|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||
|
Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Gordon Francis Corbett
I used to read proclamations from various groups that said approximately, "If we convince the American people of (our) reasoning and (our) facts, they will elect people who will install our agenda." Sincere leftists and sincere conservatives both said that, in one way or another. Most still say that. The Birchers, the Objectivists, and the Eagle Forum on the right, and the Americans for Democratic Action, the Naderites, and the N.O.W. on the left, all believed that education and organization were the keys, and that the public's integrity would take care of the rest. Maybe they were wrong. I have been watching our political scene for a long time. Not counting my father, the first individual who taught me about the Constitution and about liberty was Dan Smoot. Thereafter, I read Barry Goldwater, Ayn Rand, Robert Welch, and Leonard E. Read. Today, I am an Objectivist; I belong to the Libertarian Party; and, although I no longer belong to The John Birch Society, I cherish the mountain of facts that its authors and speakers taught me. I sympathize with those leftists who know little more than the contents of their civics-textbooks. Once, from my own perspective, I was in that position, and I shudder to remember my disappointments. Indubitably, dedicated ideological leftists of my age could say something similar. Their common problem is their common premise that electing politicians will achieve their goals. They see the other side's politicians as evil, because those politicians' speeches oppose their favorite ideas. They see their own side's politicians as good, because those politicians' speeches support their favorite ideas. Few see that few politicians vote as they speak. My Objectivism forces me to disagree with Mr. Paul Weyrich on some issues, but I respect his experience and his integrity. He said last year that depending on politicians cannot work, because politicians only follow the dominant culture. Therefore, he says, we must change that culture. Mr. Weyrich hit a home run. But for our culture, why would the public tolerate both parties' rape of our Constitution? Why would the public tolerate Clinton's misdeeds? Why would the public tolerate our living under a monopartisan regime not essentially different from Mexico's? Someone once said, "a welfare state is what happens when one lets a government of the people, and for the people, buy the people." Last year, I saw a Canadian documentary about Newfoundland. It described the fifty years since Newfoundland (which they pronounce "newfundLAND") affiliated with Canada. Most tellingly, it reported that the Canadian welfare state paid a direct subsidy for babies. Thereafter, although the Newfies griped about the government in Ottawa, they accepted its decisions because that government was helping to support their families. That support bought the Newfies' integrity. People who might have moved for withdrawal from Canada, or who might have agitated for outright independence, limited themselves to complaining. Here, our government buys our integrity with Social Security, with A.F.D.C., and with ubiquitous grants-in-aid that threaten to erase our state, county, and city borders. It suborns prominent businessmen with governmental contracts and with competitors' business secrets sieved from the ether by Echelon. And it cows those tempted by none of those "carrots" with "sticks" from the I.R.S. and other agencies. Still, more and more Americans are learning more and more facts. Larry Pratt and Johnny Rowland, among others, are helping to spread the word about the Second Amendment. F.E.E. and the Ludwig von Mises Institute are teaching the essentials of Austrian economics. And, every day, the Ayn Rand Institute and the Objectivist Center are enabling people to discover the works of Ayn Rand and of her philosophic descendants. These organizations and individuals do yeoman service. Nevertheless, even if, magically, we could insert into every American's mind the essence of their teachings, that American would still have to say, "no," and make it stick. He would have to say, "no," to the welfare state that empties our wallets to buy votes. He would have to say, "no," to the warfare state that empties our wallets to buy boondoggles. And, he would have to say, "no," to political machines that could put a ham sandwich on the ballot and report a vote total electing it. Our hypothetical American would pay for these "no's." He would suffer. Nevertheless, if we can persuade him to say them, they will buy back his freedom. And the love of freedom is a cultural value.
Enrich your life with a book about politics and current events... Enrich your political & social life with a politics or news magazine... |
|
Politics Resource Center Main Page |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
[Homepage] [Newsletter] [Search] [Support the Academy] [Link to Us] [Contact the Academy] [Citing Articles from Our Website] [Privacy Policy & Disclaimer]
Copyright 1998-99, 2000-01, & 2002-03 by The Radical Academy. All Rights Reserved.