CAN CHRISTIANITY, JOHN LOCKE, VON MISES, AYN RAND OR ANY COMBINATION SAVE AMERICA?
This post is shortened to the extent possible. But the link to its longer version is given at the end, please note .
Introduction: This topic was inspired by a good discussion on the Tea Party Patriot site titled Can Ayn Rand Save US? (Can Ayn Rand?).
McFixit and Stack Magic have together given exact reasons why the above mentioned people / theories are not the solution to democracy’s problems. They are partly reproduced as required below.
Part of Stack Magic’s reply: They won! They put 53% of the nation on welfare and tell them to vote Bolshevik or the gravy stops. Mitt said it, you can't win against that.
Part of next reply by Stack Magic:
The people that you need to convert can’t read at the level needed to even comprehend Rand.
Part Reply by McFixit1
How has Atlas Shrugged had a positive impact in the real world on our cause to return to Constitutionally Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility, and Free Markets other than repeating in literary form, the same basic things to us we already believe in. Unquote
McFixit1 hits the bull’s eye, endorsed by Ayn Rand ahead. Stack repeating Romney’s “one cannot beat the block of doles dependent parasites created by Dems” is only the minor part of the problem; the bigger part is with “better Americans” as explained ahead. (Some deny that there is such a severe problem with America; that is answered in the longer version.)
Start of the Problem: We are just witnessing America repeating the collapse of Rome. Based on history the root of this historic problem is in not locking the Republic securely against majority as the arbiter of truth and against the competition to get majority to one’s side by offering doles.
Heroes emancipate people from tyrants. Inability to secure the Republic correctly leads to its degeneration into democracy. The lowest level people like beggars, addicts, uneducated labor, pimps and prostitutes, hippies of modern times etc are used by the evil people to undo heroes’ achievements. They create Romney’s unbeatable vote-block by reducing politics to the level of intelligence of lowest stratum by offering ever-increasing doles and other tricks. Once given doles, they vote as the masters tell to promote every other irrationality. Destroying America starts with this (and it was the same with Rome).
I do not call any particular political party or a particular politician as culprit. Democracy based on majority as arbiter of truth compels them to compete along this path alone.
The “Better Americans” and their problems: My estimate of the doles vote-block is about 30%. What about the remaining 70% “better Americans”, i.e. productive, educated people who practice individualism and the ones whose fore-fathers created America out of wilderness? I have also called them as AWMs (angry white men) after GOP being called so. Their big problem is that they misuse democracy’s freedom to divide themselves into innumerable groups, like the continuous breaking of O’ists / Libertarians / TP Movement and many other ‘conservative’ groups. Each of these umpteen groups has 5-10 sub-groups and every sub-group considers itself to be perfect and all others to be its enemies.
Opposing view-points is natural in a free society – but the level of enmity that I see amongst AWMs is perhaps the most important cause for US hurtling towards the abyss.
Unless all these divisions act together, I don’t think America can any more be saved. Problem is – they may never do so. The strong internal “enmity” of these factions is the reason why people are talking about the gradual demise of the GOP! That enmity also ensures victory of evil.
One more problem: democracy is a fertile ground for moral degeneration; the component of dishonest men keeps rising as time progresses. Individuals are too very weak in democracy; this promotes collectivism and hastens collapse.
Why Christianity, Locke, Ayn Rand, Von Mises will not save America:
The FFs (Founding Fathers) did not originate theory for America. Apart from any good scholar of politics the site http://gopcapitalist.tripod.co... gives lot of information about America’s dependence on Greece and Rome via the English; qualification is that this site does not give GOP’s contribution to today’s slide which one has to study separately.
Despite being devout Christians, perhaps the greatest achievement of the FFs (next to unalienable rights of the individual) was the first amendment, keeping religion out of government. If today’s Christians want a “Christian rule” via many issues like gay marriage and school prayers then they are not opposing the Dems, but partnering them in giving last blows to FFs’ America. Still, the FFs did not give up one effect of religion – charity. In fact, even today the ASPs compete to do charity. So they are unable to effectively oppose their government dispensing doles nationally and internationally.
John Locke did not preach the subservience of the individual to the majority. But if misused then the potential to convert the Republic to democracy is seen in John Locke. All the Founding Fathers (FFs) cursed democracy as sure-shot destroyer of civilization, but nobody could tie the Republic securely and today it is a full-fledged mobocracy that is fast proceeding to collapse.
