Posted on 11/08/2006 1:55:58 PM PST by joanie-f
Einstein teaches that the only laws that matter are the ones that are true under all conditions. This is similar to what Deming called "profound knowledge". Here is where the acorn is found. Once identified, it can grow. History teaches such growth is possible despite all improbabilities.
Reagan did not think in a vacuum. Even if he did not expressly ask what would so and so do? He recogonized principles and tried to reason from them. There is a tradition to the principles recognized by Reagan. My list includes,
Hugo Grotius (1583-1645),
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679
JeanJacques Rousseau, (Contrat social ou Principes du droit politique )
John Locke
Karl Hess
Henry Hazlitt
Milton Friedman
Thomas Jefferson
Edmund Burke
There are surely others.
Optimism is surely part of Reagan's legacy, and when we become pessimists we betray his legacy. Reagan's optimism was not an abstract isolated facet of personality. It was integral to his character, and his character was his political philosophy. Optimism is typical of Celtic leaders. Celtic (creative) culture is especially fond of freedom and a society that values individualism. Communists exude misery. Take a friend to a Castro speech, if you doubt. That was the great political choice of 1980, Carter (malaise) or Reagan (optimism).
Any time an individual, or an organization takes a beating. The correct reaction is always to return to basics and ask where did we go wrong. What do we need to rethink.
This is why your manifesto is important. I say, find the right focus, articulate the right principles, illustrate the real choices facing Americans, and anything Nancy Pelosi and her gang of useful idiots can do in the next two years will only help people to see the wisdom of a well crafted vision. Define the natural laws of our time. Do it in a way that makes the choices facing humanity unmistakeable. Europe is waking up to the fact they have adopted values that are self destructive. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
Natural laws are true in all circumstances. Certain conditions favor human satisfaction and success, certain conditions thwart those outcomes. The left says, so what if we raise taxes on the rich? We can show there will be less jobs and worse jobs as a result, most importantly we can show that their is a principle involved. A moral principle. What right has anyone to make another pay for their way? The left says, too much violent crime less restrict access to guns. We can show, more restrictive gun laws yield more adventurous criminals. We can also show, that morally each of us has right to protect ourselves and our families, and that that right is eviscerated when government restricts us to target shooting and duck hunting.
As Professor Deming once profoundly explained, Americans do not know what they want. This is why most market research fails. Americans, however, can make good choices from alternatives. This is how one product succeeds over another. Americans choose Wal Mart over Sears. We choose Home Depot. We conservatives know and understand that our common beliefs, not necessarily uniformly shared, but our common core values of freedom, individual rights, etc. as expressed in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence, offer a better way of life than any collectivist, government intrusive, strategy. Our message, our presentation of our beliefs, combined with the Republican performance over the last six years, including their responses or lack of response to media attacks, left a majority of voting Americans, unwilling to chose our product, as they understood it. You have to be able to see in this that this is not a failure of conservatism, but a failure of implementation. Optimism derives from two sources. One knowing your are right. Two, understanding that you have made the choice to accept nothing less than what you know is right. After that, it is solely a matter of taking the fight to the enemy in whatever way and by whatever means you have, for as long as you can. Failure is a conclusion. Nathan Hale taught us real optimism.
The American Revolution lasted 13 years, and for most of that time American's were losers on the battlefield.
Lincoln's war with the South was so disastorously unpopular that all expected him to fail to win a second term. Before Gettysburg.
Leaders must have faith, Faith is manifest in optimism, unless you want to live day to day with an expectation of martyrdom like an Islamic fanatic.
This is the West. This is the Civilised World. Conservatives favor conditions and principles that give life to civilisation, or they should. Our enemies, the Left, favor power over others, power at the expense of others, and are terrified at the thought of meritocracy.
The anti quota, anti racial preferences initiative passed overwhelmingly against a 3 - 1 spending disadvantage in Michigan, a democratic stronghold. Conservatism is not dead. It needs to be repackaged. Hence your manifesto should be a labor of optimism tempered by your sincere concern about what is at stake.
I hope this responds fully to the questions you asked about my original post to you, supra.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
And did I imply anything to the contrary? :^)
Placemarker.
Good question, Having been disenfranchised by our corrupt federal government, loyal American citizens will no longer own our country. At that point of realization, I think it unlikely that American patriots are going to suffer in silence.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R. 5122), was signed by the President on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony. This Act allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
This new PL also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction (by Halliburton).
