August 05, 2024
By David Codrea
“Everyone agrees that misinformation is a huge threat…we need to protect ourselves from the insidious effects of misinformation on our views and decision,” The Misinformation Antidote declares. “[B]y learning to identify and focus on accurate information, many of our problems convert from intractable blockers to pathways to progress.” To say that goal seems ambitious, especially considering the sheer amount of deception and mass gaslighting of the public, is a gross understatement. Undeterred, the book’s author, Omniscient Narrator, proceeds to demonstrate how many of the “truths” promulgated by “leaders” in all fields, and amplified by the media, are lies to advance agendas.
“Omniscient Narator”? That’s a literary device that, per Oxford Reference, is “An ‘all-knowing’ kind of narrator very commonly found in works of fiction written as third-person narratives. The omniscient narrator has a full knowledge of the story's events and of the motives and unspoken thoughts of the various characters.” It’s a pseudonym for C. Scott Sunday, “and [the book] is the result of over 50 years of research and resource accumulation,” according to the Amazon.com information page. Who he is, and what his qualifications are to speak authoritatively on such an all-encompassing series of related essays, is left unsaid, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. An ad hominem argument directed toward a person instead of the positions they advocate is a logical fallacy. Sunday’s background is not what’s important, it’s the truth of what he writes, all grounded in an impressive display of solid logic backed by citations from impeccable sources.
This correspondent was equally fascinated with well-researched chapters on evolution and scientific knowledge, and with Sunday’s definitive deconstruction of fascism, demonstrating in their own words that, far from being “far right,” Hitler and Mussolini were both creatures of the collective, and showing Antifa to be that which they project and decry. But with Firearms News being about guns, and about the right of the people to keep and bear them, three chapters are of special interest to this readership, “The Constitution of the United States,” “The True Meaning of the Second Amendment,” and “Mass Shootings in the United States.” Tracing “the unbroken chain of continuity from before the Declaration of Independence, to the Articles of Confederation, to the Constitution itself, and finally to the Bill of Rights,” Sunday shows that words had (and still have) meaning, and that proponents of the so-called “living constitution” aim to repurpose them to advance their undelegated (and thus unrestrained) power.
“There can be no resolution to the issue of ‘gun violence’ or gun ownership in the twenty-first century if neither side incorporates the actual 2nd Amendment meaning, and its purpose, in their position,” Sunday asserts, launching into a comprehensive deconstruction of Justices John Paul Stevens’ and Stephen Breyer’s dissents in District of Columbia v. Heller.
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“It is necessary to reiterate that in substantial respects, the ‘pro’-2nd Amendment cohort’s proposed interpretation and arguments are defective as well,” Sunday argues, “following Justice Scalia’s silly example of how rights are not ‘absolute.’” (Tangentially related, see this correspondent’s “Scalia's Critical Error as the 2nd Amendment Literally Requires Military Weapons Ownership by Citizens.”)
Also of note was the “earth-shattering change” when “the Constitution took the control and power of arming the militia from the States and gave it to the Federal Government.” The results of deliberate indifference to and/or calculated subversion of that power has led to the what Continental Congress delegate Tench Coxe’s warned against: “As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
The chapter on Mass Shootings shows how rare the phenomenon was until relatively recent times, even though the capability to carry them out has existed since the 19th century, and even so, how relatively rare they are today, despite politicians and the media exploiting them to impose gun bans.
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“The answers to these questions are incredibly important to discover what the actual objectives are of those people pushing so-called ‘gun control’ legislation,” Sunday concludes the chapter. With the information and statistics that he provides, readers are better armed to counter lies that do nothing to enhance public safety, but rather, help those telling them gain the political power to inflict even more infringements.
Speaking of statistics, there’s a chapter on “Data and Analytics” that show how “science” is abused to spread misinformation with an emphasis on fraud being perpetrated under the guise of “protecting” against “climate change.” There are comparisons between the Democratic and Republican parties, with a special analysis of the fabricated perceptions regarding civil rights. Sunday includes insightful thoughts on the destructive effects of narcissism, and the importance of finding meaning, and concludes posing an “Optional Exercise: After 100 Years, Has Fascism Finally Won?” We won’t go into those here—the intent is to pique interest to learn more, and you can do that by obtaining a copy of The Misinformation Antidote for yourself. You can do that on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, or print, eBook, or audiobook at BookBaby.com.
About the Author David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. In addition to being a regular featured contributor for Firearms News and AmmoLand Shooting Sports News , he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts onTwitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, we’d love to hear them. Email us at FirearmsNews@Outdoorsg.com .
