“Well if your ancestors could see you standing there/They would gaze in wonder at your Frigidaire/They had to fight just to survive/So can’t you do something with your life?
“Well if your ancestors could see you standing there/They would gaze in wonder at your Frigidaire/They had to fight just to survive/So can’t you do something with your life?
Good post, Cjunk. This bit from Alan Charles Kors’ essay Can There Be an “After Socialism” speaks to that same basic theme:
“The cognitive behavior of Western intellectuals faced with the accomplishments of their own society, on the one hand, and with the socialist ideal and then the socialist reality, on the other, takes one’s breath away. In the midst of unparalleled social mobility in the West, they cry ‘caste.’ In a society of munificent goods and services, they cry either ‘poverty’ or ‘consumerism.’ In a society of ever richer, more varied, more productive, more self-defined, and more satisfying lives, they cry ‘alienation.’ In a society that has liberated women, racial minorities, religious minorities, and gays and lesbians to an extent that no one could have dreamed possible just fifty years ago, they cry ‘oppression.’ In a society of boundless private charity, they cry ‘avarice.’ In a society in which hundreds of millions have been free riders upon the risk, knowledge, and capital of others, they decry the ‘exploitation’ of the free riders. In a society that broke, on behalf of merit, the seemingly eternal chains of station by birth, they cry ‘injustice.’ In the names of fantasy worlds and mystical perfections, they have closed themselves to the Western, liberal miracle of individual rights, individual responsibility, merit, and human satisfaction. Like Marx, they put words like ‘liberty’ in quotation marks when these refer to the West….”
Just out of curiosity, where does that — apt — quote in the banner at you and your son’s blog — “But then, there is the ‘progressive’ class…that aimless mass of western humanity so burdened by cultural self-loathing that it is to Islam as ungulates are to lions” — come from?
EBD: I wrote that as part of a post some time back. People kept asking where it came from … so I put it on our header since it seemed to strike a cord.
Update:
The post – http://cjunk.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-islamophobia-is-not-phobia.html
Posted by: EBD at
**Just out of curiosity, where does that — apt — quote in the banner at you and your son’s blog — “But then, there is the ‘progressive’ class…that aimless mass of western humanity so burdened by cultural self-loathing that it is to Islam as ungulates are to lions” — come from?**
Easy answer…..they come from our school system which has been hi-jacked by the COLD WAR losers…..who have replaced reading, writing and arithmatic with social engineering/brain washing/”progressive” programing.
Todays graduates may be functionally illiterate and haven’t a clue about 1066 or the Magna Carta but they can be depended upon to vote NDP or LIBRANO……
……the programers have a problem though—-their product has more important things to do than vote….anything is more important to them….
The notion BAMBAM was supported by the youth vote is a myth…..political apathy is the hallmark of today’s youth….
Good thing or things could be worse—a lot worse–
Holy smokes, Paul, it sounds like something chiseled into a granite plinth under a statue of Horatio Nelson, or something. That’s a good one.
EBD: I guess that when we bloggers dribble out tens of thousands of words of polemics we are bound to get something right once in a while.
Well, it hasn’t worked out that way for me yet.
Ah well, today a Cracker-Jack box, tomorrow a 14 ton plinth…
Have had a “Pulp” song (“e’s and whizz”, admittedly) in my head all day. Coincidence?
No SH-T sunshine! But many will blame boomers who have had their children live in a custom and style that they cannot possibly achieve on their own.
Garbage!!! I am a boomer. I have three children the youngest of which is 32. All three have grown up on our upper middle-class home and are now hard-working adults who know the value of hard work and having a purpose in life.
Too F’n much left wing – let the government do it all for you – kind of atmosphere out there. Will Obummer fix that? Not a snowball’s chance in hell. He will only make it worse.
Paul- something like ten thousand monkeys on typewriters could write Shakespeare ??
Snagglepuss: Careful now … you’ll be nailed for being racist 🙂
Oops, never thought of that. Does that come into play? I mean, consider that certain of the species (apes, or is it baboons?), have a decidedly ‘O’range hue.
Great comment from Alan Charles Kors.