So the question must be asked: are these detention camps, which have been and are being constructed, also intended for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the NWO/SPP/NAU Washington elitists?
I too find myself in the same "realism" corner. However, I am unwilling to concede victory to the enemy--having the tactical advantage does not always guarantee victory.
America is not owned by our corrupt federal government, it is in fact owned and controlled by loyal American citizens. Our government can pass these disgusting laws that restrict our freedom but we voters can impeach and arrest any legislator that we consider to be corrupt.
The question to be asked is, in my mind, when are we going to stop re-electing these same treasonous bastards and start bringing in loyal citizens who love America and our way of life? People who will obey their Oath of Office, follow the Constitution not the demands of the Federal Reserve, the World Bank and the United Nations.
America is not lost, the people have temporarily lost their way. When we get back on the right road, the road to freedom and democracy, we will correct the past infractions.
Don't be surprised to soon see the Constitution Party step forward and start gathering new members/voters to bring about the needed corrections.
Found it.
"Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
-- William Pitt, Speech on the India Bill, Nov. 18, 1783.
Good post. There is a lot of info in it that I didn't know.
Somehow, I missed the John Warner Defence Act articles.
Thank you!
You're welcome.
Thank you, joanie.
A couple of clarifications:
1- By 'outside the system,' I mean extra-constitutional, extralegal. This is war, not democratic process.
To do otherwise would be to make the same mistake the Left has made--and continues to make--fighting terrorism. (This is in no way a criticism of the Constitution.)
2- I, too, see the disinformed, misinformed, uninformed, disinterested, myopic (and illegal) electorate as the underlying threat to our democratic republic. But transforming it into an informed, educated, vigilant citizenry is not a realistic solution.
Nor is it the only solution.
If we look at this historically, a large segment of the citizenry has always been ignorant and uninvolved. The difference today is that these ignorant, easily demagogued people can be identified, agitated, mobilized in real time. In the past, they didn't vote. Today, they vote... and vote again.
3- The solution, therefore, is not in the ballot box. It is in the battlefield.
" The democratic process being what it is, we cannot be certain that the present conservative trend will continue. Leftists, after all, are most adroit in demagoguery; the half-educated that dominate the mass media have an easy time with the uneducated.
Many American conservatives nevertheless put their faith in the "good sense" of the everage man (Rousseau's 'common man', if you like), hoping that he will vote the "right" way. American conservatives only too firmly believe that if properly informed, nicely educated, and instructed by the right people in the right way, the dear people will vote for the right party."
This is just a little too true to be comfortable, no? But if you'd like to be even less comfortable, then EvK-L goes on to say:
"We all have to face the grim, indisputable fact that the abyss between the Scita - the political, technological, scientific, military, geographical, psychological knowledge of the masses and of their representatives - and the Scienda - the knowledge of these matters that is necessary to reach logical-rational-moral conclusions - is incessantly and cruelly widening."
Painfully true, I think. This ignorance is largely the triumph of the Gramscian 'long march though the institutions' that is only too apparent in the major media and more tragically so in our public educational system.
One further observation on the part of EvK-L: "Generally speaking, the Right cannot win by virtue of its goodness, its truth, or its values, because it cannot enthrall the masses." The true message of life and liberty, and of the values that support it is electrifying when delivered by an inspired and charismatic orator. None exist who can be heard on the republican side these days.
Perhaps that is because those who call themselves Republicans no longer believe in those values.
Am going to be off-line for a few days, but want to thank you for the incredibly insightful comments. Want to respond to each of them, especially, and will do so just as soon as I return.
Continued best to you and yours in these troubling times ...
~joanie
Only Neville Chamberland could be prouder of how we approached this neocon/chickenhawk driven war.
I only wish the politicians would go sit down and let our most capable military go about their noble task of ridding that part of the world of evil.
FYI
In 1988 & for the following 4 years especially.....
..many ordinary citizens of this great country were willing to take a stand.....
...retired folk, school teachers, engineers, housewifes, pastors, business leaders....
..believed that if they didn't try to take a stand against this particular evil.....
...then we who still care about liberty ....would be taking an even more difficult stand in the next few years, whether we wanted to or not.
But although thousands stood up to be counted...
..thousands of law abiding, mild mannered, patriotic, respectful of authority folk ...
... were arrested..
...or lost their businesses from lawsuits by Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc.
...or RICO....
...the CHURCH corporately did not stand with us....the Nation did not respond.
Now we are at the 'next level'....and IMO, if God does not intervene, everything joanie-f fears will happen.....
Especially check out post #179....
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