Conservative Quote of the Day
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. — John Stuart Mill
Classic Mark Steyn Quote
If you want a public culture that reeks of indestructible faith in its own righteousness, try Europe — especially when they’re talking about America: If you disagree with Eutopian wisdom, you must be an idiot. Obama and far too many Democrats have bought into this delusion, most thoroughly distilled in Thomas Frank’s book What’s The Matter With Kansas?, whose argument is that heartland voters are too dumb (i.e., “moronic muppets”) to vote for their own best interests.
Europeans did “vote for their own best interests” — i.e., cradle-to-grave welfare, 35 hour work-weeks, six weeks of paid vacation, etc — and as a result they now face a perfect storm of unsustainable entitlements, economic stagnation, and declining human capital that’s left them so demographically beholden to unassimilable levels of immigration that they’re being remorselessly Islamized with every passing day. We should thank God (if you’ll forgive the expression) that America’s loser gun-nuts don’t share the same sophisticated rational calculation of “their best interests” as Thomas Frank, Obama, too many Democrats and the European political establishment.
Related articles
- MARK STEYN: Democrats Should Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. “My point is that self-loathing cultural relat… (pjmedia.com)
The 1% the 99% SHOULD be protesting
Currently, the “We are the 99%” and the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd are (in theory) protesting against the “1%”. The problem is that these 1 percent make up the people who create and invent new goods and services for people. They are protesting the most productive people around. Societies that lack these people collapse. However, there is another 1% that the protesters SHOULD be protesting. This 1 percent really does live parasitically off the other 99 percent. Who makes up this villainous class? The STATE. Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. of the Mises institute has more on this here:
The State Is the 1 Percent
Related articles
A Quote I’m Sure Mark Steyn Would Agree With
Currently I’m working my way through Mark Steyn‘s “After America”. On another blog (The Hyacinth Girl) I found this great quote from Malcolm Muggeridge. I think it encapsulates what we’ve been doing to ourselves across the western world quite nicely. I’m sure Steyn would agree with his sentiments whole heartedly.
”So the final conclusion would seem to be that whereas other civilizations had been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions and providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania; himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down. And having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer, until at last, having educated himself into imbecility and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over, a weary, battered old brontosaurus, and became extinct.”
Related articles
- MARK STEYN: Lessons For Us From London In Flames. “Big Government debauches not only a nation’s fi… (pajamasmedia.com)
- ED DRISCOLL INTERVIEWS MARK STEYN about Steyn’s new book, After America, which picked a good week to… (pajamasmedia.com)
Hurray! The Return Of The Royal Canadian Navy And Air Force
Recently it has ben announced that the Canadian government is going to be restoring the names of the Navy and Air Force. Henceforth they will again be known as the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’d like to attempt to articulate why.
First is a big reason, which is really a defense of the monarchy and the role it plays in Canada.
Looking around the world what systems of government really work? For my money there really is only one that has proven itself overtime, and those are the Anglo American systems. Commonwealth nations such as my own Canada, New Zealand, Australia etc have shown the unique ability to evolve overtime minus revolutions, dictatorships, and a whole lot of blood. One of the primary reasons for this is that they allow for intermediate institutions to exist which are able to exercise authority within the society without any official political power. Institutions such as community groups, faith and family are examples of this. In Canada, the monarchy plays this role as well.
The crown is central to the Canadian constitutional order and provides a link to a glorious history which includes such events as the Magna Carta. Beware the ruler who promises to sweep aside such institutions for the sole purpose of beginning anew. If you doubt this check out the Cultural Revolution in China or the French and Russian revolutions, to name a few.
But let’s stay focused on Canada for a moment. Remember when Prime Minister Harper prorogued parliament? People were lining the roads, holding simple home made signs protesting Harper’s contempt for democracy. There was talk of the governor general getting involved and know it all smarty pants like Jon Stewart on The Daily Show made fun of it. Look at those goofy Canadians holding their signs! They have to consult with a representative of the Queen? Aren’t they an independent country? Yuck, yuck, yuck. On one level it was kind of funny, until you actually turn on your brain and think about it for a second. What we had was a crisis dealing with the legitimacy of the government and we were able to sail through due to the power and authority of an ancient institution. In most other countries these thing are settled with machetes and people being shot in the head. What the Jon Stewart’s of the world miss is that working societies are a delicate balancing act involving many different actors and factors. Arbitrarily removing one of them seldom ends well. The American War of Independence is one of the few where it did work, but that is the exception, not the rule.
