An almost chilling look at an interview with Peter Schiff less than two years ago. Watch as they laugh at his predictions, and keep in mind that these same people are still considered the experts, and Peter Schiff (along with Ron Paul) are considered the fringe, the lunatics.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tolkien and Today
I know, I know. I go on these spurts where I don't write for awhile.
This blog is not so much about me, as it is about how I perceive the world around me. A minor distinction, to be sure, but an important one.
You see, lately I haven't liked what I've been seeing.
Personally, my life is going really, really well. I love where I work. I love where I live. I love what I do. My life is good. But my country...
My country is sick, and it's dying. All that I love and hold dear about America is either dead, or in its last feeble gasps. HG Wells once said that civilization is a race between education and catastrophe. I fear education has lost the race.
So it's been hard to write. Hard to say what I've been thinking. I try to find wry amusement in it, but it's getting harder to find a reason to smile about where we are, and where we're headed.
Every few years I re-read JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and each time I find wonders anew. The sword and sorcery tale I loved as a kid takes on new depths and meaning every time. I recently did this (I was sick for a couple of days). And there was something about it chewing at me. Something that I couldn't quite place. And today it hit me.
The true reason I love this tale is because it's about right and wrong. It's about why you fight evil.
Lord of the Rings is not a fun time, where the good guys always win and never fall. It's not a tale where the hero always makes the right choices, and knows what to do at every turn. It's a story of people trying to do the right thing, trying to fight evil as best they can. The darkness is winning. Defeat for good is all but inevitable, and yet they fight on. Some out of despair, some clinging to hope, but still they fight on. For one simple reason: Evil must be fought.
There is no good character in the story that honestly expects to win over evil (except some of the more foolish side characters, perhaps). They expect to lose. And at the end of the story, it's not truly a happy ending. Things are not the same, can never return to the way they were. But they fight on, regardless, because Evil must be fought.
Evil is with us today. It does not take the form of Wraiths and Goblins, but Ignorance and Self-Centeredness. Every evil is perpetuated in the name of good, by people who either know no better, or are so wrapped up in themselves they feel superior to all others, enough so to inflict their choices upon us all. Evil takes the form of one more government program funded by stealing from citizens. Evil takes the form of one more right, one more liberty stolen away from us in the name of security. Evil takes the form of every person dedicated to bending others to their will by force. This is the Evil of Osama Bin Laden, but it is also the Evil of George W. Bush. And Evil must be fought.
Our congress looks set to pass a bill that has less than 7% approval, a bill certain to destroy the dollar faster than anything ever attempted. If this happens, there is nobody left who can say with any degree of legitimacy that our government has a shred of "of the people, by the people, and for the people" left in it. Our wonderful News Media gleefully reported at noon that this socialist nightmare of a bill was all but certain to be passed.
Our President ignores the Constitution.
Our Congress ignores the Constitution.
Our Judicial branch "interprets" the Constitution. Which is to say, ignores it whenever convenient.
We are tearing away the last vestiges of Republic, ironically at the very moment that our Empire is about to collapse.
And everybody is giving up. I know many people that do not want to know how bad it is, because they don't want to acknowledge where we are, and where we're headed. I was on the verge of giving up, myself. I can't win this fight. I can't change our government. If there is a person out there with the connections, the charisma, and the opportunity to make a difference - that person is not me.
But I am today reminded - Evil must be fought. Not because you expect to win. Not because you expect to change the world. But because it is what good men do. For every good man that fails, one, or two, or ten thousand are inspired to try again.
I fear we have lost our country. Lost it to greed, and ignorance, and self-centeredness. But I will fight for it. Because Evil must be fought.
So I will still call upon the congressmen who don't listen to me. I will vote for people I respect, who won't be allowed to win. I will write blogs in the hopes of having even one person wake up and tear off the veil that has been put over their eyes. And if none of this bears any fruit, I will have fought Evil. Because that is what good men do.
This blog is not so much about me, as it is about how I perceive the world around me. A minor distinction, to be sure, but an important one.
You see, lately I haven't liked what I've been seeing.
Personally, my life is going really, really well. I love where I work. I love where I live. I love what I do. My life is good. But my country...
