I have some simple observations to share. There is irony, hypocrisy, and unknown phenomena here. Enjoy.
First, I have a hard time understanding why Libertarians call themselves libertarians. Liberty, in the context used by the founders, is not the same as used by this political group; which is ironic since this group likes to proclaim that they are the founders re-incarnate. Mathew Spalding, an expert on political history and constitutionalism, put it well when he wrote about the difference between liberty and freedom -
“There is a difference between these two terms that helps us understand the Founders’ concept of the principle. Freedom is understood as more expansive, and suggests a general lack of restraint, especially a lack of political restraint, as when we speak of the United States as a ‘free society’. It is often used to suggest a more open-ended sense of autonomy, meaning that we are free to do whatever we want. But from the Founders’ view, freedom must be understood within the context of constitutional and moral order, which meant reasonable limits and cultural bounds”
These cultural bounds of course were based upon biblical principles that libertarians believe should be kept out of government according to their views on Separation of Church and State. They should really be called Freetarians, but I guess that does not have the same ring to it.
My second observation. The lower classes tend to follow the progressive movement, a movement that was started on the premise that all men are not created equal and that we do not have unalienable rights from our creator. So a movement starts and gains popularity with a group of people who are demeaned by the very group they support. Another one that is hard to understand, but is very true. Check out these quotes from Charles Merriam, one of the founding fathers of the progressive movement.
“Rights do not belong to men simply as men, but because of the superior qualities, physical, intellectual, moral or political, which are characteristic of certain individuals or races.”
“Rights are considered to have their source not in nature (that would be God), but in law.”
“Not only are men created unequal…but this very inequality must be regarded as one of the essential conditions of human progress…This fundamental fact that individuals or races are unequal is not an argument against, but rather in favor of, social and political advancement.”
“From the standpoint of modern political science the slave holders were right in declaring that liberty can be given only to those who have political capacity enough to use it, and they were also right in maintaining that two greatly unequal races cannot exist side by side on terms of perfect equality.”
Of course, I know how this happened. Merriam knew their views were not popular so they would dupe the people into believing what the academic elites believed.
“The present tendency, then, in American political theory is to disregard the once dominant ideas of natural rights and the social contract, although it must be admitted that the political scientists are more agreed upon this point than is the general public.”
They did it by controlling the schools. From another leading progressive, John Dewey.
“Schools should take an active part in directing social change, and share in the construction of a new social order”
So I guess the real question is…are you one of the ones that they have duped?
My third observation stems from the second. The progressive movement promotes itself to the lower classes as a needed vehicle to become equal (demeaning enough for you). But they do it by creating an elite bureaucratic class to rule that diminishes the power of the very people they say they are helping. Again hard to understand how people fall for this, but it is indeed part of the progressive plan. From our new friend John Dewey.
“Germany is the modern state which provides the greatest facilities for general ideas to take effect through social inculcation. Its system of ideas is adapted to that end. Higher schools and universities are really, not just nominally, under the control of the state and part of the state life….Moreover, one of the chief functions of the universities is the preparation of future state officers. Legislative activity is distinctively subordinate to that of administration conducted by a trained civil service, or, if you please, bureaucracy. Membership in this bureaucracy is dependent upon university training.”
Bureaucracy…control the people by controlling schools…and yes, this was the same Germany that was about to bring us two world wars. All you have to do is check out the Wikipedia entry for Charles Merriam to see how he and those like him brought in the bureaucratic state during the Hoover/FDR era. Interesting I would say.
I am on a pretty good role with this progressive theme so here is a fourth observation. Another brick of the progressive foundation is that human nature has progressed. It was this premise that led them to disregard the dangers of a powerful central government that the founders fought and died to protect us from. It is really part of the historicism concept. But this leads me to then question why there are still problems with money and power…ie…the class warfare popularized with FDR. Politicians (especially left leaning ones) make a living demonizing those who are not progressing (make too much money…and want to keep for some reason, have too much influence or power…etc). Are we to believe that only liberals have progressed in human nature or are we to believe that one of the major cornerstones of their movement was bogus from the beginning. I vote for the latter. Just look at the great things our powerful central government is doing now.
And I continue. Yes, a fifth observation. It is hard to understand why many Black Americans follow a progressive movement and a political party that has done nothing for them but hurt their cause. It is another extreme case of misguided education…or rather spreading propaganda that is in no way connected to the truth. The National Black Republican Association has some good information that dispels many of the myths that you hear. Their frequently asked questions section is very good. They also have a page containing short biographies of prominent black conservatives throughout history which I thought was interesting. These two pages will challenge anyone who comes into the fight with this misguided mindset. There are many other good resources out there. Historian David Barton has a nice historical comparison of the two major party platforms that may surprise someone who has fallen for the racist conservative phenomenon. Not to kick a dead horse, but here is one more article that I read by Francis Rice. It has to do with plantation politics and the policies that Obama and other liberals promote. Making people dependent is not helping them.
Ok, you know I have to say it. The phenomenom that somehow by being an actor you gain any kind of intelligence and people should listen to you. If I only knew I just had to become an actor I could have saved countless hours of reading and studying. Based on what I hear from the Hollywood elite, that is exactly what they have done. These people are infamous for pushing the ridiculous agenda of the left, but they are not so good at defending it when they are called out. Remember Matt Damon, one of the most un-intelligent of the crowd. He was called out by Bill Kristol, but no dice. I am sure most know of Al Gore’s refusal to debate Lord Monckton…I mentioned it a while back, but did you know ultra liberal filmmaker James Cameron (aren’t they all) recently did the same. He backed out of a global warming debate that he organized. The almost comical series of events is laid out in this article. I could probably go on forever on this one, but I will stop there…for now.
I have a number seven observation that is pretty important. I find it hard to believe that people can look at history and the world today and not see the danger of the Islamic religion. There have been some uneducated and in many aspects frightening statements by our leaders…many by Obama, but also by the likes of Ron Paul. I will cover these in more detail here soon.
Number 8. We repeat the same bad economic policies over and over again and no one seems to notice. It’s not just that people are not noticing, but people from both sides are in denial that these policies do not work despite numerous real world examples. There is the Great Depression, Japan’s disaster, and our current failing policies. What we need is a history book from someone other than Howard Zinn and an economy book from someone other than Krugman. Then we have to get people to read them. That could help this problem some.
If there is anyone who has read this far then kudos to you. I am aware that I am rambling a bit (you are getting a peek at what goes through my mind on a daily basis though). But for those still here I do have a final thought. It is about time that Christians stop being duped into thinking that standing up for what is right is somehow not Christ-like. This is a typical attack of the left (and some libertarians). As a Christian you do not have to tolerate sin. You are not being judgmental by simply pointing out what is right and what is wrong. Remember, hate the sin, not the sinner.
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