Friday, December 24, 2004

 

Outnumbered By Lies And Ignorance

One could be accused of developing a certain paranoia regarding the current state of political affairs. If one is fairly conservative or Libertarian in their beliefs, the course of events can appear somewhat threatening, indeed. The Left would, of course, say otherwise, but how well is the standard of limited, self-government really faring at present?

Of course we are often reminded that Bush again occupies the White House, the Republican Party dominates congress, and even the Supreme Court will likely be swayed by Bush into the direction of strict constructionist constitutional interpretation. Why then would anyone holding respect for the values of Classical Liberalism and individuality fear a collectivist surge in power?

When discussing political issues, I often find my comments met by rolling eyes or condescending snickers when stating little known facts in my defense of individual liberty. A couple of weeks ago I noted the myth of Bill Clinton having been harassed over Monica Lewinsky (something I addressed in my last post). The media has done well altering realities on this issue. The truth is, Bill Clinton was rightfully investigated for several acts of misconduct that went far beyond a mere sexual tryst, lying to a grand jury not being the least of them. After gaining some distance in time from the events of Clinton’s corrupt actions, “conventional wisdom” now reminds us that this poor man was harassed over Monica Lewinsky. If it were only that simple. When I noted the contradiction between facts and a now widely accepted urban legend, I was met with laughter. After all, there I was again, failing to fall in line to the superior wisdom of mainstream socialist sympathies. How could anyone not be sympathetic to Bill Clinton? Actually, when I think of Bill Clinton I think of that photograph of armed federal agents storming a family’s bedroom so they could send a little Cuban boy back to Castro’s destitute police state. That was what Bill Clinton was really all about.

The UN gives standing ovations to a corrupt and incompetent Kofi Annan. The Bureau-lords of the EU and their captive audience of citizens (born and bred on one worldview) continually deride the values of individual liberty as, “selfish” and “materialistic.” An international squadron of media con artists hides half the news from us. Academia the world over and their underlings in the state’s social fabrication networks (the public schools) raise new generations on the lie that Big Brother is actually loveable.

In the movies, music, and daily conversations we hear around us, we can hardly be called dupes of a conservative paradigm. The lies and deceptions from above are of little concern to me; those forces of collectivists idealism certainly aren’t new. A functionary of state calling for a stronger state is hardly a novel thing.

It’s not the lies from above…it’s the ignorance from below that worries people like me most. Where I feel outnumbered is in the routine levels of daily life, where a pampered middle class has gleaned their worldview from Reuters, the New York Times, and some pony-tailed lit Major who called himself a History teacher (yes, I know, these are caricatures but I dare say, they get to the point).

America did not confront a ruthless Fascist regime solely “because of weapons of mass destruction,” and the blood sacrificed has not been, “for oil.” Bill Clinton wasn’t persecuted by a “vast right wing conspiracy,” over indiscretions with an intern. Most of all, Dictatorships are not just, “different choices in government,” and the growth of centralized bureaucracy is not a, “new, revolutionary,” or even half effective idea (the government has hardly become smaller or the “safety net” weaker).

At times, those of us who admire the values of liberty and independence may feel outnumbered. In particular locales or time frames such fears may seem unwarranted but in the grand scheme of things there is just cause for concern.

In politics, lies plus ignorance equal a perennial love for centralized authority and imposed conformity. In our own time, such values have hardly ceased to be a threat.

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