My country is sick, and it's dying. All that I love and hold dear about America is either dead, or in its last feeble gasps. HG Wells once said that civilization is a race between education and catastrophe. I fear education has lost the race.
So it's been hard to write. Hard to say what I've been thinking. I try to find wry amusement in it, but it's getting harder to find a reason to smile about where we are, and where we're headed.
Every few years I re-read JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and each time I find wonders anew. The sword and sorcery tale I loved as a kid takes on new depths and meaning every time. I recently did this (I was sick for a couple of days). And there was something about it chewing at me. Something that I couldn't quite place. And today it hit me.
The true reason I love this tale is because it's about right and wrong. It's about why you fight evil.
Lord of the Rings is not a fun time, where the good guys always win and never fall. It's not a tale where the hero always makes the right choices, and knows what to do at every turn. It's a story of people trying to do the right thing, trying to fight evil as best they can. The darkness is winning. Defeat for good is all but inevitable, and yet they fight on. Some out of despair, some clinging to hope, but still they fight on. For one simple reason: Evil must be fought.
There is no good character in the story that honestly expects to win over evil (except some of the more foolish side characters, perhaps). They expect to lose. And at the end of the story, it's not truly a happy ending. Things are not the same, can never return to the way they were. But they fight on, regardless, because Evil must be fought.
Evil is with us today. It does not take the form of Wraiths and Goblins, but Ignorance and Self-Centeredness. Every evil is perpetuated in the name of good, by people who either know no better, or are so wrapped up in themselves they feel superior to all others, enough so to inflict their choices upon us all. Evil takes the form of one more government program funded by stealing from citizens. Evil takes the form of one more right, one more liberty stolen away from us in the name of security. Evil takes the form of every person dedicated to bending others to their will by force. This is the Evil of Osama Bin Laden, but it is also the Evil of George W. Bush. And Evil must be fought.
Our congress looks set to pass a bill that has less than 7% approval, a bill certain to destroy the dollar faster than anything ever attempted. If this happens, there is nobody left who can say with any degree of legitimacy that our government has a shred of "of the people, by the people, and for the people" left in it. Our wonderful News Media gleefully reported at noon that this socialist nightmare of a bill was all but certain to be passed.
Our President ignores the Constitution.
Our Congress ignores the Constitution.
Our Judicial branch "interprets" the Constitution. Which is to say, ignores it whenever convenient.
We are tearing away the last vestiges of Republic, ironically at the very moment that our Empire is about to collapse.
And everybody is giving up. I know many people that do not want to know how bad it is, because they don't want to acknowledge where we are, and where we're headed. I was on the verge of giving up, myself. I can't win this fight. I can't change our government. If there is a person out there with the connections, the charisma, and the opportunity to make a difference - that person is not me.
But I am today reminded - Evil must be fought. Not because you expect to win. Not because you expect to change the world. But because it is what good men do. For every good man that fails, one, or two, or ten thousand are inspired to try again.
I fear we have lost our country. Lost it to greed, and ignorance, and self-centeredness. But I will fight for it. Because Evil must be fought.
So I will still call upon the congressmen who don't listen to me. I will vote for people I respect, who won't be allowed to win. I will write blogs in the hopes of having even one person wake up and tear off the veil that has been put over their eyes. And if none of this bears any fruit, I will have fought Evil. Because that is what good men do.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
All Hail Sarah the Great!
A lot of people who know how deeply I care about politics have been asking me what I think of Sarah Palin. I've been trying to refine my thoughts enough to give a coherent answer. So here goes:
Everything I know about her is awesome. From what I can tell, I'd vote for her for President in a heartbeat.
But she's not running for President. And if McCain wins, there's nothing that says he's going to pay a damn bit of attention to what she stands for. In fact, everything about his record says the opposite. He's going to do what he wants to do;
More government
More spending
More foreign interventions
More freedom taken away in the name of protecting our freedom (gotta love that one).
Don't just listen to me; listen to what he himself says he's going to do!
