John R. Schindler
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Subject: Fighting the Wrong Battles
A friend brought a recent blog post to my attention titled, Ideology is Making America Stupid. Written by John R. Schindler, a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, it argues that those on both the political left and right engage in pressing their personal ideologies — a process that he characterizes as: "the substitution of preset cliches over actual thought." Well, that statement gave me pause, as this is certainly not what ideology means to me. So off to the dictionaries I went. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary states:
For a rational individual, aspects of all three definitions describe what a personal ideology consists of and how it properly functions, being a systematic (i.e., integrated) body of knowledge used to guide one's thinking in relation to society, culture and sociopolitical ends. In other words, a rational ideology is merely a subset of a broader rational philosophy of life. However, this does not correspond to Schindler's usage. Further investigation at the online Dictionary.com yields this:
This less flattering definition seems closer to the author's meaning, where systematized knowledge is replaced by adherence to doctrine, myth and belief — what I would call a pseudo-ideology. And yes, it is easy to look around and find people who come to the majority of their positions through a process of osmosis devoid of any meaningful critical analysis. The ideology of a rational person is fact-based and always open to revision in light of new evidence. But for the person holding a pseudo-ideology, adherence to their world view is a precarious necessity since their unexamined identity has become equivalent to the ideology they have adopted. To change the latter would be to lose oneself — and people will fight tooth and nail to maintain their self-image. So when the author comments:
Given the second set of definitions, there is no reason to disagree. Schindler goes on to discuss U.S. foreign policy, but concludes:
But what about the more rational meaning of ideology? Even if the average American implicitly operates more on whim than reason, this is not an excuse to abandon the pursuit of a reality-based philosophy as a guide for one's actions. Dealing with issues in isolation (i.e., in an unintegrated manner) is extremely dangerous and is probably the single greatest cause for the world's troubles. To properly address most national or global issues, a well integrated and rational perspective is a necessity. Let's be careful not to abandon the very real need for a properly based ideological framework as we go about exposing pseudo-ideologies for what they are. As I was reading this article, another thought struck me regarding the author's identification of the differences in ideologies. I realized that a great majority of the debate occurring in this country takes place over polarizing issues between left and right. Whether we are discussing abortion, the death penalty, gay rights, property rights, guns, social equality, taxes, the environment, health care, entitlements, wealth redistribution, foreign aid, privacy, etc., the focus is usually centered around pragmatic, concrete concerns. Yet, something important is usually missing, just as it is missing from the discussion in Schindler's piece. Regardless of one's position on any of these specific issues, there is another underlying struggle running orthogonal to them all — the fight for individual freedom versus collective totalitarianism. In other words, the battle for liberty. I was immediately reminded of the chart that David Nolan constructed back in 1969 (left below), which integrates a perspective on both economic and personal freedom. 
Original Nolan Chart –
1969
Revised Nolan Chart –
2014
This chart clearly demonstrates how the classical left-right tug-of-war has little to do with advancing towards greater freedom and, in fact, shows how focusing too much on standard political left-right issues can blind us to movement in the opposing direction. In 1969, it was commonly understood that the conservative Republicans were, in general, strong supporters of economic freedom while the liberal Democrats advocated for personal self-expression and choice. However, over the past four decades, the left-wing and right-wing designations have each shifted significantly towards the lower-left, moving ever closer towards the totalitarian position, as depicted in the revised chart to the right. Recent history shows that while people argue over their pet political left-right issues until each of them is ultimately decided, regardless of whether the specific outcomes are judged favorably or not, the bitter reality is that personal liberty is almost always further curtailed in the process. What becomes clear is that, in many cases, we are wasting precious resources and valuable time fighting the wrong battles. Of course, this is not to say that there are not important aspects affecting our liberty contained in every one of the left-right issues. The point is that while we focus on whether or not birth control should be mandated, or whether tax dollars should be used to bail out car companies, or whether common core is a good educational approach, or whether certain people should be allowed to marry, we are not directly focusing on our personal freedom. Why? Because personal freedom means autonomy and the ability to exercise control over one's own life. It means that the above questions, and many like them, are ones asked and answered in the privacy of one's own mind and are not subject to external debate, let alone government control. By engaging in these debates, we implicitly grant that the answers are up to others to decide for us. What we must do is stop looking to our left or right and instead look forward towards our goal located in the upper-right corner of the chart. We need to stop playing the politicians' game where they are the ones allowed to define the issues. Instead, we must adopt the other axis and reframe the debate in clear liberty-versus-slavery terms, making the choice clear through our own examples. It is time to set rather than follow the agenda. In other words, it is time to directly assert our liberty ideology in uncompromising terms. |
Tara Maller
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Subject: A Life of One's Own? — Fugget About It!
"Citizenship demands a sense of common cause;
participation in the hard work of self-government; an
obligation to serve our communities."
