Posted on 09/06/2002 8:17:16 AM PDT by BADJOE
History teaches some very good lessons. They are hard to learn but our forefathers did a great job.
From the beginning of time man has overthrown one form of centralized government only to re-establish another one in its place. Our forefathers understood this far better than anyone ever had. They said governments are the eternal enemy of free men. They said that in order for man to remain free it would take a bloody revolution every other generation, unless you bound down (bastard) government with the chains of the constitution.
On another site this week a poster asked if anyone else hated government as much as he did. I replied to him
"Hell !! I thought you were not a good American if you didn't love our country and hate our government.
At least that is how I have always felt about it"
I think our forefathers had the same attitude that I have now. And I think it is inherent in the average Americans attitude to distrust and have disdain for any government, including ours. One of the hardest conclusions I had to arrive at as a young man, after having been a product of the public school system, was that our government was not on our side. As James Forrestahl, former secretary of the Navy, who suffered a mysterious death, once said about our State Department's foreign policy, " Stupidity is never a mark of consistancy. If they were merely stupid, they would occasionally make a mistake in our favor".
Newt Gringrich put it in a humourous manner when talking about the attitude of Europeans. He related the following story. If you go to Europe and drive on the Autobahn, you feel pretty good cruising down the highway at 100 mph when some some German passes you doing 140 mph. Now he said if the Bundestag passed the 55mph speed limit law, every German would dutifully obey that law, untill the next election. They would vote the 55 mph crowd out of office and the no speed limit crowd in. In America Newt said "A speed limit sign is a benchmark of opportunity.
It is obvious that Yankees and Euros have entirely different attitudes about government's edicts. There are darn few Americans who do not break the speed limit laws everyday.
Now we come to the Free Republic. Once a free wheeling, joyful site for news and discussion of politics, economics, philosophy, ethics and morals. I could not understand the transformation that has taken place in the last six months. Camaraderie, the sense of family, and cooperation seems to have disappeared. Are the Freepers exhibiting the same disdain for the new FR as Americans have for our government?
(Got a little three-banger to which I'd appreciate a response. This whole den of vipers thing has been a complaint of mine for quite some time now.)
Huh?
And that's the kind of crap with which conservatives should have a problem. My beef was with the dopey "hate the government" toughguy beer muscles talk.
some people will be distruptive to get a disscussion going!
We use the term "seagull management" at work. Managers fly into a meeting, drop some sh** on the workers, and leave. Same theory : )
No it doesn't mean that .. but it is also no secret that a few that have left FR to another site have only one thing on their mind
And that is to bring as much trouble to FR as they possibly can
You've recently seen a thread where contemptuous replies were replied to contemptuously- I know because I was on it being contemptuous too.
The ugliness was not a matter of ideology- it was a lack of reasonableness among the participants. On both sides. I begin to wonder if you are seeing that "both sides" are exhibiting the contemptuous behavior.
As to the matter of change in Free Republic philosophy, it appears to me that it is no more than the change from the semi-libertarianism of a young fiery Jefferson to the republicanism (small"r") of a responsibility-bound President Jefferson. We're still to the right of the Federalist-Anti Federalist-Republican compromise that produced the Constitution.
I see nothing wrong with a conservative Constitution-respecting site having that view.
No doubt BJ's received "private encouragement" from AFers fer his willingness to take on this--arguably--seemingly blind BushBackin' undertaken by some FReepers (and often protected by the Admin Moderators)...yer hands, my FRiend, are not entirely clean on this issue and I've seen a number of folks unfairly flamed--by you amongst others--for raising legitimate questions about Dubyuh's professed Conservatism.
"...spatter private business in public, and to bring down the concept of voluntary contributions."
I musta missed this, but I'm not in agreement with these underhanded tactics if they were used.
"I'm wondering what he has told them in private - and that would include names such as CaL, Clarity, mojo, etc."
While I've never met mojo, I am honored to consider Clinton's a liar and Clarity to be FRiends of mine and I miss their participation as FReepers...in any event, I'm glad neither you or I have the Power to discover the intimate details of their private conversations, although I have no doubt that they'd be interesting...LOL!!
I say "UNLEASH THE HOUNDS!!!"
FReegards...MUD
Precisely, and the tools for such a totalitarian or semi-totalitarian state are being crafted before our very eyes.
$450 to go:-)
If you really want to run off more of your paying members, keep talking that way. It's starting to look as though the "Free" in Free Republic is just for appearances. It wasn't always that way, and it's very sad to see what it's becoming.
Dittoes to all the GOP carrying water, yard signs, stuffing flyers, phone bank stuff, but I'm mad -- I never got ANYTHING from them except a lot of pleas for money from ME! (and satisfaction every time we actually elected a candidate who kept his/her promises.)
Man, that was well said.
No, It can't be denied. This much is very clear.
This is not what a true conservative is about. A true conservative wants and demands a very small government. This government has been growing into a gigantic monster for a long time. And it continues to grow.
I agree with OPH. If you lie with dogs, you get fleas.
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