So yeah, she's great. And irrelevant. She's a distraction, smoke and mirrors. But very, very effective. In one fell swoop, McCain's won the conservative base, non-feminazi women, and independents. He's won the election, without changing a single thing about himself or what he's going to do.
So the next question is this - do I admit I was wrong about the election? Of course. And not at all.
The particulars I was completely wrong about. I've called this one completely wrong at every step, for the first time since I started following politics (mid-90s).
But the general truth is this: we are not in a free country. We do not have free elections. We have a circus show, and a competition between pre-approved candidates. But only the approved candidates can make it. If a candidate doesn't follow the correct platform (which is the same between both "parties"), he/she will NOT be allowed to succeed. When Ron Paul actually upset the status quo, he was barred from buying advertising. He was barred from several debates, and given a fairly thorough media blackout.
Most people do not desire liberty, in my experience. They desire safety and prosperity. I do not think this was always the case, but it certainly is in my lifetime. I have theories on this as well, but that's for another time.
I recently heard somebody say one of the greatest beliefs that has afflicted modern America is that we have come to believe our desires and needs are our rights. Even ignoring the needs side of this, this is still a painful truth; that just because we need something, we do not have a right to it. In fact, I bet that many reading this would argue this very statement with me. What if you need food? What if you need medical care? What if you need shelter? What if you need ________?
But your need, and my need - does NOT equal my right to it. And until we face this, our country is screwed.
This is not the only problem we face, perhaps not even the biggest. But it is a lesson that must be learned before we can even begin to try to save the tattered remains of our Republic.
Of course, as long as we have "safety" and "prosperity" (and yes, those quotations are on purpose), most people will ridicule the very notion that our Republic has died, and we are now in an Empire.
So while the country anoints our next dictator based on his attractive sidekick, I can only laugh at the whole farce, and enjoy the show. I still hope people will wake up and realize what is happening. But I don't expect it.
Everything I know about her is awesome. From what I can tell, I'd vote for her for President in a heartbeat.
But she's not running for President. And if McCain wins, there's nothing that says he's going to pay a damn bit of attention to what she stands for. In fact, everything about his record says the opposite. He's going to do what he wants to do;
More government
More spending
More foreign interventions
More freedom taken away in the name of protecting our freedom (gotta love that one).
Don't just listen to me; listen to what he himself says he's going to do!
So yeah, she's great. And irrelevant. She's a distraction, smoke and mirrors. But very, very effective. In one fell swoop, McCain's won the conservative base, non-feminazi women, and independents. He's won the election, without changing a single thing about himself or what he's going to do.
So the next question is this - do I admit I was wrong about the election? Of course. And not at all.
The particulars I was completely wrong about. I've called this one completely wrong at every step, for the first time since I started following politics (mid-90s).
But the general truth is this: we are not in a free country. We do not have free elections. We have a circus show, and a competition between pre-approved candidates. But only the approved candidates can make it. If a candidate doesn't follow the correct platform (which is the same between both "parties"), he/she will NOT be allowed to succeed. When Ron Paul actually upset the status quo, he was barred from buying advertising. He was barred from several debates, and given a fairly thorough media blackout.
Most people do not desire liberty, in my experience. They desire safety and prosperity. I do not think this was always the case, but it certainly is in my lifetime. I have theories on this as well, but that's for another time.
I recently heard somebody say one of the greatest beliefs that has afflicted modern America is that we have come to believe our desires and needs are our rights. Even ignoring the needs side of this, this is still a painful truth; that just because we need something, we do not have a right to it. In fact, I bet that many reading this would argue this very statement with me. What if you need food? What if you need medical care? What if you need shelter? What if you need ________?
But your need, and my need - does NOT equal my right to it. And until we face this, our country is screwed.
This is not the only problem we face, perhaps not even the biggest. But it is a lesson that must be learned before we can even begin to try to save the tattered remains of our Republic.
Of course, as long as we have "safety" and "prosperity" (and yes, those quotations are on purpose), most people will ridicule the very notion that our Republic has died, and we are now in an Empire.
So while the country anoints our next dictator based on his attractive sidekick, I can only laugh at the whole farce, and enjoy the show. I still hope people will wake up and realize what is happening. But I don't expect it.
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