Tag: Founding Fathers

Marxist America

In a country once founded upon Locke’s “Life. Liberty. Property.”, we’ve become a nation shockingly comfortable with policy that is rooted in “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

Among the dying embers of absolute monarchism arose two new political ideologies, both, in their own ways, a response to the autocracy that had been the dominant form of government since the dawn of human civilization. Philosophically, at least, both rejected the idea of privileged political classes that is the hallmark of absolute monarchism and, more or less, sought to level the moral and political playing field between the “common man” and his government.

It is how each ideology addresses the problem of moral and political station of the “common man” that defines them. The first ideology, Individualism, was born from the western classical Liberal tradition of Adam Smith and John Locke. Individualism took the sovereign rights long denied the “common man” by tyrannical monarchs and granted them to the everyone. Rights to their lives, to freedom of action and expression, as well as to property and acquisition of wealth, once reserved entirely to a tiny political class, was granted to everyone.

The second ideology, Collectivism, was born of societies still largely under the thumb of diffuse but deeply entrenched political and religious controls. Beginning with thinkers like Charles Fourier and culminating with Karl Marx, Collectivism saw the sovereign rights possessed by the tyrannical monarchs as the main moral defect of monarchism. In their utopian theory, sovereignty itself is eliminated. The individual’s value is inherent not in himself but comes from the community of which he is a part. Thus ownership is greed. Freedom is hubris. Life is expendable.

These differences between Individualism and Collectivism have been at the heart of the Culture War (as well as numerous actual wars) around the world since the late 19th Century. In America, a country founded unambiguously upon Individualism, it has been tension between these two ideologies that has driven political debate since Theodore Roosevelt through Franklin Roosevelt and beyond. The Culture War in America is ultimately still the same old philosophical battle.

That war, however, is largely over, and Collectivism, not Individualism, has won.

“…Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
-Thomas Jefferson-

That Collectivism has won the Culture War will shock many who believe themselves “right of center“, but the fact of the matter should be obvious. Many of these “right of center” people support government regulating every employment contract, no matter how minor, throughout the United States. They believe government has a role in protecting domestic industries from a global market place. Worst of all, they defend the morally reprehensible systematic confiscation of private property from every worker.

In a country once founded upon Locke’s “Life. Liberty. Property.“, we’ve become a nation shockingly comfortable with policy that is rooted in “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” These people can’t comprehend of a nation without the government injecting itself into the commercial and private contracts of the people, because, wait for it, “what about the needs of society“? On a fundamental but unconscious level, their only question is how much of our “unalienable rights” is really alienable.

Do we, as a nation, believe that two parties have an unalienable right to decide for themselves what a fair and proper contract is without the involvement of “collective society“? Clearly not. Do we, as a nation, believe that it is morally wrong to impose upon our countrymen the cost government that outstrips its revenues every year enough to stop imposing upon our countrymen? Unequivocally not. Do we, as a nation, “prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery” enough to forgo intrusive government regulation and taxation to support agencies that are bankrupting us? Demonstrably, this is no longer the case.

“There are two distinct classes of men –
those who pay taxes and those who
receive and live upon taxes.”
-Thomas Paine-

So Collectivism has won, and positions espoused by voices such as this one you are reading now are accused of being “fringe” and “extremist“, even as we quote directly from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, Thomas Paine, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, and all of the other Founding Fathers. Is it that vocal voices of Individualism really are “fringe” or is it that Collectivism has crept, inch by inch into the national psyche and finally burrowed deep enough to become the accepted norm in America?

Call me an anarchist, because I believe taxation is theft? Call me an extremist, because I believe the government is always an enemy of the people? Call me a radical, because I believe that I am endowed by my Creator with unalienable rights and demand that my “countrymen” stop alienating them? Call me unrealistic because I retain the Spirit of Resistance necessary to fight for the Individualism of America’s founding? So be it. I’m in good company.

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil;
in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
-Thomas Paine-

Liberty is For The Win!

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Cry Wolf and He Will Come

In a nation founded by daring to question centuries old political and cultural assumptions at the heart of society, how have we become a nation so ready to cry wolf at the barest scent of nonconformity?

