourages behaviors that perpetuate impoverishment and increase the need for taxpayer paid welfare. The only beneficiaries of the US welfare state are the politicians, the welfare administrators and their union. The poor remain poor. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at the impact of the welfare state on poor people and how government programs make sure they ...
Conservatism is not Enough
December 01, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 13.9 MBLabels can be confusing, especially when they keep changing. They are more like brand names than descriptors of political philosophy. When a candidate says “I am a strong conservative” or “I am very liberal” it is hard to tell what they really stand for. But they need to stand for something. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles investigates the differences between labels and principles.
Don't Twerk on My Parade
November 23, 2022 16:13 - 10 minutes - 10.9 MBCultural changes have come to Central Texas in the form of competing Christmas/Holiday parades in the rural town of Taylor. Change is inevitable but not all change is good. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some ways that the people of Taylor can manage the impact of demographic, technological and cultural change.
Toxic Magic and the Red Ripple
November 11, 2022 18:07 - 8 minutes - 9.81 MBAn endorsement from former President Donald Trump was magic for his chosen candidates in the Republican primaries, but the results of the 2022 mid-term elections have shown that his endorsements are toxic in the general election. Mr. Trump plans to make a major announcement on November 15th that is widely expected to affirm his candidacy for president in 2024. He can probably win the nomination with the support of his base, but his run for a second term is doomed to fail and is likely to drag...