Another good book on this subject, written about the anti-war demonstrators of the sixties, but also about a lot more:
https://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-Perennial/dp/0060505915
Now we have #NeverTrumpers that are joining Free Republic and pretending to be on train until he does something they don’t like, and then all of a sudden they say he is “caving” to the Rats, and they are fleeing from him.
I call them “FLeepers.”
And it's not just about jobs and economic opportunity. It's about freedom, exercise of "Creator-endowed rights and liberties," and opportunity for each citizen, not just self-appointed elitists who fancy themselves as entitled to make decisions for all.
America's Founders and Framers of its Constitution for government for a free society would be repulsed by the idea of those "elitists."
Thomas Jefferson wrote to Roger Weightman on June 24, 1826:
" I should, indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of worthies, who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for our country, between submission or the sword; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we made. may it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings & security of self-government. That form which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. all eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. the general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view. the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of god. these are grounds of hope for others. for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."Some time ago, I posted the following:
"Perhaps the so-called "progressive" enemies of freedom understand better than those who fancy themselves as "conservatives" that in order to reverse the Founders' ideas of "People over government," and institute "government over People," they must first marginalize and destroy the ideas from which liberty is derived.
The writings of America's Founders are replete with references which rebuke would-be tyrants and cite a Higher Source for life, liberty and rights. Early histories confirm those facts.
As so-called "progressives" have led a movement in forsaking the Founders' "reliance on Divine Providence," and belief that individuals are "endowed by their Creator," they also have forsaken the principles underlying America's Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and are systematically dismantling the greatest protections for liberty ever established for a people.
"Ideas have consequences"(Weaver).
The ideas of 1776 came out of a set of ideas consistent with liberty.
We tend to forget, or have never considered, that other world views existed then, as now.
Unless today's citizens rediscover the ideas of liberty existing in what Jefferson called "the American mind" of 1776, we risk going back to the "Old World" ideas which preceded the "Miracle of America."
There are those who call themselves "progressives," when, in fact, their ideas are regressive and enslaving, and as old as the history of civilization.
Would suggest to any who wish an authentic history of the ideas underlying American's founding a visit to this web site, at which Richard Frothingham's outstanding 1872 "History of the Rise of the Republic of the United States" can be read on line.
This 600+-page history traces the ideas which gave birth to the American founding. Throughout, Richard Frothingham, the historian, develops the idea that it is "the Christian idea of man" which allowed, undergirded and enabled the philosophy underlying the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to become a reality--an idea which recognizes the individual and the Source of his/her "Creator"-endowed life, liberty and law.
Is there any wonder that the enemies of freedom, the so-called "progressives," do not promote such authentic histories of America? Their philosophy puts something called "the state," or "global interests" as being superior to individuals and requires a political elitist group to decide what role individuals are to play.
In other words, they must turn the Founders' ideas upside-down in order to achieve a common mediocrity for individuals and power for themselves.
Que the theocrats who regard the humanists of the Renaissance as the spawn of Satan...
My oldest son is recovering from drug addiction. On his first arrest, he spent about three months in jail and a month in short-term rehab. We begged him to go to long-term rehab, but he refused.
Part of his fear was drug-related, but when he got home, it was a huge adjustment for him even to make simple decisions about what he should do that day. Some people, I suppose because of their life experience, crave someone’s guiding hand.
He is long past that feeling now and is back to his old self, hating confinement and folks telling him what to do. But my experience is that, unfortunately, desiring someone to dictate over you does not appear to be a hard trap to fall for. As for me, I utterly despise folks who want to stick their nose in my business.
Dealing with reality and living freely requires independent rational thought, which requires effort and the choice to think. Fear of and desire to escape from the responsibility of independent rational thought leads to choice to not think, which leads to evasion of reality + absence of reason, which leads to irrationality, which leads to groupthink, which leads to liberalism
There are sheep, wolves and sheep dogs...…………………..
Deep seated feelings of inadequacy.
They feel incapable of deciding what is the right thing to do.
They feel that they will be cheated by businesses, the grocer, the power company and everyone else. They don’t think that they are smart enough or that they don’t have enough information to make decisions.
They think that the people in government are smarter and have all the necessary information to make the right choices.
Now why they think that these people are smarter than they are is another question all together or why do they think that these people are more honest than people in the private sector.
The two most terrifying things in the world are your freedom to make mistakes and other people’s freedom to not be like you. Society trends away from both.
Freedom of Choice - DEVO
A victim of collision on the open sea
Nobody ever said, life was free
Sink, swim, go down with the ship
But use your freedom of choice
[Pre-Hook]
I’ll say it again, in the land of the free
Use your freedom of choice
Freedom of choice
[Hook]
In ancient Rome
There was a poem
About a dog
Who found two bones
He peeked at one
He licked the other
He went in circles
Then he dropped dead
[Post-hook]
Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice
[Verse 2]
Then if you got it, you don’t want it
Seems to be a rule of thumb
Don’t be tricked by what you see
You got two ways to go
[Pre-Hook]
[Post-hook]
[Hook]
[Outro, repeatedly]
Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom from choice
Is what you want
Freedom requires individual responsibility and exposes individual weaknesses and failings.
Authoritarianism is ALWAYS bad. People who suggest we, or anyone, has too much freedom need 9 grams to the back of the skull.
Because success is the most difficult adversity to survive. People who have reached the ‘self-actualization’ level of Maslow’s hierarchy have withdrawals from not being stressed, so they make stupid decisions to restore the stress and feed their addiction.
Bull friggin’ sh@t.
No one is afraid of freedom. They are petrified on the limits placed on it. And terrified of what it will lead to.
That’s why I left, and why many expats leave the USA.
FReedom is hard work and requires responsible action and investing of oneself...far too many choose slavery because it’s easier.