An old tale with many variations, here is my own.

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who had the responsibility of watching the village sheep. Though he was thought well of, he was easily bored and more than a little attention seeking. So while sitting by the fence, absently poking an ant hill with a stick in desperate boredom, he came up with a clever plan. Climbing the fence, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is gobblin’ the sheep!“

The men of the village heard the boy’s cries and came running with their tools, but there was, of course, no wolf to be seen anywhere. As the men began to search the pasture, the young boy jumped out from behind a rock and yelled, “I fooled you! There was no wolf!” The men rebuked him, saying, “You shouldn’t cry wolf, when there is no wolf!“, but the boy only laughed harder, so they threw up their hands and went back to work in the fields.

The next day brought rain and cold, and the young boy found himself poking the very same ant hill, but there were no ants to be seen in the muddy mound, no matter how hard he tried to provoke them. He was cold, wet, hungry, and, above all, bored, so he again climbed the fence facing the village and yelled, “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is gobblin’ the sheep!“

Again, the men of the village working in the cold and wet came running with their tools. Again there was no wolf to be found. The boy jumped out from behind a rock and laughed, “I fooled you again! There was no wolf!” The men again rebuked him, saying, “You shouldn’t cry wolf, when there is no wolf!“, but the boy only laughed harder, so they again threw up their hands and went back to work in the fields.

The next day, dreary and overcast, the young boy found himself again, poking the ant hill with his stick and thinking about how hungry he was. Then he heard the anxious bleating of the sheep, as they huddled together. He looked around quickly and spotted a huge black wolf prowling the low stone fence. In terror, he climbed the fence and again yelled for his life, “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is gobblin’ the sheep!“

This time, the men had decided to teach the boy a lesson and didn’t leave the fields. Only when the foolish young boy didn’t come to have lunch did the men of the village go check on him. They found that a wolf had indeed been among the sheep, but they never found the boy, only his stick lying by the ant hill.

Bashir: “But the point is, if you lie all the time, nobody’s
going to believe you, even when you’re telling the truth.”
Garak: “Are you sure that’s the point, doctor?” 
Bashir: “Of course, what else could it be?” 
Garak: “That you should never tell the same lie twice.”
-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine-

Turn on the television or radio today, and you will find that there is no shortage of individuals crying wolf about one thing or other. This is true no matter which side of the political aisle you are on, as the list of people who have made their fortunes by shrieking about the other party’s wolves grows every year. What’s really troubling, however, is the sheer number of people that are not only willing to believe these cries of wolf, but to vote for it.

Once upon a time, ours was a nation whose leaders were individuals who pushed the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in multiple disciplines. The Founding Fathers themselves were true men of the Enlightenment, with keen interests in the practical and social sciences. Many of the Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were inventors as well as politicians, holding numerous patents.

So important were these disciplines to the Founders that the power to invest in both science and arts (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8) appears in the Constitution before paying for the Army (Clause 12) or the Navy (Clause 13). They understood the American Revolution would never have occurred if not for the scientific and philosophical advances of the 17th and 18th Centuries. This is why they held deep reverence for the political, scientific, and social thinkers upon whose shoulders they stood.

What would these great minds think of America today? A nation of ill-tempered sheep, tended by heckling demagogues, whose only notable qualifications are being able to convincingly parrot party propaganda. With every passing generation, what constitutes “knowledge” and who is considered “knowledgeable” has become increasingly incoherent, and our once open forums have become cloistered echo chambers, increasingly given to bouts of hysteria.

How has it come to this?

“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
-Attributed to P. T. Barnum-

Gone are the days when true “Renaissance Men” were elevated to high office because they were to “an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications” for the job. Now there is serious doubt that such eminently qualified men and women could even win an election in a country filled with people that prickle at the least provocation. In a nation founded by daring to question centuries old political and cultural assumptions at the heart of society, how have we become a nation so ready to cry wolf at the barest scent of nonconformity?