—Barack Obama – 2014 State of the Union Address Tick ... Tick ... Tick ... Tick ... Behind the scenes, the gears continue to turn slowly but continuously, always working to advance the progressive agenda. While Obama acts as the carney—the front man for our dark national circus—constantly repeating lies until they become accepted by many as though they were simple facts, there is an army operating in the shadows, often financed with our tax dollars, busily planning how to further exert control over our lives. While explicitly contravening the Declaration of Independence, our president stands on the national stage and asserts that you are not sovereign over your life, liberty and property. He states that your citizenship is not a right, but an obligation—a debt that must be repaid to your master, the state. And how does he intend to collect? Well, confiscation of property through increased taxes and ever expanding regulations is certainly one method, but insufficient in that it only asserts control over the material side of existence, leaving the spiritual realm unconstrained. The essence of Ellsworth Toohey residing within Obama and most other politicians, seeks to control the very souls of men, enslaving them to their purpose. And the best way to accomplish this is by initiating a program of national service—voluntary at first, but what, in the end, will be a mandate for all. And in accordance with his now famous proclamation, "I've got a pen and I've got a phone," for the most part, this will be accomplished outside of the legislative purview of Congress. In the past I have often discussed the federal tactic of bribing states into mandating compulsory community service for public school children of all ages, through a program known as Service Learning. Some of the better articles may be found here. This educational indoctrination is one of the major beachheads in the progressive's playbook. In an article titled, Answering the State of the Union's Call to Citizenship, Tara Maller, the associate director for strategic communications at the Aspen Institute's Franklin Project, reveals another significant approach for transmuting Obama's dream into reality. Here are some excerpts from Maller's missive:
I have written previously regarding the Franklin Project, and looking at their home page we find the following statement:
Voluntary? Unbelievable. Another case of the Big Lie writ large! Government is a repository of force. Voluntary programs are not "institutionalized" and they certainly do not involve a "national service certification (i.e., registration) system"! To call these programs "voluntary" is precisely equivalent to when Harry Reid tells us that paying our income tax is "voluntary". And notice the bait-and-switch involved with equating a program of national service with being a good "global citizen". This effort has nothing to do with our nation and everything to do with the establishment of a unified and collectivized world government under the auspices of the United Nations. Finally, let us not ignore the Orwellian threat that no one would dare "choose" to forgo their "voluntary" period of enslavement to national service. If ever there was "an offer that can't be refused," this would certainly qualify! Make no mistake, here we are looking directly into the face of pure evil — fully self-aware of its intent and consequences. It is through the Corporation for National & Community Service that the majority of these service programs are organized and funded. During the past five years this program has received somewhere in the neighborhood of $5.4 billion in taxpayer dollars to fund this push for national service. You might like to contact your state Senators and Representative and let them know what you think about how your money is being spent. In addition, the Franklin Project is being sponsored by the following private corporations. Where available, contact information is provided should you like to give any of them some personal feedback.
The advance towards enslavement continues. Organizations such as the Aspen Institute, funded by private corporations, are working day in, day out to ensure that the ability to control our own destiny is eliminated and that the will of every individual is bent to the dictates of the collective state. The only thing capable of stopping this relentless march is for enough people to stand up and say NO! Say NO! to the corporations and foundations that fund these operations. Say NO! to the local school boards and organizations that implement them. Say NO! to the neighbors who promote these ideas. And say NO! to the politicians who believe that they have the right to substitute their thoughts and desires in place of our own. Do not remain silent and recede into the background. Instead, become a visible presence and a powerful voice for the principles of individualism and personal freedom. |
Happy New Year
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Subject: Happy New Year
 (Click on image for a larger view.)
Here's wishing everyone a joyful, prosperous and freer life in 2014.
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My Agenda
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Subject: The Ends Justify the Means
Most contemporary politicians have learned to engage in the technique of the Big Lie as a routine part of their day-to-day speech. But President Obama is a master practitioner, surpassed by no one. Whether he is promising the voters that his administration would:
or he is:
he does it with a straight face, often accompanied by a wagging finger and condescending glare. Amidst all of these falsehoods there is a new one that has been bothering me of late. Everyone is talking about Obama's oft repeated lie that if you wanted to keep your current heath insurance, you could. It is then reported that many people with individual policies are now receiving termination notices from their carriers, but that these cancellations amounts to only a small percentage of the insured — typically somewhere between 5-15% of the total. This itself is another Big Lie, intended to deceive the public into believing that this was only a small problem with the law. However, the truth is that the vast majority of all insured people are having their policies canceled! It is just that the rest of the people get their group insurance through some third-party such as their employer. Nevertheless, every one of those group-based policies is also being canceled and the group administrators have been forced to negotiate new policies in their place. Just because the end users don't observe what is going on behind the scene, doesn't make this any less real. How could it be otherwise? The new legislation imposes untold numbers of new requirements on the health care industry, and new policies would be required in order to meet the conditions of the law. All of this was perfectly foreseeable from the very first day that this new nationalization of health care started to be discussed. It was crystal clear that this would be the case when Obamacare was passed. And it was known to every human on the planet who had their eyes open, every time Obama guaranteed that it was not true. Therefore, it is extremely aggravating to see people act surprised that policies are being canceled, or hear them say that it affects only a small percentage of people, or watch them profess to be shocked that Obama lied to them! Of course he lied! He always lies. For Barack Obama, the ends always justify the means. What's more saddening is how few have come to understand what his end game actually is. Randy Newman wrote a wonderful song (slightly modified here in the pursuit of accuracy) that does a great job of expressing the essence of Obama and his manifest disregard for truth and integrity.
