go, watch the short video from Claire Wolfe, Mike Vanderboegh, and Matt Bracken, and please, consider how important it is to educate the next generation.
With regard to all who serve the Light,
Historian
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lies-of-omission-freedom-media#/
go, watch the short video from Claire Wolfe, Mike Vanderboegh, and Matt Bracken, and please, consider how important it is to educate the next generation. With regard to all who serve the Light, Historian The first question one must always ask, when faced with political matters, is "What is the proper function of government?" In other words, what is government supposed to do, and does this proposed political action conform to it? I suppose that regular readers of my blog, if any, might be bored to read yet another exhortation on this subject, but I think it bears repeating. So, I do! But enough of that, let's get to some newer ( or perhaps older!) material.
But the SECOND question that one ought to ask is- Cui Bono? ('qui bono' "To whose benefit?") Cui Bono is a Latin term, probably made most famous by the Roman judge, Lucius Cassius, in ancient times, and still used with effect today. The answers to this question can be most enlightening, in all sorts of situations. Sometimes, trying to figure out the intricacies of a complicated bit of legislation, sorting out all the whys and wherefores, can be exhausting. In such a situation, it is often more productive to consider who will benefit, and who will be hurt. This is true outside politics, as well. When I contemplate the current state of affairs among those who supposedly stand for Liberty and listen to all the various arguments among all the various factions, if I were not a student of history, I'd be tempted to indulge in fits of gibbering rage at the parochial pettiness of some of the arguments ongoing. Yet, putting matters into perspective, history shows that this is not unusual. The Greek city-states, after revolting from Persian rule, spent the next few years squabbling and quarreling amongst one another. It was not until the advancing Persian army came closer and closer to Greece that the bitter factionalism died down, and the various Greek city-states joined together. After the heroic defense of Thermopylae, where a few thousand Greeks, led by Leonidas and the Three Hundred, slowed the Persian advance, the Greeks rallied to defeat Persia, first at Salamis and then at Plateia. The thirteen American Colonies similarly were stricken by factionalism and parochialism; it took over a year after the Revolutionary War started on April 19th, 1775 for the Continental Congress to declare independence, over 3 months after the British fleet evacuated Boston. Nor are these the only two such examples; from Ancient Rome to medieval times right up to today, history is replete with people busy picking a fight rather than picking the fruits of peace, even if the only quarrel they can find is with their comrades right beside them. Ah, well. Not only that, but history also shows us that there are often those who have taken a tyrant's silver to deliberately sow discord, to encourage division, to promote indecision, to poison the morale of the resolute and intimidate the undecided. It is worthwhile, then, to ask, in the immortal words of Lucius Cassius, cui bono? Who benefits from the present state of factionalism and bickering? On whose behalf are the sowers of discord acting? On whose behalf are you acting? Would you rather be right, or free? *I* do not pretend to know the answer to this question, O gentle reader. But I do know that it is worth your time to ask, and to answer, that last question. Contemplate your answers, consider the Perfection of Imperfection, and then ask yourself one more question- "What is my goal, what do I seek?" Most men seek to defend their families. Patriots know that defense of the rights of Man is essential to the long-term well being of their family and their friends, and thus they defend what is right. What do you defend? Do you truly seek individual freedom, where every person may do as they choose, live as they please, as long as they do not interfere with the right of others to do the same? I am struck by the irony of those who say that they seek to oppose tyranny, to defend freedom, yet in the next breath they aspire to stamp their preconceptions upon every brow. Is that Liberty? Look at your actions, and weigh the answer. Then do some PT and polish those skills! With regard to all who serve the Light, Historian As a little boy, I was taught not to indulge my penchant for frank observation of and commentary about the people and events around me; my late mother was often horrified at my frank but impolite remarks. She strove mightily to instill some politeness and social skill in me, and succeeded (at least to some extent; opinions vary) in doing so. There is an art to disagreeing with somebody without getting ugly about it, and I have had plenty of opportunity to cultivate that art all of my life, for I find myself disagreeing with much of what I see around me. In my early years, I hadn't questioned the value of politeness and good manners, but my thoughts on that topic have evolved.
