Truth For Freedom

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14MriHmMuK5/

I know both of these men personally. I consider a friend. And an acquaintance with whom I’ve shared some special moments with. I have varying levels of respect for both of them for different reasons. I send them both love and positive intent. With that said…

What we all just witnessed was the bursting of a manufactured confidence bubble. An inflation of influence colliding with stone cold reality. This is a perfect metaphor for the fantasy of “meritocracy” that so many people cling to. How many people think DEI works vs how it actually operates.

Let me explain…

The most qualified person in the room (or ring) often has to fight harder, longer, and with fewer margins for error just to reach the same stage, publicity and purse—while someone else arrives early, padded by access, protection, and narrative.

People who build resumes by gaming structural advantages often mistake visibility and attention for mastery.

AJ didn’t get shortcuts. He absorbed losses, rebuilt himself in public, carried the weight of expectation, and still had to prove—again—that he belonged on the largest stage in the world against someone who hasn’t put in the time, doesn’t have the skill, the stamina, strength or the mentality to be in the same room. Even at the peak of AJ’s career, the biggest purse of his life came not against a valued peer, but against someone who benefited from a system willing to confuse spectacle for substance. This is where we are. I like to think this is the first domino falling as a reminder that showmanship is not a substitute for experience and expertise.

The clinging to “meritocracy” in a society historically and currently void of equity is what actually lowers standards. What DEI actually reveals is how long excellence has been forced to “wait its turn” while entitlement cuts the line.

Congrats Champ. Looking forward to you reclaiming all that is yours.

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.

New Jersey becomes the latest Democrat-led state to enact a ban on book bans, joining Illinois and Minnesota. Murphy signed the bill at Princeton’s public library, a short walk from Princeton University’s ivy-draped campus and cast the legislation in the context of Republican-leaning states that have prohibited certain books in recent years.

“It’s the antithesis of all these book banning states that you see,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud to have signed it, but also acknowledge that America — and this is yet another good example — is becoming a patchwork quilt country. It really matters where you live.”

https://apnews.com/article/new-jersey-ban-on-book-bans-269234b5f19dcdbbc21a6cf658b760db?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share