Feel-Good Arrogance

Feel-Good Arrogance

Charlie Earl

What is it about those people who insist on telling us how we should live? What drives them to nip and nibble every little aspect of our lives in their misguided efforts to force us to live as they think we must? Their constant nagging and brow-beating is enough to drive a guy to drink, but they preach that consuming copious amounts of alcohol is not good for me. I know that already, but a gradual failure of my liver is preferable to death from grinding my teeth as the mavens of “feel good” pester me. From the time one first becomes aware of one’s self identity, other people feel compelled to dispense lifestyle advice.

Mommies, Daddies, Aunts, Uncles, grandparents and kindly neighbors all chip in to guide and direct the child. (It takes a village, you know). I sometimes wonder how our frontier families managed to get by without other people hovering around them dispensing unending advice and prescriptions. It is a wonder that so many of our forbearers managed to survive without the beneficent hands of Big Brother, Nanny State and the Feel-Good lobby. Even when we turn to our escapist entertainment sources, we cannot escape the “you-ought-to-do-this” crowd. Multiple commercials tell us how to avoid all the physical and emotional tripwires we may encounter as we blindly stumble through life. A potent body spray will insure that we’ll be sexually attractive, and using the proper baking soda-sugar compound of toothpaste will preserve our fragile choppers forever. Being alone is too great a burden to bear so we are told/admonished to join “Hook-up dot com” so that we never have to suffer the consequences of solitude and peace again. It is so true in today’s world that if you’re not in, you’re out of it, and lots of people are willing to tell you how to be “in.”  

The difference between an exile, an outcast, and a recluse is based on who makes the decision to choose isolation. The end result is the same. The person involved is set aside from the community. The primary difference is the outcast is frequently shunned while some do-gooder folks may feverishly attempt to integrate the recluse into the social structure. The passionate communitarians cannot conceive that the self-exiled person prefers that type of life when for most people it is a punishment. It seems that anyone who chooses a lifestyle that does not conform to the feel-good model must be cajoled or coerced into the social mold lest she or he make others feel uneasy. The feel-good, do-good mentality cannot face the possibility that its pattern for living may not be universally accepted. Aberrant behavior is seen as threatening, and the do-gooder cannot understand nor countenance those who resist the “norm.” In addition the do-gooder is incapable of comprehending the recluse’s desire for solitude and suspects it may be indicative of some underlying disorder. The arrogance of the feel-good do-gooder is the actual social disorder because they believe everyone must conform to their view.

Feel-gooders are smiling well-intentioned autocrats. Their innermost desire is to rule, but they lack the cajones to seize power. Instead they seek to wield power through manipulation and guilt. Their constant reminders about what is good for you and me represent hordes of guilt-laden pinpricks to eventually force us to accept their superior wisdom. We are expected to yield and to comply with their remedies for what ails us, what might ail us and what “no way on earth” could affect us, but you should prepare anyway. When a cat gets severely injured, it crawls away to die in peace. The do-good Nanny Staters want us to live forever in despotic agony. The cat has the right idea. To them I plead: Just leave me be. To them I say: I don’t want your help. To them I insist: I will not yield to the force and power of government while making my personal life decisions.

There were probably some bureaucrats in the Soviet Union who believed that a few years in a Siberian gulag would be a good thing for wrong-way thinkers. There were undoubtedly some folks in Salem, Massachusetts who assumed that a good dousing would cleanse the soul of a suspected witch, and there were probably many people during the Middle Ages who knew that a trial by fire would purge a sinful person of all impurity (and earthly life). The progeny of those types are still with us, and they continue to torment us with their solutions for mythical problems. Busy-bodies, bureaucrats and do-good politicians will be the death of us….sooner rather than later.

Charlie Earl

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

http://thelibertylegation.blogspot.com

  

Gentle Spirit, Bad Attitude

Gentle Spirit/Bad Attitude

Charlie Earl

Despite my curmudgeonly demeanor, I am a cuddly type of guy. Violence isn’t my thing although I’m not afraid to ferociously respond when my loved ones are threatened. I’d rather get along with people and talk things out even though I can be rather pig-headed at times. My family tells me that I am a verbal bully….not abusive, but so self-assured in my beliefs that I discourage dissent. In addition, I am a bigot. I detest people who act as if thinking is too difficult. I loathe people who see their life’s mission as telling me how to live mine. I abhor thoughtless clowns who perceive government as the final arbiter for all questions of morals and policy. I hate those who believe my previous statements are “hate speech.” In our present politically-correct climate I am an outlier…a fossil… persona non grata….and an anachronism. But I am lovable although not universally beloved.

Although I cannot cite the exact physiological ratio, I seem to recall a statement that smiling requires fewer muscles than frowning. That may be true, but it causes me to cheerfully ask, “What about scowling?” By now you have detected an element of schizophrenia in this column. I simultaneously am happy and despairing. Giddy with joy and fuming at the social and political mayhem that surrounds me. It seems impossible to be happy and filled with rage at the same time. But yet….that’s where I am. I know there are skeptics who suspect that believers in Christ are delusional and misguided. I shared their views once upon a time, but since my conversion some thirty years ago, I have truly experienced and enjoyed the happiness of eternal hope while anguishing about the state of the “world” … and our nation.

