Vocabulary

histrionic - adj. - overdramatic or theatrical; affected

histrionics -n. - exaggerated emotional behavior

Sometimes I wonder if my own histrionics are my biggest problem.

Words of Wisdom

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond it's limits is deciding to protect us from ourselves."

~Ronald Reagan

Patrick Henry--A Patriot for All Times

Patrick Henry is most known for his proclamation, 'Give me liberty or give me death!' But his speech, delivered to the Virgina Convention of Delegates 3 weeks before the first shots of the Revolutionary War, is full of other tidbits of wisdom that transcend time.

~"...it is natural of man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth...Are we disposed to be of the number who having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern our temporal salvation?...For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it."

~"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves?"

~"They tell us, sir, that we are weak, unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger?....Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies have bound us hand and foot?"

~"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."

~"Gentlemen may cry 'peace, peace', but there is no peace--the war is already begun!...What is it gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"

Slavery--Freedom from Choice

'A Southern farm is the beau ideal of Communism; it is a joint concern, in which the slave ... is far happier, because ... he is always sure of support.' ... 'The best governed countries, and which have prospered the most, have always been distinguished for the number and stringency of their laws,' ... 'liberty is an evil which government is intended to correct.'"

~Sociology for the South 1854 by George Fitzhugh-a socialist.

Mr. Fitzhugh argued that slaves were better off because they were free from decision making. His book asserts that Liberty only leaves people free to destroy themselves. The government must be the 'master' that keeps people safe (from themselves) and provides for them so they need not be burdened with working in an unfair and unjust world--they aren't suited for it.

If being free from choice is truly the ideal situation as Mr. Fitzhugh believed, then I can't imagine how oppressive it would be to have to make choices for everyone! I am left to marvel at the benevolence of those willing to be the government that is burdened with making the decisions for all of us. That, by Fitzhugh's argument, would be the most unfree, oppressive job ever. We should be grateful for those willing to do this for us. Those who seek to be our masters are making a great personal sacrifice. They truly are benevolent.

Of course this is the great idiocy of Fitzhughs premise. He criticizes the free market and capitalism for its harsh unfairness; it's corruption and greed (too much liberty, you see. This is what happens when you give us liberty). But he talks about government as if it is a God-like entity with selfless love and charity for all--government is above human folly--well, as long as the right people are running it--the elite class. (Would the elite class step aside and let God run the show? Not likely, God has proven himself to be too harsh and unfair. They are better than God. They are the only ones charitable enough to take on the burden of government and make it fair for all.)

(I just had a random thought about Barack Obama--where did that come from? That was wierd.)

If We the People are too incompetent to handle liberty are we competent enough to know what restraints our benevolent, all controling government should operate under? Certainly not. We will just have to leave that to them. It's a good thing we have 'them', the elite, above-human-folly, more-fair-than-God, superhumans among us that know all that stuff. What good fortune. And what a blessing for the rest of us--to be free from making choices--just like slavery.

Hopeful Quote.....

"We make scientific decisions based on fact, not ideology."

~President Obama

Does Al Gore know this?

Realistic Quote

"Politics are present wherever money and government mix."

~American Conservative Magazine

The Longevity of Slavery

I am reading an account of American history written by a history professor named Larry Schwiekhart. He openly contests some of the mainstream history being taught in our schools and wrote this book to counter them. He had this to say about the 'peculiar institution'--slavery:

He asserts that slavery lasted as long as it did in America because it was insulated by the hand of government. Had the government acted in a 'nuetral' way instead of in the protective way it did, market principles would have forced slavery out much sooner as in other parts of the world.

Slavery was not as cost effective as other industrial methods that had been or were being developed. This factor, in other places in the world, naturally ended slavery. But because of various laws implented by legislatures (that spread the costs of slavery in the South throughout the general population and prevented blacks from elevating themselves in society) that natural decay did not occur in the US. Such laws included:

Laws forcing whites to join posses to recapture runaway slaves-even if they didnt' own any.
Laws forbiding slaves from owning property or getting an education.
Laws prohibiting slaves from purchasing their own freedom.
Laws prohibiting slaves from testifying in court.
Laws restricting the movement of free blacks who lived in/or visited the south.

All these laws "emanated from the government, not the market....slave holders benefited from monumental reductions in the cost of slavery by, as economists would say, externalizing the costs to nonslaveowners". Whether they liked it or not, everyone was subsidizing slavery.

The natural "emancipating powers could work only where the government served as a neutral referee instead of a hired gun working for the slave owner."

Vocabulary

satiate - verb - 1. to satisfy fully 2. To gratify to excess

I've had a sweet tooth craving all day! I am finally going to satiate it with a Barnes and Noble Brownie!! Yummy.