the hypocrisy of the left

January 31, 2012 //
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I often like to point out the hypocrisy of the left.  Of course, that would include most things the left preaches, and that would keep me far too busy.  I could point out such inconsistencies ad nauseam.  But to save on time, I will keep my observations brief.

It occurred to me this morning while taking a shower (a good place to do some thinking; not quite as good as the toilet, but still rather useful) that the left believes that man (sorry…don’t want to be politically incorrect), or rather, humankind, is essentially good.  They believe that a utopian society is possible.  They believe that a whole nation, and even a whole world, can exist peacefully in a communal, one-world, borderless, open society.

This idealistic way of thinking, however, quickly falls apart because at the same time the left preaches this childlike fantasy nonsense, they also admit that if only the greedy, corrupt, evil corporations and billionaires would give up their imperialistic power, a beautiful world of peace and harmony and dolphins and unicorns would open up to us all.  While they believe people are naturally good, they acknowledge that there are people who are not.

The left thinks that man, oops, I mean, humankind, cannot be trusted to be good on their own.  They must be monitored and regulated by the government to make sure they are good.  The left believes that if left to our own devises, we would all be greedy, heartless, brutes who don’t care about other people, who won’t help other people.

So which is it?  You can’t have it both ways.  Either man is capable of a harmonious communal society (man is good) or there are evil, corrupt people who oppress the rest of us (man is bad).  If you say that’s much too black and white, then ask yourself what it is you believe.  Do you believe that man should be free to be good and bad, that he should be free to fail?

If goodness can only be achieved through governmental regulation, then it’s not really goodness.  And if bad exists and cannot be avoided or snuffed out completely, then a utopian society is not possible.  And if you don’t want utopia, if you don’t want a one-world, borderless, open society, then what the hell are you doing on the left?

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Categories government, philosophy, politics

if ayn could see us now

January 17, 2012 //
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Tonight I went to the Arclight in Hollywood for a special screening of “Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged.”  The documentary, although falling short, in my opinion, artistically and in editing, was food for my soul (despite the fact that Ayn Rand was a strict objectivist and atheist and may not have believed in the concept of a soul).

One of the best treats of the evening (other than a packed, large theatre, in the middle of Hollywood of all places!) was that Chris Mortensen, the director, and Yaron Brook, the president of the Ayn Rand Institute, were there for the screening and held a Q&A session after the film.  I raised my hand.  They called on me.  I cleared my throat, leaned forward, took a breath, and asked, “Do you think, or do you think Ayn would think, that it’s too late, that we can’t come back from this, that we’ve gone too far?”

Silence.  “Well…” Mr. Brook began, “I think it will have to get a lot darker before it gets better.”  I agree.  If it is possible to come back from this, it will not happen anytime soon, and certainly not under Romney’s watch or Gingrich’s, let alone Barak Obama’s.  “Atlas Shrugged” is prophetical, but all of it will have to come true, not just the decline of society, not just the all controlling, ever-present government, not just the loss of freedom, enterprise, and private property, but the very lights of New York City will have to go dark in order for us to turn around, wipe the slate clean, and start over.  I pray that I will not have to see this, and at the same time, hope that I do.

The tiny silver lining that Brook offered was that “as long as there is free speech, there is hope.”  No matter how dark it gets, if there is even a dim, little light, a tiny spark of truth and reason, it may, one day, have the power to overcome the darkness and cover the world in its bright, glorious light.  There can be no light without dark, so although I fear it, I want us to fall, if only so we can climb and rise back up and triumph once again.

You knew the truth, Ayn.  You knew it all too well.  I wish you were here to see us now.  You would be devastated to see how far we have fallen, and yet, you would not be in the least bit surprised.

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Categories art, favorite things, los angeles, philosophy

we need to change the language

December 7, 2011 //
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I am so sick of hearing all the pundits, politicians, commentators, and analysts use the phrase, “create jobs” when referring to the government.  This goes for all the republicans in addition to the democrats.  Everyone is saying the same thing: “We need to create jobs.”