As I grew older, I began to perceive that not only had Marxist/Leninist collectivism penetrated the media and the halls of academe, (having read Rand at an early age, I knew that was a problem) but it has penetrated and perverted Western culture to an extraordinary degree. Common politeness, a gracious Western cultural phenomenon, the reluctance to bluntly state the truth for fear of embarrassing an otherwise well-meaning person, has metastasized into political correctness, where one dare not state the truth for fear of accurately identifying savage thuggery and corruption and being punished for doing so. This is one of the hallmarks of Marxist culture, where one dare not speak freely for fear of the gulag, or the Lubyanka, and one can see this phenomenon at work in the present treatment of "American Betrayal" and the author, Diana West. (if you have not yet read that book, gentle reader, I commend it to your attention.) The treatment of Diana West by the present ruling oligarchy is powerful testimony, all by itself, that her work is true, and still more powerful testimony to the power of ideas. There is a reason that those who would rule us fear a frank and open discussion of their abuses of power, their arrogance, their elitism, their cowardice in the face of our enemies. They fear an honest critique of their Marxist value system, of their attempts to destroy the rule of law, and of their corruption. They know well the power of ideas, of free thought and inquiry, and they have been working slowly for over a century to destroy that which they fear. Above all, they fear being forced to confront the essential nature of their inhuman creed, which is why collectivists pathologically avoid the truth and strive to conceal their acts and beliefs. One of the ways in which this gradual erosion of our liberties has been concealed is by means of perverted politeness. Politeness was used as a weapon against the Jews, many of whom would not allow themselves to conceive that the German National Socialist pogrom would actually be so rudely carried out against them, and who politely walked to the gas chambers to the strains of Mozart and Beethoven, as requested. There are many reasons for the Holocaust, but perversion of politeness was one of them. If you think it incredible that thousands of people walked to their death for fear of being impolite, ask yourself, "Am I any different?" Why stand you there silent? Where are the awkward questions, the rude insistence on speaking the truth? Why are there not MILLIONS of blogs such as this on the Internet? Why is Liberty a minority opinion? Why is the rule of law mostly an historic concept? Why do you let Marxists set the terms of the debate? Why do you respect illegitimate authority? As I have repeatedly stated, this is a war of ideas, and if we win that war, victory for personal liberty is ultimately assured. We have demonstrably better ideas, but the reason that we are losing the fight is that we are not spreading those ideas. We have allowed our oppressors control of the discussion, and in many cases we allow our basic decency to prevent us from speaking out. Resistance begins in the mind, and it spreads from one mind to the next by free and frank exchange, evaluation and comparison of ideas. What do you gain by allowing the enemies of all that is decent to freely spread their poisonous ideas without objection? Why do you allow fear of ostracism to silence your objections? Why do you politely consent to your repression? Why have you quietly yielded to the Marxists among us? Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 verse 1 says- "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven." I say that it is time to be blunt. It is past time for each of you, gentle readers, to sound off, and to encourage your friends and neighbors to express themselves freely. It is time to insist on the truth, and to be rude about it if needs be. Politeness has its place, but I will take rude truth over well-oiled falsehood and tyranny any time. Do not be concerned over what others will think, think about these questions and their answers- "Is it true?" "Is it right?" Ask the awkward questions. Repeat and discuss the uncomfortable answers. Stretch yourselves just a bit and discover the virtue of rudeness, gentle reader. With regard to all who serve the Light, Historian At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. The fighting of the "War to End All Wars" was over. Over 60 million combatants fought for 4 years and 4 months, and between 15 and 20 million people died, military and civilian; about 6 million military deaths on the Allied side alone. The French lost 1.4 million soldiers killed out of a prewar population of about 41 millions, or over 3 percent of their population, over 7 percent of the adult males. The British lost well over 1 million men, out of 58 