Posted on 06/13/2012 4:09:13 PM PDT by SatinDoll
The moral relativism of the “lesser of two evils” philosophy has been draining the heart and soul of America for decades...it has become apparent to me that the talking points and propaganda that drive the hypocritical worldview are being utilized on an even grander scale than ever before.
[snip]
Good does not compromise with evil...there is nothing to be gained by it...the people most prone to suggesting or demanding compromise with oligarchs and tyrants are usually cowards who have never faced down any legitimate struggle in their lives with any passion...how do they sell this stunted philosophy to others? The illusion here is one of “reason” or “objectivity”.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at alt-market.com ...
Brandon Smith's essay here is about the choice between Romney and Obama, a fascist v. a communist. He is basically saying what many have said on Free Republic, that there is little to no difference between the two men. Here he maintains that is because the same group is behind both.
I disagree with the statement that the same people are behind both men, but do agree that 'socialism' applies to both, and that the servitude and repression communism/fascism brings will destroy our Republic.
I greatly like this essay. Brandon Smith is a Paulista, so I take what this guy says with a grain of salt, particularly about voting 3rd party. But I particularly was moved by the following from the essay:
THE GREATEST EVIL IS MORAL RELATIVISM
"Collectivist governments seek to encourage extreme moral flexibility. Totalitarian regimes cannot survive otherwise. The lesser of two evils sales pitch is, in the end, an extension of the methodology of moral relativism. It trains us to embrace the status quo, whether we like it or not, and to continuously rationalize our adherence to the sham just to get through the day. The mental gymnastics we are required to perform become more complex and unstable. Eventually, in order to ease our consciences which are screaming in agony at the pit of our chests, we have to stop caring about anything, and just go through the motions of participation."
"This is not the way to freedom."
WOW! I strongly urge everyone to read this essay at the link. If nothing else, it will get you thinking hard about the choices we face this year.
I’ve thought HARD about our choices. We have to take back our party & our government, but in the meantime we work with what we’ve got. I’m working now to get as many good Tea-Partying conservatives in office at every level as possible. And I intend to pummel Romney and the GOP-e to try to make them walk the straight & narrow if they’re the ones in power. But we have to get Obama out of there!
Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government—And How We Take It Back
http://www.amazon.com/Hostile-Takeover-Corruption-Conquered-Government-And/dp/0307237354
It should take more than a grain. Conservativism and Libertarianism are vastly different philosophies within the Republican "tent." Mitt Romney is neither, but the idea that any Conservative would aid Barak Obama by voting for anyone BUT the "not Barak" candidate with the best chance of beating him is based on varying degrees of flawed logic. The Conservative viewpoint is similiar to the libertarian view that we can only achieve true change by hitting rock bottom with a second Obama term. The theory goes that we needed a Carter to get a Reagan. The problem with this is that Carter didn't get two terms. And we don't have the luxery of expecting history to repeat itself four years from now. We have no idea what the world will look like in six months. Forget about four years. What if Obama doesn't survive a second term, and Joe Biden gets a sympathy re-election. We had our chance to nominate a conservative with a realistic chance of winning. We blew it arguing over Bachmann/Cain/Perry/Gingrich/Santorum. Now we're stuck with Mittens.
"YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!"
The lesser of two evils is still an evil.
But as we are doomed as mere mortals to never fully experience “good”, then evil shall always be part of the equation. The hope is, that evil shall be sufficiently minimized, so that a desired amount of good should actually be done.
Compromise is not something that is done as if it were a choice, it is a temporary expedient to attempt to get back on the path to a goal that is sometimes near, and other times seemingly far off. The mistake is to abandon the goal, though it may never be achieved. Still, the fact that that ideal is there, should always be the compass that guides.
Before there was GPS, there were the stars. The stars are still there, we have to adjust the GPS to fit the universe in which the stars exist.
Yet, just like in a high school football game, the political party of favor is supported regardless of what their agenda is just because they have a cheer leading squad that is second to none.
The Crypts -v- the Bloods and although they are virutually the same, come hell or high water one of them will be the victor and "I" want to be on the winning team!
Got a call yesterday from the Repub party, DC. I told the caller that I would prefer the Satanic Obama to the Judas Romney. Satan can be dealt with. He can be opposed with absolute commitment. Judas cannot.
The “lesser of two evils” meme (and its follow-up “...is still evil”) has always struck me as being over the top.
In my experience (watching elections since 1976 and participating since 1984), no Republican candidate (and, tell the truth and shame the devil, not many Democrats) has been “evil”.