They’ve got this totally and completely and utterly wrong.  The government cannot create jobs.  It cannot create anything.  It can only redistribute.  Even the government jobs that do exist (that are growing at an ever alarming rate) do not create or produce anything.  The DMV, the Postal Service, the Department of Education, the EPA, the FDA, the IRS, they do not create goods that we willingly purchase in exchange for hard-earned money.  Instead, we are forced to deal with them and adhere to their rules and laws and regulations without any say-so.  We are required to give them money without being asked, without participating in a fair exchange.

When it comes to “creating jobs,” the only thing the government can do is get out of the way so that businesses are free to flourish.  The government cannot help, it can only hurt.  The government must repeal its regulations and restrictions, decrease corporate taxes, and revoke its “Right-to-Work” laws so that businesses, not government, can create jobs.

This phrase that they keep cramming down our throats, this phrase we have readily accepted and, in fact, taken on as our own, this phrase of “creating jobs,” make no mistake, is extremely dangerous.  We are playing into their game.  When language takes hold, when it becomes commonplace, people believe it without even thinking.  And forget about questioning such a notion.  If you tell people, after they have been bombarded with this phrase more times than they can count, more times than they are aware of, that the government cannot create jobs, they will respond, “Of course it can.  Everyone knows that.”

We have to change the language.

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Categories government, media bias, politics

contribute vs. change

November 9, 2011 //
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I often like to point out differences between freedom-loving, common-sensed conservatives and their leftist counterparts.  Today, while driving on the Hollywood freeway, it occurred to me that liberals want to fundamentally change society.  They want to recreate society, morph it into their idealistic utopia of environmentally friendly, spiritually evolved (and devoid of religion), multicultural society by the people, for the people.  They want to improve society (as warped and misguided as their notion of improvement may be).

Conservatives, however, do not wish to change society.  We want to contribute to society.  We want to build up, not tear down.  We want to create, not destroy.  We want to produce, not restructure.  We believe there is an ever-expanding pie, not that there is a zero sum game.  We know that people do not have because other people do not.  We know that someone’s wealth does not come at the cost of someone else’s poverty.

If we are modern, they are post-modern.  If we are the culture, they are the counter-culture.  If we are structure, they are chaos.

They are the radicals.  They want to change the world.  We are the producers.  We contribute to the world.

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Categories politics

if you’re liberal when you’re old…

October 16, 2011 //
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My mother is a beautiful, hippie spirit.  She met my father in 1971, during their junior year of college, spent abroad in the quaint, socialist country of Denmark.  Although my father has evolved (after voting for McGovern in 1972 and then switching to Ford in 1976 and never voting Democrat again), my sweet and adorable mother has remained true to her hippie roots.

Yesterday, I accompanied my mother to the Fox and Hounds, a British pub in Studio City, to see the Bob Cowsill Band, a 1960s & 70s cover band.  The band was great, my mom and her friends were in heaven, dancing and signing along to their favorite songs of yesteryear.

I sat at a high table, on a barstool, watching these older, gray-haired men rock out on their drums and guitars.  Then, as the band played “Flower Girl,” an older woman, probably in her 50s or 60s, began dancing right in front of me.  She had short hair and a bright orange shirt that was several sizes to small for her slightly plump midsection.  She danced and sang and smiled.  How cute, I thought.  Until…

I began examining this ill-fitting, bright orange shirt, and soon realized that in big, black letters, across her back, the t-shirt read, “We are the 99.”  I suddenly became quite annoyed and, more than anything, disappointed.  The song and the band and the atmosphere of the bar suddenly took on new meaning.  These older, has-been hippies and their progressive, SDS comrades ruined our society.  The 1960s destroyed so much that was good and decent and successful and productive.  These baby-boomers were the counterculture revolution.  And now, here we are, with their descendants, their revolting progeny, the Occupy Wallstreet lowlife radicals who wish to take the torch from them and destroy our society even more than they could ever imagine.

It’s quite possible this woman is a woman just like my mom: incredibly sweet and goodhearted and extremely misguided and uninformed.  Unfortunately, many who are misinformed lean left.  They have to.  If they were better informed, they would lean right (and be right).

Oh, Mom, how I wish I could awake you from your childlike ignorance.  I once said to my father, “Dad, I love her, she’s my mom, but how are you married to this woman?”  He smiled and replied, “I love her so much, she can do whatever she wants.”

I guess that hippie, John Lennon, was right.  All you need is love.

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Categories los angeles, philosophy, politics
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