Sometimes it's best to step back and survey the field
So many things to say today so you're getting soundbites at best because I am supremely busy and so lunch at the desk is in hyperdrive. The kids just keep with the illegal downloading. Geesh. Kids, listen, like it or not there's a federal copyright statute and we must comply. It's fairly simple. Let me know if you have any questions.I've finally accepted that it's looking pretty good that socialism will reign for the next four years. I was talking to my Dad on the phone earlier and he threw this quote at me (not too shabby for a country boy, eh?):
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage." -- Alexander Fraser Tytler (CORRECTION: it was mis-attributed to Tocqueville yesterday. Thank you Vampyr)
I think we're at "from abundance to selfishness" right now. As for me, I bought a house a few years ago as an investment and it's likely worth less at the moment as I struggle my ass off to pay for it than I owe on it. Now ask me if I'll vote for a dude that took campaign contributions in the hundreds of thousands from the jackasses directly responsible for the sagging value of my house. Yeah, that's not happening. Also, um, from the perspective of physics, "trickle up" eventually depletes the pool it's drawing from. "Trickle down" fills it. But whatever. I'm done trying to explain that one, too. So vote him in by all means. You want your rule by elite you got it. But just a note of caution: voting for it does not mean your loyalty will ever be recognized by the inner circle. Should be interesting, as my sister Juli noted to me the other day, to have a sitting president who could very reasonably be indicted for fraud. I'm willing to tuck in and see what happens. I won't even put a bumper sticker on my car that says "He's not my President!"
My dad also noted that Congress' attempts at discrediting the presidency -- which they've been fairly successful at -- had the unintended consequence of discrediting them, as well. So that's the plus side of all this. Hope no one lobs a bomb anytime soon...
So I leave you with an awesome radio segment that Zimmer sent me on some guys who spend their free time preoccupying those internet scammers who claim to be a prince regent of Nigeria and need your financial help to reascend to the ancestral throne. It's called "Hanging in Chad." Pretty awesome stuff.
Also, here's a political cartoon my brother sent me that pretty much sums up how I feel about this election and a de Tocqueville quote that we would all recognize right away except no one demands that we read the Federalist Papers or anything from that era.
“Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
My dad predicts we'll be France after all is said and done. And Juli, George Soros made it in an SNL skit that was critical of the Dems and was subsequently censored by NBC...and so the dictatorial policies begin. Here's hoping for a Radio Free Internet.
posted by Lola @ 1:54 PM
11 Comments:
Socialism? Democracy? How about theocracy? Your father does indeed have cause to be concerned. One of the cornerstones (the "tenets"... or the "lynchpin", if you will) of our representative democracy is that no one party or no one ideology has the power to maintain absolute dictatorial control over government indefinitely, since supreme executive power is derived from a mandate of the masses (to quote Monty Python). A balance of power is necessary to move a dynamic democracy such as ours ever forward. Now, when you have a situation where logic, reason, education, and progressive planning are abandoned, leaving religious zealots and small-minded provincial peasants to rule the land, you have a dangerous situation indeed. The Bible-thumping Baptist mentality of persecuting anyone and everyone with a differing viewpoint is the ultimate consequence. So, to reiterate, your father does have cause for concern: he and his contemporaries, with their noses in their Bibles, refusing to believe that the Earth is round (despite other evidence), and ready to pounce on anyone even mentioning the word abortion, looking even slightly Arabic, or who doesn't jump on the blue-collar "bomb Iran", pro-military bandwagon, have had their day. And it is fading into the sunset none too soon, let me assure you. It is time for some degree of educated elitism to return to the ranks, for thinking men to once again take the reins of this great nation, and lead us onward and upward, out of the hands of the vicious, intolerant blue-collar filth who have infested the public mindset for so many years. If you spend some quality time reading Alexis de Toqueville's full texts, instead of sound-bites which you feel will bolster your opinions, you will see that this is indeed the case.
you're rambling off-topic. i don't believe i mentioned religion at all..sounds like a personal problem.