I believe it was Reagan who said something like “just because I only agree with someone 3/4 of the time does not make him 1/4 my enemy.”
Someone else said “the perfect is the enemy of the acceptable.”
In 2008 I voted for my first choice, FDT, in my state’s primary (before he quit...all to soon, to my mind). He was imperfect; he was acceptable. Others then running were likewise imperfect but acceptable.
I could not vote in another primary; so, as in about half the presidential elections I have voted in, I then had to vote not for the lesser of evils, but for the least imperfect.
No matter who it was, that one was to be identified by the letter “R”.
In 2008, that turned out to be Palin and the old guy.
I’ve dealt with this same problem in 1996 and 2008. (Been participating since 1984; ‘84, ‘88, ‘92, 2000, and 2004 were all no-brainers to me.)
In each case, my thought was to vote for my principles in the primaries, but against my enemies in the generals.
(I do not use the word “enemies” lightly. I would rather support someone I agree with a third of the time than one I believe intends my country— as I know it— actual harm...one who doesn’t even mean well.)
Results? I did not contribute, by vote or silence, to BJC’s second term, or BHO’s first.
In 2012, I hoped Palin would run again; when she declined, I shifted to Cain (obviously, I’m a racist); when he was slandered out of the race, I shifted to Santorum, who, after collecting my Primary vote, threw it and everyone elses’ away.
I have done what I can for principle, and must now work to defeat the Enemy— Obama. I will vote for the Republican nominee this November.
And been hammered for it, here on a supposedly conservative website.
Meh.
I'll do what I have to do, and not do what is wrong. It's not rocket surgery.
I don't expect to win today or in this life.
I am expected to do The Right Thing(tm).
/johnny
“I’ll do what I have to do, and not do what is wrong. It’s not rocket surgery.”
Hmm...I don’t know what ‘rocket surgery’ is, but I understand your meaning and agree completely.
I’ve suspected since January that the reason the GOP-e has supported Romney is that they believe he can garner support from disaffected Democratic Party voters thoroughly turned off by the radicalism and incompetence of BHO2.
So far that seems to be the case.
If the Democratic Party hierarchy panics enough and brings pressure to bear on BHO2 to step down and defer to Hilary Rodham Clinton, then all bets are off.
This will cause a drastic shift in the political landscape IMO.
How would that affect the Republican candidacy? I don’t know.
Both Romney and Obama are socialists. Both men are Globalists, one with the global social justice movement (communists) and the other with international banking and business interests.
Neither gives a damn about the rights of individuals. The common man or woman is just a “unit” to be taxed, exploited or obliterated, it matters not to them. The key here is money and power.
The last thing that either group wants is for conservatives with Bibles and guns asserting their God-given rights and demanding that Washington, D.C., changes how it does business.
I stopped reading at the depiction of Mitt Romney as “evil”. A rational person simply would not say that. I will not waste my time reading anything starting from such a flawed premise.
I will vote for the Republican nominee this November.
We make this argument ceaselessly with out brother FReepers, but the usual suspects keep dunning us with their preternatural ability to see the future, and how awful it will be if we do not shave off a bit more of our soul by holding our nose for Romney.
I suppose there is no choice but to try and make choices based on predicted consequences, but the problem we are having in this conversation is recognizing that moral relativism has its consequences too, and they are really worse than any one very bad person can produce on his own.
We give Obama too much credit. Unlike Romney, he is not a god (Well, neither is Romney, but don’t let him know we know). Obama, like everyone else, must live in the universe God created. There are rules, and there are consequences to breaking those rules. They may be relied upon. Obama cannot undo those rules and in the end, if we are faithful to the real Rule Maker, we will come out ahead.
Therefore, nothing we do needs to be based on looking only at a certain subset of some very short-term consequences. We must look not only at the next four years but the next forty, and beyond. And there is eternity to consider too. What is the price of a human soul? If Satan offered Christ all the kingdoms of the earth, and he turned it down to avoid a compromise with evil, how are we better than our master? We must do as Jesus did. We must resist the temptation to gain power, even for good purposes, by making unholy alliances, and we must trust God to handle the consequences that flow from obeying Him.
Thank you.
At this point in time, Obama and Romney are perceived as the candidates of the two largest political parties in the nation.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this isn’t over until the balloon drops at the conventions. A lot can happen between now and then.
Okay. He is pro-abortion. Isn't that evil?
He is pro-homosexual. Isn't that evil?
I could go on and on. Your reaction is the flawed premise.
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