For me, here’s the bottom line. For all its imperfections, Westminster democracy has delivered an unglamorous stability in countries the world over. Central to this system is the monarchy. It has historical weight and is incredibly valuable as a symbol of unifying, non-political authority. You can’t create something like it out of thin air. By restoring the names to the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force the government is paying respect to it.
On another level it is a reminder it is a reminder of the glorious history and traditions that all Canadians are heirs and beneficiaries to. During the Second World War, when the days were the darkest and most desperate, it was the Royal Canadian Navy and Air Force that stood in the breech. The original decision made in 1968 to rename the Royal Canadian Navy “Maritime Command” was an act of cultural vandalism. What occurred then would have been no different if they had renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the National Police Force or something. One has a rich tradition and resonates with Canadian history. The other is as banal as “Happy Holidays”.
I’ve read some grumblings that they don’t like this decision because they don’t like the Monarchy. Why, in this day and age, they ask, should one group of people be put on a pedestal above everyone else?
These people are completely missing the point. First of all, as noted above, the monarchy has served Canada well. The second point is that the monarchy actually represents the average Canadian on the political stage. Have you ever wondered why the Prime Minister bows to the Queen? Symbolically, it is a recognition that the office of Prime Minister is transient in nature. When he bows before the Queen he is actually bowing before the people. Prime Ministers come and go. Canada, as an idea, lives on.
When countries have a proud history that history should be celebrated and remembered. It binds a nation together and provides a firm foundation in the present on which a future can be built. You don’t celebrate your history by obliterating it. This action is a small but important step in restoring one of the proud institutions in Canadian society.
On a side note here’s a fun fact for you. The army will not be called the Royal Canadian Army because Canada follows British tradition which holds that the navy and the air force are commanded by the Queen but the army is a collection of independent regiments that serve the sovereign but are not part of the Royal Canadian Forces.
Click here for a great editorial on the significance of this change.
Related articles
- Canadian forces ‘royal’ once more (bbc.co.uk)
What Makes A Great Villain
Big Hollywood has posted a great article on why modern villains stink. His basic premise is that liberals tend to excuse actions based on motivations. If the perpetrators of a crime have a reason, you can’t really blame them for their actions. As Hollywood is made up overwhelmingly of liberals, this has resulted in neutered villains. They have a hard time writing a decent villain as giving them a motivation will negate their actions, make them less villainous. They will no longer be villains, at least to a hollywood screenwriter.
The problem is that all of the great villains have, in their minds, legitimate points of view. In their minds they’re not villains at all. They have reasons for doing the things they do. Here are some of my favorite villains which demonstrate this:
Ozymandias from Watchman – He puts in action a plan that kills millions of people to save billions of people. What is even better is that this decision takes a toll on him. As the other Watchmen leave he is left alone with his conscience and the knowledge of what he’s done. He looks like a broken man.
Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes – Dr. Zaius knows the truth. He knows that man came before ape. However, he’s not willing to let this knowledge get out as it will mean undermining the whole basis of Ape Society. He also knows that, despite his brilliance, mankind managed to destroy the world. How could he not fear the arrival of a talking man?
Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek II – The Wrath Of Khan – From his perspective Kirk marooned him on a planet that quickly turned into a hellhole and resulted in the death of his wife. Who wouldn’t want revenge?
What The Reaction To Captain America Reveals
I’ve just written a post on Captain America and what it says about America’s current state of mind over at Richochet.com. The post itself turned out to be much longer than I originally anticipated. I’m planning on writing more on the subject, particularly on why it’s important for a culture to believe in itself. I’ll most likely be posting that one here. In the meantime, feel free to check out Richochet.com for my post on Captain America:
http://ricochet.com/member-feed/What-The-Reaction-To-Captain-America-Reveals