For the first time this election season Ben Carson has surpassed Donald Trump as leading candidate to win the Republican nomination. Listen to Carson speak at debates and he comes across a an very intellectual, well spoken man. Coming from a background as a neurosurgeon, much like Donald Trump, Mr.Carson does not come from a political background and I think this favors him greatly in the minds of America voters. Taken at face value you might view Ben Carson as a levelheaded man, but listen to him for long enough you may find yourself scratching your head in confusion.
I remember coming back from work last year listening to NPR on the radio. Ben Carson came on and proceeded to explain how he believed that the elections of 2016 will not happen because anarchy would ensue and President Obama would declare martial law. Appointing himself as dictator of the USA. To be honest this was not the first time I had heard an assertion like this made. However, before that night I had only heard this come from doomsday prepping conspiracy theorists, not someone trying to become the next President of the United States. If you think this is an absurd notion, it does not end there. Perform a quick google search on “crazy things Ben Carson has said” or something similar and you will find a myriad of results. Below are just a few of the example you will find.
“Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery…and it is in a way, it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government, and it was never about health care, it was about control.”
“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that…..to become president you would have to reject the tenants of Islam.”
“A lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question.”
“No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [the North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in beastiality, it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition. So it’s not something that’s against gays, it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society. It has signifcant ramifications.”
“If you’re gonna have rules for war, you should just have a rule that says no war, other than that, we have to win.”
“I think some people have that (welfare) as a way of life…..perhaps some of the things that are going on right now which could be easily remedied are not being remedied in order to keep the economy depressed because there would be no appetite for many of the social programs if people were doing well.”
“My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain.”
“Obamacare has been even more damaging to the United States than the terrorist attacks of 9/11…Because 9/11 was an isolated incident. Let me explain. Things that are isolated issues as opposed to things that fundamentally change the United States of America and shift power from the people to the government. That is a huge shift.”
“They tell you that there’s a war on women. There is no war on women. There may be a war on what’s inside of women, but there is no war on women in this country.”
“I’ve talked in the past about how the people in Nazi Germany did not agree with Hitler. A lot of them didn’t. But did they stand up? Did they say anything? No, they kept their mouths shut and look at the atrocities that occurred. And some people think something like that can’t happen here but think again. Look at the world and all those examples of tyranny. It can happen here.”
I’ll just respond to these quotes because, imo, it makes sense lol
1)The first one states, when you give government control over your healthcare. You are at their mercy because they have control over your HEALTH. Through their bureaucratic system, they can decide who will get the benefits and who will ultimately suffer.
2) Did you even bother to listen to the context of that statement? It was stated that a “true” muslim cannot be president because his/her belief would be in direct conflict with the constitution. Those who are to be our president need to uphold and place our constitutional values “first.” Muslims believe in shariah law. That in itself causes problems. [ei. Woman’s a subservient and gays are to be killed…]
3) In terms of sexuality, I think it’s fully understood that it’s not “all” choice, but choice does play some role. That statement is not a lie, but fact. To overgeneralize that all gays or straight are purely through decision was not his intent, but the point he argues is that you are making a decision when you choose your orientation (to some degree). The idea is similar to epigenetics – some environmental factor plays a role as well as genetic.
4) He’s not arguing the stripping away the rights that those who are gay deserve, but that the “definition” of marriage shouldn’t be redefined. Example would be, baptism. It’s the act of cleansing your original sin. If you were to take a shower and say, “I’m gonna go through baptism,” you are redefining what the word actually means. His argument is marriage is “the union between a man and a woman.” I don’t agree with him on not allowing gay people to have the term “gay marriage,” but I do see what he’s trying to explain.
5) I don’t quite understand this one… He may just be saying, war has no rule but to win. I wouldn’t agree with that since we do have rules that would spark intervention with the united nations if broken… Maybe someone can help me understand what the message was.
6) This one is clear as day. He’s saying that many people are abusing welfare programs and the reason for the stagnation in workforce is because they would lose the benefits if they were to actually work. The incentive to work is driven away by the freebies you get from welfare. We need a way to help those who are truly hurt in poverty and discern those who are abusing and living off of it.
7) This one is just a way to smear the man. He has his beliefs and you have yours. I don’t think it’s likely used for grain, but I don’t see anything truly disproving it as to this day. We are constantly learning new things and his statement is a plausible idea. Albeit, I think it’s currently unlikely and unsupported. I would say it’s as weird as people who believe aliens exist even though we have no real proof.
8) This goes back to statement “1,” you can speak to any government professor and they can tell you the power the founding fathers gave were intended for the people. When the government has the power to control many aspects of your life, such as health, the power is being shifted. No brainer here, imo.
9) How is this comment hard to understand. If you have a gun, would it be harder for them to take you or kill you? If the answer is, “yes,” that’s his point. He’s not saying it would have stopped the nazi’s but would more options to the people to preserve their way of life.
For a place that is suppose to be non-partisan and informative, I’m slightly disappointed.
Many of his quoted comments are not wacked at all. The one about the pyramids is. Obamacare is a sham,but it is hardly the worst thing that’s happened to America. He is actually mostly right . The author needs to stop overreacting. Nobody is perfect.
Anonymous…. apparently a bunch of high school writers if you ask me. Piss poor writing, and ill-informed. Who even made this site?