Confucius Never Said, by Helen Raleigh (2014) is a MUST-READ for those interested in an eye-opening book on cultures, society, sacrifice, values, immigration, freedom, opportunity, success, appreciation, families, the American Dream, and more.

"A four-generation family journey from repression and poverty to freedom and prosperity."
Originally Posted by Confucius Never Said, back cover
My great-grandfather...
My grandfather...
My father...
I grew up in China and immigrated to the United States. I sought freedom and the American Dream, and I found both... only to witness my fellow Americans throwing their freedom away with both hands.
The concept of Americans throwing their freedom away reminds me of this old post discussing the irony of the 2 meanings of FREE (as they are at odds with each other): free meaning without cost at point of service -vs- free meaning having personal liberty. It seems that many people are interested in giving up BEING free in order to GET something for free.

Originally Posted by Confucius Never Said, pp 93-94
totalitarian worldview... "We recognize nothing private."
...
they want absolute control, and the only way to gain that is to control people's intimate thoughts and behaviors.
...
no regard for people's right to privacy, because there is no "individual" in communism. The regime accomplished the invasion of privacy by enforcing conformity in every aspect of people's lives... Everything was designed to replace individual choices with the government-sanctioned collective way of living and thinking. "Conscience was no longer a private matter but one of state administration."
...
One way to fight back is to think independently. It takes tremendous courage to be an independent thinker.
...
Why is privacy important to a free man? ... Having privacy is part of being human: We are entitled to keep our own intimate thoughts and deeds from outside world invasion ... Without privacy protection, people will feel their personhoods being threatened and they will censor their thoughts and expressions.

This book encourages thinking and connecting the dots.
- In light of this passage, consider where we are headed with the data collection on students in US public schools, ushered in by Common Core.
- data collection is used to force equal outcomes
- The forced uniformity reminds me of this old post on collectivism.