While the socialists were crying “caste,” “poverty,” “consumerism,” “alienation,” “oppression, “avarice,” “exploitation,” and “injustice” — all the better to take our money and our individual freedoms in order to right all the “wrongs” and fix all the “dysfunctions” (which, of course, never happens) — they were also undermining the foundational institutions of our Western democracies.
Look at their take on the family and the Church.
In our places of “learning,” family no longer means mother, father, child(ren). It can be any conglomeration of people living together. There is no acknowledgment — in fact just the opposite — that the mother/father/child(ren) model of the family is the most advantageous for children and society. There is no acknowledgment that this “traditional” model of the family creates the most stability for children and society at large.
To acknowledge these truths would put socialists at a gross disadvantage because mom/dad/kids families tend to be independent-minded (especially when Mom stays home to care for the kids) and aren’t too likely to gladly hand over a third of their hard-earned income to the Nanny state or to dump their child(ren) into publicly funded daycare where they can be indoctrinated by the State, starting at infancy. They’re also far less likely to look to the State to “fix” their problems.
And while the socialists have done everything they can to neuter the family, to render it completely dependent upon the government teat, they have also done a number on our perception of the Church, criticizing it at every turn, turning (for the most part) holy men into lecherous monsters, mocking those of us who believe in the Christian God, and muzzling our participation in the public square.
There’s a very good reason for this. They know that the Christian Church, for millennia, has stood against tyranny and that those with strong faith-based convictions are far less likely to fall for their propaganda. They know that we can see through their protestations of “freedom” and “justice” for all, and that we understand that these are simply euphamisms for the enslavement of the masses. That’s why the Gulag in Russia and, on a much smaller scale, though on the same continuum, the HRCs in Canada, which have made white, Christian males their preferred targets.
There are none so blind as those who willfully refuse to see. Western Civilization is falling fast because too many refuse to acknowledge the foundational role that family and faith have played in our democracies. We arrogantly assume that in this brave new Nanny-state world there is no need to nurture and protect “traditional” institutions. In fact, just the opposite. We’re Hell bent for leather upon destroying them.
The socialists have done their job well. And, family-less and faithless, we’ve fallen for their lies. Strong families and ardent faith were our weapons against tyranny and we’ve allowed ourselves to be disarmed.
Snagglepus said “I mean, consider that certain of the species (apes, or is it baboons?), have a decidedly ‘O’range hue.”
Now the boys at the Orange Lodge will angry with you.
A very fine article, “The State Despotic” by Mark Steyn in The New Criterion, dealing with what stands between individual freedom and tyranny:
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/The-state-despotic-4096
[begin quote]
… Thus, Tocqueville’s great insight—that what prevents the “state popular” from declining into a “state despotic” is the strength of the intermediary institutions between the sovereign and the individual. The French revolution abolished everything and subordinated all institutions to the rule of central authority.
The New World was more fortunate: “The principle and lifeblood of American liberty” was, according to Tocqueville, municipal independence. “With the state government, they had limited contact; with the national government, they had almost none,” writes Professor Rahe: In New England, their world was the township; in the South, it was the county; and elsewhere it was one or the other or both… .
Self-government was the liberty that they had fought the War of Independence to retain, and this was a liberty that in considerable measure Americans in the age of Andrew Jackson still enjoyed.
For Tocqueville, this is a critical distinction between America and the faux republics of his own continent. “It is in the township that the strengths of free peoples resides,” he wrote. “Municipal institutions are for liberty what primary schools are for science; they place it within reach of the people.” In America, democracy is supposed to be a participatory sport not a spectator one …
… in the twentieth century the intermediary institutions were belatedly hacked away—not just self-government at town, county, and state level, but other independent outposts: church, family, civic associations. Today, very little stands between the individual and the sovereign[/government] …
[end quote]
What we don’t have is 1) freedom and 2) food free of poison. Those two have been replaced with electronics. Thank for nothing!
Paul, that comment of yours is profoundly insightful and moving. I’ve never seen that thought so perfectly expressed, even though I’ve been thinking it myself since the 1980’s.
Spread that one around a little more, its got potential to do some good.
Aaron,
1) Buy a gun.
2) grow a garden.