Question the veracity of global temperature data that have only been consistently measured for the last fifty years or so, and you’ll be labeled a fascist, heartless science denier (even while citing scientific data). Point out that every large city in the United States run by Leftist administrations for the last 50 years have deteriorated economically, and you’ll be labeled a fascist, greedy science denier (even while citing economic data). Acknowledge significant differences between male and female cognitive functions and their resulting economic choices, and you’ll be labeled a fascist, sexist science denier (even while citing psychological data).

This kneejerk outrage culture that we find ourselves living in exposes the erosion among the political class of the kind of scientific skepticism that informed the Founding Fathers. Looking back through history, there seems to be a strong correlation between this ever lowering bar among our politicians and the progressive democratization of our political system. As more and more people have been allowed to vote, the more “every man” the political class has become.

While there are indeed wolves among the sheep, it’s time we realized that more than a few of those wolves are of our own creation. Before we can do anything about the wolves, we must first ask some very difficult and certainly unpleasant questions about ourselves.

Liberty is For The Win!

We just checked, and it turns out that fighting for Liberty isn’t free, because it requires time and energy to research, prepare, and propagate this message for you. Please drop just a dollar a month into the proverbial tip jar and become a Patriot Patron. Of course, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share. Keep this fight for Liberty going! – @LibertyIsFTW

Thanksgiving 2016

May God continue to bless the United States of America and all patriots of sacred Liberty everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving, America.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, in the heart of a savage Civil War claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of young American soldiers on both sides of the bitter conflict, set aside this day as a national day of thanks to God for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. It is in that context that we seek to put our hearts to those things that matter most to us and our posterity.

First and foremost, we are thankful for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, who created a nation founded under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. Had we not been such a nation, the very principles that we have fought for this last year may very well have been denied us. It was because of the Founding Fathers that we have a country based upon moral equality, and because of this, no matter how off course, we always have a fighting chance because of those fundamental precepts.

We give thanks for our parents, grandparents, and mentors who provided us with the upbringing and guidance with which we now use to pursue what is good, not evil, and what is just, not easy. There are many that have never been exposed to these hard lessons, who cling to primitive instincts of tribalism and bigotry. That we are not chained by these small minded world views is a testament to those who guided us, as well as to our own philosophical resilience.

We give thanks to our those have come into our lives, our friends and neighbors, our spouses and dear loves, all of whom shape our lives and give our days meaning. It is family and the community of Liberty loving men and women who understand tried and true values that are the backbone of our society. We are thankful that among these people are the parents, grandparents, and mentors of the generations to come.

And, finally, we give thanks for a great awakening that is occurring all across this land of good and decent people remembering what has made America who she is. As the values of the Founding Fathers are remembered, let us learn from what they did right as well as what they did wrong, and commit ourselves to forging a more just and free future even when others lose their way.

This Thanksgiving Day, let us give thanks for those things that are good, the lessons learned from those that are not, and for the wisdom granted by God to know the difference between them so we can ever seek to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…“

May God continue to bless the United States of America and all patriots of sacred Liberty everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving, America.

Liberty is For The Win!

We just checked, and it turns out that fighting for Liberty isn’t free, because it requires time and energy to research, prepare, and propagate this message for you. Please drop just a dollar a month into the proverbial tip jar and become a Patriot Patron. Of course, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share. Keep this fight for Liberty going! – @LibertyIsFTW

A Short Word: Americanism

To the first generations of American citizens, personal virtue, especially in the leaders of the day, was often more important than their political beliefs.

Let’s take a look at the state of the American culture today, not in any gritty detail, but just a quick glance is all that’s necessary. Does our culture still reflection the core values of our Founding Fathers, and their deeply held principles, upon which our national character was assumed and thus founded? Let’s explore this by retelling one of the oldest and dearest apocryphal American tales.

It is February 22nd of 1738, and a doting father had a special birthday gift for his especially adventurous six year old son. The boy had been tagging along with his father and the house slaves whenever they gathered firewood almost since he could walk. When he was a toddler, he would shake with glee in his father’s arms when the men cut down a limb or a tree. As he grew into a young boy, he was always eager for even just a chance to take a lick or two himself, grinning up at his father with joy whenever he fell a limb or branch (with help of course).

