Headzup! Quote of the day nomination here.
Camel dung does not make an oasis.
If it seems so, it's because Rockwell's gang don't see the complexity and contingency of events. They are dogmatists and view everything through the same oversimplified formulas.
Firm adherence to principle is a good thing, but I'm not sure that continual reiteration of the same arguments is.
For Rockwellites the world is a static system that always works out for the best if it's left alone. But things are always changing, and for the rest of us, everything isn't always for the best, especially not in a world that has seen Hitler, Stalin and now Bin Laden. The idea that peaceful economic exchanges between individuals will always work out for the best may have some validity, but it doesn't apply to crime, war or terrorism.
The Rockwellites do an admirable job countering the liberal cry "We have to do something about this!" But they forget that in the real world, there are some things that we do have to do something about. We can't always just analyze away difficult situations and expect them to resolve themselves on their own. I have no doubt that there are those who would love to impose their power and their idea of order on the rest of us, but I also see that sometimes action now is necessary to prevent future losses. Rockwellites don't know or ignore this.
Rockheads love to debate, but there doesn't seem to be any internal debate in their ranks. None of the usual contributors to their website ever say that Lincoln may not have been a monster or a tyrant or that Pearl Harbor might not have been Roosevelt's fault. To give credit where it's due, they do post those who have attacked them on the website, but the hard core of Rockwellites is quite conformist, and never takes a step out of line.
A lot of crazy things get said and written in times like these, and the rigidity of Rockwell's crew may look comforting and reassuring. But others are trying to make sense of a world in which limits and bounds and definitions no longer seem to fit the old patterns. Maybe they'll succeed in doing so. The Rockwellites aren't even trying and simply attack those who develop views which differ from their own.
It's not that their principles are wrong or unworthy. It's just that they're too quick to assume that things are simpler than they are and that those who don't agree with them have some evil agenda. You have to spend at least a little time in the labyrinth of reality before you can show others the way out.