million, including troops from across the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Think about that for a moment, gentle reader. These are just those killed outright; there were more than 12 million wounded, many of them casualties of poison gas and other debilitating injuries rendering them incapable of working for the rest of their lives. If these presently united States were to have lost a similar percentage, we would have lost about 3-4 million men instead of 117,000 dead. Put another way, more people died in World War 1 than died in the Holocaust. One can easily understand that the first reaction of the Allied nations was joy that the war was over and that the Allies had won, but many people objected to the celebration as being unfitting, given the tremendous loss of life and destruction. Edward Honey, an Englishman, apparently was the first to suggest that the best way to remember the War to end all Wars was a few minutes of silence, and in 1919, George the Fifth, KIng of the Commonwealth, proclaimed two minutes of silence starting at 11 am. This was the custom for many years in the Allied nations, the first minute being in remembrance of those who died, and the second was in remembrance of those that they left behind, the families of those who gave all. That custom was observed for many years here in these presently united States, even after 'Armistice Day' was renamed 'Veteran's Day' by President Eisenhower after Korea and the second World War. Every school child was instructed in the meaning of Veterans Day, and on November 11th, at 11 am, we would all stand with our hands on our hearts, silent, for a minute in respect for those who had fought in our wars. Today, however, schools do not teach respect for those who have fought for their country and I doubt that one child in a hundred understands the holiday or where it came from, children from military families perhaps excepted. My own understanding has evolved somewhat from my childhood education, for I have learned much about the history of the First World War, and the webs of deceit and lies spun by governments on all sides in that conflict and those which have followed. Yet, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 2013, 95 years after the guns fell silent, and the killing stopped, I will stop whatever I am doing, will rise to my feet, and take one minute to silently remember and thank those men and women who fought for the ideals that underpin this country. I will then take another minute to consider the poisonous fruit of warfare, the widows, orphans and destruction it leaves behind, and the perfidy of government, willing to kill and destroy for 'reasons of state' which often turn out to be support for crony merchantilism or fanaticism. Yet as I do these things, I will also recognize that there are indeed just wars, times when the only acceptable response to an act of overt aggression is to respond with overwhelming force to destroy your attacker. That as bad as wars are, there are worse things, one of them being submission to tyranny. In that vein, and with the memory of those who have borne arms to defend the cause of Liberty in mind, I give you Lieutenant Colonel McCrae's iconic poem: In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. I invite you, gentle reader, to join me this coming Monday, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 2013, to rise and silently reflect upon the costs of war and the bravery of those who fight them. And then, I invite you to consider the following two questions: What price am *I* willing to pay to stand up for and restore Liberty? Will *I* hold the torch of Freedom high, or will I watch it be smothered? With gratitude to those who have served our country and held true to the ideals for which it stands, and with regard to those who serve the Light, Historian (edited on 11/10/2013) |
HistorianA grouchy middle aged engineer and amateur historian, blessed with a love of freedom and a plethora of opinions. Permission to excerpt or repost is granted, provided that the excerpt or repost includes a link to the original post, with attribution.
Email to Historian at MG58MG (at symbol) Yahoo (dot) com Liberty Hollow's suggested reading list:
Philosophy- "Philosophy, who needs it?" "Anthem" "Looking out for #1" Politics- "The True Believer" "Common Sense" "the Rights of Man" "The Ominous Parallels" Finance and Economics- "Economics in one lesson" "Whatever happened to Penny Candy?" "the Wealth of Nations" "The Clipper Ship Strategy" Liberty oriented Fiction- "Time Enough for Love" "Freehold" "Starship Troopers" "Atlas Shrugged" "Anthem" "A Planet for Texans" "The Ecologic Envoy" "Adiamante" The Constitution- "the Framing of the Constitution of the United States" "Hologram of Liberty" Banking- "The Creature from Jekyll Island" Archives
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