If joy were a fire, the young boy would have burned the whole manor down as he unwrapped a very real hatchet, with a real steel blade, with a keen edge, and a polished wooden handle, no more or less than the hatchets that the men used in their work. As young boys are wont to do, the six year old ached terribly to use the hatchet, so his father had to stop his son before he could break down all of the firewood about the estate into tinder.

They washed up and joined the family for lunch. They prayed and ate together, and talked of family matters, then the father left to survey his estate, leaving the young boy to his own whiles. Tucking his hatchet into his belt, he allowed his mother to wrap him into a warm coat and gloves, before scurrying out the door. Soon he found himself walking along the main path from the manor leading to the main road, and there he spied it. A branch barely longer than his arm stuck out from the trunk of one of a row cherry trees along the path.

The men might have grabbed it and cut it off with a knife, but, at least to this young boy, clearly a hatchet would be just as good. He fumbled for a while to free the hatchet from his belt, as the coat his mother put on him hung to his knees. He finally managed to hike the back of his coat up enough to free the hatchet. Finally he took careful and deliberate aim at the branch, thinking about everything his father had taught him over the years, how to aim, how to hold the hatchet, how to breath. And he swung.

And he missed.

Rather than neatly taking the limb with a single swipe as the men did, the hatchet bit deep into the truck an inch above the branch. He felt the blood run right out of his face, as all of his boyish confidence evaporated. He took hold of the handle and tried to carefully pull the blade free. The wood creaked loudly against the blade like a stricken animal as the hatchet came free. The gash was as wide as the blade, clear through the bark and nearly an inch deep into live wood of the tree. Not knowing what else to do, the young boy ran home, quietly going to his room to await what he knew would come.

Later the same afternoon, his father returned home in a stew. One of the servants had discovered the state of the tree, thinking one of the slaves had damaged it. He told the father, who, immediately upon hearing the nature of the damage, quickly realized the culprit’s identity. Sending a servant to fetch his son, the father waited by the door. The young boy came downstairs and slowly pulled on his coat. Together, father and son walked in grim silence outside and along the path toward the wounded tree.

Standing beside the tree, Augustine Washington faced his son and sternly demanded, “Do you know how this tree came to be in this state, George?” Ashamed and fighting tears, a young George Washington looked up at his father and replied, “I cannot tell a lie…I did cut it with my hatchet.” Moved by George’s honesty, his father knelt before his young son and too him into his arms tightly, replying, “My boy, the honesty of a son is worth a thousand trees.“

The tale of George Washington and his cherry tree was once accepted as settled fact, though it appears now to be clearly the contrivance of a well meaning biographer. This tells us much more about the culture of the the time. To the first generations of American citizens, personal virtue, especially in the leaders of the day, was often more important than their political beliefs. The reasoning for this was as obvious then as it should be now.

It doesn’t matter what a virtuous man believes politically. Should a virtuous man find himself to be proven wrong, his own virtue will compel him to admit he’s wrong, even if it brings shame upon him, then he will seek to make amends to the best of his ability. He will do this on his own accord guided by his own conscience. A virtuous man will never abuse the power of his office to gain political advantage over his political opponents. A virtuous man will never resort to ridiculous arguments over the definition of “is” to save his political career. A virtuous man will not destroy the reputation of other virtuous men in pursuit of political office.

So are we living in a culture worthy of our Founding Fathers? I leave the ultimate judgment to each of you to decide. I only ask, if not, should we not hunger for a better state of affairs, if not for ourselves, but for those that come after us?

“In times of universal deceit,
telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
-George Orwell-

Be brave. Be free.

Liberty is For The Win!

We just checked, and it turns out that fighting for Liberty isn’t free, because it requires time and energy to research, prepare, and propagate this message for you. Please drop just a dollar a month into the proverbial tip jar and become a Patriot Patron. Of course, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share. Keep this fight for Liberty going! – @LibertyIsFTW