Like his father, Doug DeVos wants us all to just Believe: A member of the Grand Rapids Power Structure and his Podcast

In early December, Doug DeVos, the head of Amway and RDV Corp, announced that he was going to host a podcast. The name of the podcast would be called Believe!

Calling his podcast Believe! Is a nod to his deceased father who wrote a book by the same title in 1975. Richard DeVos Sr. wrote Believe!, according to the publishers blurb, “as a fresh and much-needed reaffirmation of the tried and true traditional values that can make you the success you want to be.” The tried and true traditional values of which the DeVos patriarch spoke of was his brand of Conservative Christianity and a deep belief in the system of free market Capitalism.

The DeVos belief in Capitalism has worked out well for the family, initially with the creation of the pyramid scheme known as Amway and it’s cult-like approach to selling products. The DeVos family has since diversified, adding new companies, creating a massive investment portfolio to go along with the numerous family foundations – another scheme to hide some of their wealth from being taxed and to engage in social management of populations that are in need of their philanthropy, since they have spent millions of dollars to influence public policy that has created a massive wealth gap over the past 50 years.

Doug DeVos says that he was starting this podcast to talk about his values, to inspire people to Believe, and to communicate the idea that anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it. Ok, so why is it that people, especially rich bastards, always have such a perky optimism? And I don’t mean the perky optimism of Mrs. Maisel, I mean the kind of optimism that is born out of class privilege, where you see the world as something to conquer no matter how many lives you destroy in the process.

Anyway, Doug DeVos’ podcast has produced 4 episodes as of this writing. The first episode doesn’t seem to count, since Doug is interviewed by two of his children. However, the next three episodes provide us with a clear indication of what this show is really about.

Episode #2 features Alan Smolinsky, who is identified as a serial entrepreneur and the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team. The theme of that conversation centers around the question, “What is the American Dream?” So, episode #2 is two rich guys talking about the American Dream, while the majority of the people who live in this country are experiencing what Malcolm X referred to as the American Nightmare.

Episode #3 features Blake Masters, who is identified as a Tech Entrepreneur and a Senate Candidate in Arizona. Doug and Blake talk about silicon valley, the future of tech and entrepreneurism in the US. Also, Blake Masters is exactly the kind of candidates that the DeVos family likes to make massive campaign contributions to. For those who are interested, Blake Masters wants secure borders, believes that police are under attack, that crime is out of control, opposes Critical Race Theory, and believes that public schools for progressive indoctrination.

Episode #4 features Michael Anton, a research fellow at the hyper-conservative Hillsdale College. Anton also writes for the Claremont Institute, which is a far right think tank. One of his more recent articles is entitled, The Case for Trump, which makes complete sense, since Anton was a national security official in the Trump administration. 

I remember an interesting observation from the late John Trudell, the former national spokesperson for the American Indian Movement, who was also a poet and a musician. Trudell once said that those in power always want us to believe in lies they tell. They want us to believe in a Western, Christian world view which has taken our land from us. Ironically, Trudell says, that the word Believe itself contains the word lie within it. 

The Believe! Podcast from Doug DeVos has so far featured people who are aligned with his religious views, other members of the Capitalist Class and those who defend the far right ideological values that are the very embodiment of the DeVos family. So, instead of blindly believing anything that people like Doug DeVos have to say, lets adopt solid critical thinking skills, skills which will allow us to see through the lies those in power want us to BeLIEve!