If you want to overcome the incessant European whinging from your hindbrain that leads you to make these inane comments, read that essay EBD references at 11:24 pm, re-read that little aphorism Paul posted up at the top there, and realize that if you have even the faintest shred of intelligence you’ll live longer eating the “poison” food here than humans have ever lived in history.
Freedom is something you fight for, not something Big Brother gives you along with your welfare check and your Happy Meal.
The Alan Charles Kors [sic] quote from his Can There Be an “After Socialism”? essay referenced by EBD supra is from the November, 2003 issue of Navigator magazine, which I found via The Atlas Society at The Objectivist Center and first posted to my original Sagacious Iconoclast blog on October 19, 2003, and later posted here at Small Dead Animals on June 26, 2006 at 6:37 PM [1]. If I’m not very much mistaken, it was from that latter link that EBD discovered the comment, as he mentions here on September 15, 2008 at 10:50 PM [2]. I think it goes well with this quote from Matt Ridley’s April 2003 essay, We’ve Never Had It So Good – And It’s All Thanks to Science, which I first referenced here on March 28, 2006 at 11:33 PM [3]:
[1] http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/004195.html#c85613
[2] http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/009550.html#c306128
[3] http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/003728.html#c65391
Batb-
Good Lord! “Socialists…have turned holy men into lecherous monsters…”
Batb! Step away from the bong! Now!
Phantom, what the (heck golly darn) do you know about fighting for freedom? You, whiny Canadians, can’t even stand up to Turdopian communism that was shoved down your throats.
Your sissy ‘brave gun owners’ condemned Bruce Montague as a ‘nutjob from Kenora’ instead of revolting and rescuing him from the hands of Ontario dictatorship.
Buy a garden? And who will work and make my living while I will be watering the vegetables? Certainly you won’t. By the way, I am not vegetarian. What’s your next advise – to buy a cow?
Now, how buying a gun would give me freedom? I only see it as a way to loose freedom, from what I am observing. To much of your surprise, I actually have not one, but many guns. Once I ordered some supplies, and police intercepted a parcel and raided my home. They wanted to see my PAL, because the box said ‘bullets’ on the outside. Thank you so much for cowering this country into nanny-statism! This is your legacy.
bleety, I thought pederasts were only monsters to knuckle draggers like us. Aren’t all you noble progressives good with the whole free gay love and thing?
Also, you must admit that you progressive noble types were slagging Christianity at every opportunity -long- before the Catholic priest pederasty scandal broke.
You have any comments to make on the actual subject of the discussion? (as if!) Or are you going to just fling poo as usual?
Administrative Note: I have deleted your 12:35 PM comment, Momar, because that was a copyrighted essay you posted, and you posted it in its entirety. That’s not fair use, that’s illegal. In the future, please restrict your use of copyrighted material to a fair use excerpt, and post a link to the main article instead of the rest of it. Thanks.
Aaron: “what the heck golly darn do you know about fighting for freedom”
… obviously enough to respect and honour those who actually do “fight” for freedom; and enough to know the difference between freedom and the inane whining of the “progressive” class which, when looked at closely, is designed with the single purpose of expanding bureaucracy.
How about the Ministry of Saving Aaron from Poison Food so that he can eek out another 4 months of life expectancy?
Vit,
got it …
Wronged by our rights
bleet, how many priests do you know?
I know a lot of them, and only one that I know of had a dalliance with a 16-year-old and has paid heavily for it — as he should.
The rest of them are “holy men,” as I said. They live sacrificial lives and help people 24/7 in more ways than you could ever imagine — for little or no thanks and often the kind of abuse you’re guilty of. I don’t imagine you’d know a holy man if he saved your life …
The portrayal of the majority of priests as sexual abusers and pedophiles is the perverted fantasy of the secular humanists rife in the arts industry. About 3% of every group, including lawyers, teachers, doctors, journalists, politicians, entertainers (who, ironically, may have a higher percentage), etc. , are sexual abusers. The percentage amongst clergy is certainly no higher and may well be lower — not that you’d know it by the coverage they get in the media. The CBC is one of the worst offenders.