Regarding Ayn Rand, as McFixit says: What is there in Atlas Shrugged that we did not already know? Ayn Rand gave a super-refined ethics, and some new addition to epistemology. Her artistic genius has influenced millions; but some people (wrongly) think she has brought solution to America’s problems. McFixit is endorsed by Ayn Rand -- quote from her article “Man’s Rights” about Founding Fathers’ (FFs’) implementation of individual rights – The result was the pattern of a civilized society which – for the brief span of some hundred and fifty years – America came close to achieving. Unquote. America was built prior to her birth; as per her the decline started before she was born (1890 Anti-trust act), and America continues hurtling today with far greater speed than during her time. An indirect endorsement is that the Roman Republic had coarser philosophy and ethics but was much stronger and lived a long life; it started failing on same lines as America, due to Republic converting into democracy, plebeians taking it over after doles-duistribution, war-mongering leading to huge debt, etc.
Same applies to Von Mises who approaches politics, psychology etc via his refined economics. But much prior to him, 19th century America was the most capitalistic society in human history. Forget others, Adam Smith’s seminal essay came out just prior to the Revolution! He and Voltaire were consulted by the FFs. Von Mises’ refined economics is not the solution to today’s America. (Same applies to ethics).
All these did not secure the Republic against 2 points: Majority as arbiter of truth and government violating its limits allowed by the Constitution. The impotent, immoral, UN, though funded by the West, routinely slaps them internationally, and is invited in internal matters in violation of America’s sovereignty! But the climax is that Obama who invited the UN was re-elected, a proof that all the above theories have made no difference to America’s slide.
The government can be taken back to FFs’ idea of America if the AWMs are given good reasoning against 2 points: 1. Governance by majority opinion is not a civilized society, unalienable rights for which the founders shed their blood, is a guarantee against majority’s fickleness. 2. As per mankind’s history so far, government expanding its activities beyond the ones allowed by the FFs’ Constitution (under the pretext of welfare etc) is the highest evil in human societies, so should be unitedly fought against. Individualism and a strictly restrained government were America’s fundamental aspects and if these are undone then it will eventually lead to civil war.
What will come in the way of going back to FFs’ government are the solid parasite vote-block (DDVB of P) and its leaders. As Stack says, any good theory is irrelevant to them. All that they want is heaps of doles, and as argument they say fxxx your so-called heroes but give me my doles. It is enmity amongst AWMs that ensures their victory. They have almost as good as to be put down by force. America has reached a stage where collapse / civil war are inevitable. (This is the reason why Locke, Ayn Rand and Von Mises are not working, and solution is wanted to this aspect, not ever-refined theories of ethics, economics etc. They are all addressing the same group, the AWMs, which gets divided over whom to follow; but none is saying what to do with the huge vote-block that needs to be put down by force.)
One last way to stop the slide and avert civil war is to warn about it and if that does not work then civil war is only a matter of time. Yet America can still be recovered if the AWMs act in unison instead of the foolish internal enmity. What I mean to say is that whether they want to avert civil war, or win it if it is inevitable, either way they have to unite over certain key points even while preserving their differences.
Contentious Points (that divide the AWMs): This is dealt with in the longer version of this file. An example is given of how I can join hands with the most devout, staunchest Christian provided he observes scrupulously the first amendment – it gives the basis for the AWMs to join hands.
If I get a chance (i.e. a just peaceful, serious hearing and nothing more) I have the arguments to achieve both the points above (stopping government’s charity and governance based on majority opinion). I have the ultimate compelling argument against the above 2 evils that will unite the AWMs to stop it!
A major mobilization is already available, the tea-parties – will they give me a chance by considering my arguments seriously, or will it be lost merely in trivial “discussions” that go on on the forums?
For me “Long Live America” is a very serious quest because of my Hindu experiences.
I do not see time as a big problem, may take at the most a year for the change to occur – I see attitude as the biggest hurdle that may defeat any good argument. An argument that deals with so very big a problem (America being taken over by lower strata of society led by evil intellectuals) can only be long and people do not like long posts. There will also be detractors, but if some people show interest then I will present my arguments in another OP titled “Argument to stop the government from dispensing doles and ban anybody from preaching charity via government”. (I will post that OP after I have posted this introduction on all sites I visit.)
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