Be very afraid
"Fascist ethics begin ... with the acknowledgment that it is not the individual who confers a meaning upon society, but it is, instead, the existence of a human society which determines the human character of the individual. According to Fascism, a true, a great spiritual life cannot take place unless the State has risen to a position of pre-eminence in the world of man. The curtailment of liberty thus becomes justified at once, and this need of rising the State to its rightful position." [Mario Palmieri, "The Philosophy of Fascism" 1936]
"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." [Hillary Clinton, 1993]
"When will the world learn that a million men are of no importance compared with one man?" [Henry David Thoreau]
I often read the Drudge Report and ran across this little "Gem". This article pretty much summarizes the platform Ms. Clinton is presenting during her run for President. Ok, so why should we be afraid. The fact that she would like to move this country towards having government run all aspects of our lives. I for one have worked hard for what little reward I have gained (Xbox 360, etc.). She would like to take this little gain and give it to someone else. Perhaps someone who hasn't put themselves through school or spent hours on end in a cattle feedlot getting shit on, or kicked at or toiled in my own pasture to stack hay bales onto the pickup and then restack them under the barn to feed my horse. Have I moved up in my little world? Yes, I have, but by God, I have put in the effort and reached and crawled to get here and I really, really don't want someone who makes five times what I do to say that it's not fair and that I need to share this with others. I remember a story I read recently where a young girl worked very hard on a paper talking about a socialist society and all the advantages. She got an A. A young man presented a paper on a different subject but only got a D. The teacher asked the little girl if she really believed a socialist society was a good thing to which the girl replied very smugly, yes. So the teacher said that the little girl wouldn't mind sharing her A with the little boy and both of them would get a C. The little girl immediately cried, "But I worked so hard on that paper, I deserve the A." The teacher made her point.
Look what Hugo Chavez is doing in Venezuela. He is slowly and surely moving himself into the position of a dictator, just like Castro did. He shut down a television station and inserted his own state run programming. Doesn't that sound nice? Now we don't have to take responsibility for what we watch. That decision will be made for us. I for one DO NOT welcome these soul-sucking individualism-stealing overlords.
To simplify this even more, remember in Star Wars III the rise of Senator Palpatine and how he was able to manipulate the senate to give him power to raise an army? He continually stated that it would be best to give him the ultimate power and look what happened. Darth Vader, The Death Star, etc. Similar situations were seen in Germany during the rise of Hitler.
We are seeing more and more people talk of individualism as a bad thing. We are not here for the society, the society is here for us to give us the opportunity to do the things we strive to accomplish. America is the land of opportunity, or at least it was. I hope it remains that way.
Ok, I feel better now.
Would you rather
Have your significant other be sensitive to your feelings
Or
Have your significant other respect your intellect (but not both)?
Keep on Go!