When was the last time you gave to charity? When was the last time you sent relief to earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, victims halfway around the world? When was the last time you gave financial, housing, psychological, spiritual help to an unwed mother and her unborn child? When was the last time you sat by the bed of a dying child or adult, giving succour to them and to their devastated families? When did you set up a palliative care unit for dying patients?
Yeah, just what I would have thought.
So, shove it, bleet. Go bark up some other tree. Your attitude disgusts me.
I’m with you batb. Always enjoy your posts.
Dunno what ‘abuse’ you’re saying I’m guilty of, batb.
In the subliterate rant you posted, you said ‘Socialists have turned holy men into lecherous monsters’. My position is that if there are holy men who are lecherous monsters they’ve done it to themselves, without the help of socialists. Though I suppose the Vatican has abetted them by turning a blind eye or moving them around to other parishes.
Thanks, a storm is coming.
As for you, bleet, as I said, go bark up another tree. You don’t know what you’re talking about, boy.
Protests hit in Iran:
Iran need security first
Iran need happy people and better ecomonic solution
Iran need third priority to solve Iran Isreal and
USA and Saudi- Wahabi( over kingdom) and other sunni in neighborhood and other nonMuslim around them
better freedom of talk and listen and find solution not cover up and more focus their own peopel need
not allow opposition intrupt cities by burn tire in city and act barbarian by look are more laws to prevent them
do nt allow Isreal gossip and business of holycost for take more land while when Iranian died in IRan war sadam did not give them more land to Iran and also not allow Iranian who do not like Isalm laws and like to drink or adultries and alchol to show body of women to change all laws for Iranian who choose Islam law for thier choice of freedom
more public and more english translation for better media in world
alow more tourism to come and more meida to talk
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=iran+election&meta=&aq=f&oq=
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Iran+Ahmadinejad+heads/1690322/story.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
http://ca.search.yahoo.com/search?p=Ahmadinigad+Iran&fr=yfp-t-501&type=&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel
http://www.answers.com/topic/mahmoud-ahmadinejad
Women who their family live outside Iran or do not like Islamic laws mostly are Iranian youth who does not like wear scarf, seek free Iran like Mosavi and frustrated of situation:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=ahmadinagad+background&meta=
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C1D88C36D6D6435C&search_query=iranian+beauty+with+scarf
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=How+to+save+your+life+and+your+security+by+know+before+travel+to+Muslim+countries+and+their+culture+ask+your+travel+agent+to+help+you&meta=
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Please+try+to+understand+all+the+laws+before+travel+to+Iran+or+any+country+as+we+recommended+all+tourism+and+immigrant+need+to+know+the+laws+before+travel+to+Canada+or+Mexico+or+otehr+countires&meta=
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=iranian+beauty+with+scarf&aq=f
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHzh6VEVODQ&feature=PlayList&p=D8746EE55D7D322D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZIKshqJP8&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_pNIrqbVuM&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq-hbw2Tx_Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFfDY2OaPnc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXdu2XmbZgs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04f3xLCoum0&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeA_jo6HM-A&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TI-QLPoNnU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGfUzC1fY0o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYImQckRBoc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzeICx3BMag&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lim9zE0JAnE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riFlAO2dpi8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4RyXuMtzK4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoN-ltHRaqM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjNmpBIO_zQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8eUXg4hNfY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qADRfqfvEnQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDIUr5ygczs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJoS4WQzQwI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXIT_tTFRlY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxW_0n3H0LY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=249HWh9XDwY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIVFov-MCk4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C1D88C36D6D6435C&search_query=iranian+beauty+with+scarf
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=iranian+beauty+with+scarf&aq=f
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHzh6VEVODQ&feature=PlayList&p=D8746EE55D7D322D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ9e3dgFags
That ministry would be needed but not saving me, Paul! Saving YOU. I am well taken care of, my food is clean. It’s YOU who are poisoned by glutamic and aspartic acids and it is your water which is poisoned by fluoride.
My food supply is on average 2 times cheaper than average person’s, food tastes better and is of better variety. I have nothing to worry about – you do.
If this information aggravates you so much, I can just shut up and disappear from your radar – suit yourself, so to say. From your response you are either stupid or paid by food industry to suppress me by discrediting.