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Terry BranstadGovernor of Iowa |
Subject: It's a No Brainer
In a new article in the Huffington Post entitled, "National Service is a 'No Brainer'," Terry Branstad, the Governor of Iowa, waxes on about the glories inherent in service to the state. He begins:
As with most people who support national service, Branstad intermingles the terms volunteerism and service as though they were equivalent. This is no accident, and is done with a subtle but sinister purpose. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
While volunteerism is explicitly a matter of free individual choice in pursuit of something of value, the idea of service contains within it an implication of duty (servant) and altruism (the welfare of others). The purpose of weaving these two terms together is to undermine the the idea of personal value and choice and replace it with a sense of external duty. And in case there is any doubt that this is the goal, consider the following definition from the World English Dictionary:
Here, we see that the pursuit of the volunteer's own values have disappeared, being replace by "the benefit of other people," while "social responsibility" has been substituted for what was once a free and unconstrained choice. And what we are left with is volunteerism without any remnant of the voluntary. This process illustrates how language is intentionally undermined in order to change the very manner in which the uncritical person thinks. Branstad certainly drives this point home when he informs us that there is a "new covenant between government and the people." A covenant is a binding agreement—one which he has unilaterally imposed upon the rest of us by fiat, without need of our consent. But that is just the beginning. In reading through the remainder of Branstad's article, it becomes abundantly clear what the Governor means by voluntary. Branstad speaks glowingly of numerous federal and state Service organizations including: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, the Volunteer Generation Fund, the new national FEMA Corps partnership and Reading Corps. But never does he consider what makes each of these groups possible? Every one of them is funded by taxpayer dollars—taxes taken from individuals under threat of force and then used for purposes which they may or may not support. You might think that there is nothing voluntary happening on the input side of this equation, but Branstad's covenant says otherwise. And what about the people who directly participate in each of these organizations? Do the recruiters, trainers, schedulers, managers and administrators of this wide array of programs "volunteer" their time? Do the service providers working in these programs simply donate their efforts? Does Governor Branstad follow his own heart-felt advice and freely contribute his time and energy in service of the people of Iowa? Of course not. In most cases all of these people are being paid for their efforts. Again, you might argue that this isn't volunteering — this is what the rest of the world on the paying side of the "grand bargain" just happen to call a job. In the private sector, people might think of their job as an exchange of value-for-value with their employer, but there are few if any who would describe their working to earn a living as "volunteering". So how does it magically become so when administered by government? The answer is Newspeak. Maybe, when thinking about volunteering, Mr. Branstad has his school system's Service Learning program in mind. In this sweet scheme, states get federal dollars in exchange for requiring school children to perform community service activities as a requirement for advancing from grade to grade, or graduating. Well, these kids are certainly not receiving a paycheck for their required work, and there's no escaping the requirement, seeing as school attendance is mandatory. So there is nothing ambiguous here. This is outright slavery—forced work without any form of compensation. But I guess if you are a person with a mind as "flexible" as Branstad's, you can reconcile your support for the 13th Amendment with your support for programs such as this by simply calling it volunteerism. Problem solved. Governments were formed as protectors of individual rights, and were accorded a monopoly on the use of retaliatory force, constrained by codified law, in an attempt to insure that that use of that force was objective and just. Force is the only tool in the politician's box, and this is why the Constitution strictly limited the scope and powers of all forms of government. But today we are living in a post-Constitutional era where the reach of government is practically unconstrained. All of the service programs lauded by Branstad are actually wealth-transfer schemes, using force to extract earnings from one group of citizens and placing it in the pockets of another group. But beyond that, the real but unstated end-goal is the establishment of mandatory national service requirements for all American citizens, where everyone will be conscripted into years of service to the state. To all freedom-loving people, I would argue that you not only avoid any form of government "service" programs, but that you work to actively oppose them at every opportunity. If so inclined, there are many opportunities to contribute time, money or effort to private organizations engaged in meaningful activities. But every contribution to these government programs provide not only resources, but a sanction for the further establishment of a system rapidly evolving into a master-slave relationship — and you, most certainly, are not going to be the master! There is one point that Governor Branstad makes with which I do wholeheartedly agree. For him, service is a "no brainer." Well, he said it, not me. |