Your assessment is absolutely correct: it is indeed a personal problem. And it will continue to be a personal problem for all of us, as our Constitutional liberties are systematically stripped away by Christian fundamentalist freaks and their ilk. This is no longer a contest of Republicans vs. Democrats, of conservatives vs. liberals, or of the Right vs. the Left... this is a question of a government being propped up by ignorant working-class trash who preach hatred and intolerance from their feces-ridden Baptist churches, using the Lord's name in vain; and whether or not good, decent, intelligent Americans can stop these blue-collar, working class minions of Satan, and send their servants and false prophets back to Hell, where they belong.
I think there's an organization that, judging by your shared ideology and, frankly, the name of the organization, you should really check out. Here's the link. Good luck in finding your your people.
http://www.moveon.org/
Lola,
Good post. I'm linking you.
Funny how, when you mention liberty vs socialism, the trolls come out screaming about religion. As if, even if it were the case (which it's not), that would somehow justify the headlong rush to Marxism that so many Obama supporters seem eager to embrace.
While I'm opposed to ANY religion pushing their dogma on others, that wasn't even the topic here. And we don't even have any (major) candidates whose positions could even remotely be construed as such.
Sounds to me like someone needs therapy. And to maybe lay off the controlled substances a bit.
agreed. this someone actually has a personal axe to grind with me so all the Baptist bashing is aimed at my father, whom the rambler has met. Unrestrained anger does not a logical argument make.
but his tactic is not unfamiliar -- arguing his point by deviating from the topic at hand toward something that is sure to guarantee a more emotional reaction. Such as, oh, I don't know, calling racism every time someone questions you on your involvement in the current financial situation...
thanks for posting the quotes on your site today -- i attributed the first incorrectly to de Tocqueville and was happy to not look like an idiot for one second longer ;o)
oh, and thanks for the link!
What does religion have to do with voting in Obama...a man who said with his own mouth that he does not stand with his right hand over his chest looking at the flag during the National Anthem , as every loyal, true, American...regardless of descent or nationality or religion or race, DOES because, he says: " I do not want to look as if I am choosing sides",(WHAT?) "if the National Anthem were say, I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing", that's a song I could stand behind...it is inclusive of the world"(you get the point...don't you?) OUR PRESIDENT SHOULD HAVE ONE SIDE....the interests of AMERICA....PERIOD. He CLEARLY DOES NOT!!! Wake up anonymous IDIOT.
the new world order...i'm reminded of the old saying "if you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything."
can you point me in the direction of where you found this quote? i hadn't heard he said that (although i have seen the photos of him with hands down during the national anthem...)
thanks for your comment!
This blog has provoked a strong mother bear protecting her cub attitude...anonymous' comments have my "hairs standing on end". I am scared of folks like anonymous. Just let me state for the record that Obama also scares me. He is an intelligent person in that deceitful, conman, manipulative, passive-aggressive sort of way. For example, he continually promises change. So what? I am supposed to assume that the changes he promises are better? While the liberal media trashes Palin and glorifies Obama..."my people" (americans) seem to be in a trance or something and are just blindly following the pied piper to their demise. Freedom is a very relative term. It is on a sliding scale from very little or none to almost total and real freedom. There are also many kinds of freedom. Even as bad off as we are now, we are still one of the major powers in the world and one of the richest countries in the world with more freedom than most. The freedom we enjoy is due to two undisputed reasons, in my opinion, because of our LEADERSHIP and our MILITARY. That being said, I will, LOGICALLY, choose John McCain as our next leader over a guy named Barrack Obama from a very questionable background and a very questionable loyalty to America and zero knowledge or experience regarding anything to do with the military. (Remember: that is half of what I feel makes our country as great as it is.) No man or woman is going to be perfect during a term running our country, but it seems like it should be so easy for everyone to see that when it gets down to, OK, neither one is ideal, who do we pick? The next questions to ask are , OK, which guys do I have more confidence in with the interests of America and ultimately my life and those of my family....and hands down the answer is John McCain. There simply is zero question as to where he stands there!
remarkably well said AMERICAN. intelligence, like potential, is only a true quality (as opposed to concept) when realized. and if your intelligence is only real when it's acting in a nefarious and sneaky manner, it's a quality still -- but not a good one.
come back and talk more soon!
Post a Comment
You talkin' to me?
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home