Any evangelist can tell you about the internal struggle between glorious happiness and utter despair. Certainly… Christian evangelists and secular proponents of political liberty share similar ebbs and flows. For example the evangelist moves through earthly life with a conviction or certitude that is a mystery for most people while at the same time, the preacher yearns for others to share the promise. When they reject it, deny it or demean it, his heart is broken, but his personal joy remains intact. The true evangelist for liberty has a nearly intuitive understanding of the happiness that engulfs the unfettered life. Liberty’s advocates share a similar fate with the warriors of the Gospel. They know the power of freedom, but are saddened by the failure of others to understand. Simultaneous joy and pain.

Anyone who fervently believes in a noble cause has been gifted with a purpose. Too many people drift through life seeking “meaning.” Those who have repented and accepted the gift of salvation cherish the life-altering moment. Similarly….those individuals who are obsessed with a meaningful purpose are driven to achieve their goals. It is the unfocused person who traipses from one guru to the next, from one panacea to another seeking something to live for and to die for. It may seem contradictory, but if something isn’t worth dying for, it rarely is worth living for. Even though many seek to institute a valueless society here, the people who have made value judgments to go “all-in” for a worthy cause are the happiest among us.

They are the saddest as well because they are often ridiculed, shunned and ignored. The Word of God informs believers that they will persecuted for their faithfulness. At a somewhat different level so, too, will be the zealous advocate for liberty….or any worthwhile endeavor. People generally prefer to slide through life without too much resistance, but once someone has discovered a worthy purpose, opposition is sure to arise. So it is possible to possess a gentle spirit and a bad attitude at the same time. In fact if one believes in something strongly enough, it is inescapable. If you are one who has a noble purpose that will not be denied, you will be identified by your caustic tongue when you utter with love, “Stick it up your a$$. I’m moving on and you can take it or leave it.” Just remember to say it with a warm smile.

Charlie Earl

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

http://thelibertlegation.blogspot.com

   

Civics Literacy Test

Civics Literacy Test

Charlie Earl

There appears to be a lot of chatter about “low-information-voters (LIV)” on various websites and broadcasts. I believe that uninformed participants do undermine the republic…whether intentionally or inadvertently. I am aware that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1970 amendments to the Voting Rights Act determined that literacy tests were forbidden as instruments for voter registration or as a condition for casting ballots. So what? There is no law that requires every other law to be sensible, rational and sane. So…why not introduce a Civics Literacy Test that will be national in character but state/local oriented in content. The test would be administered as a condition of voter registration which would eliminate many of the haphazard schemes currently in place for recording eligible voters. Some might argue that notorious voter-registration wholesalers such as A.C.O.R.N. would subvert the measure by “teaching to the test.” I have no problem with that approach because voter knowledge of civic matters will increase even if incrementally, and some will undoubted fail the test anyway.

THE CIVICS LITERACY EXAM

1.    In whose congressional district do you reside? (include four options).

2.    What is your congressional district number? (4 options)

3.    Name a United States Senator from your state. (four choices)

4.    The three branches of government are: (4 choices)

5.    There are ____ states in the United States of America. (4 options)

6.    The Supreme Law of the Land is a document called: (choose 1 )

7.    The United States form of government is: ¼

8.    What are the two houses of Congress? (choose 1 of 4)

9.    Presidential elections are held every ___ years. (choose 1 of 4)

10.                       How long is the term for a member of the House of Representatives? (4 options)

11.                       The Chief Executive Office of the state is: (4)

12.                       How many U.S. Senators represent your state?

13.                       School Boards are considered to be ______ entities. (Federal, state, regional, local)

14.                       Which war secured the United States’ independence from Great Britain? (4 choices)

15.                       How many colonies united to form the United States of America? (4 choices)

To achieve a passing grade I suggest that a respondent should achieve a score of 80% or 12 correct answers. I fully understand that some will argue: 1.The test is unnecessary; 2. The test is too difficult; 3. The test is racially/economically/ideologically biased; 4. The test is too easy; 5. The test has no ideological or philosophical questions; 6. The test will be too costly to administer.

Perhaps some clown will argue that there aren’t enough people who know the answers to grade the test which is why I used this format so that a “bubble test” could be used and graded by computer. Each congressional district would require a different answer sheet, but that administrative detail is easily overcome.

Admittedly I’m realistic enough to know that there will be a snowball fight in Hades before such an extreme concept is introduced into our national or state voting systems. The easiness of the exam and the likelihood that many would fail it are the strongest arguments for its use. We could implement a graduated scale for reporting test results:

15 correct= solid citizen

12-14 correct= barely functional voter

10-11 correct= lucky idiot

8-9 correct= uninformed odds-player

6-7 correct= preparing for 3^rd grade competency test

4-5 correct= civic talents of a blind hog

2-3 correct= Democrat

0-1          correct= progressive or illegal alien (aka: undocumented welfare recipient).

This test is not comprehensive, but it should be a fair measurement of a potential voter’s knowledge of our political structure. Personally I would prefer an exam that tested for the individual’s understanding of the principles that were instrumental in our founding. Maybe it will happen someday, or perhaps people who take this exam will become more curious and teach their children. It’s a dream.

Charlie Earl

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

http://thelibertylegation.blogspot.com

  

Extreme Angst

Extreme Angst

Charlie Earl

Woe is me. Some of my recent columns have prodded readers to call me an “extremist.” Me? Curmudgeonly, grandfatherly, jocular me…an extremist? Following a nano-second of introspective analysis, I must concur with my critics. Yes, dear misguided souls, I am an extremist, but a lovable one (immodest poetic license). In 1964 Senator Barry Goldwater accepted the GOP nomination for President and uttered these words:

          I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty

          is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in

          the pursuit of justice is no virtue!

Barry Goldwater did not get my vote in his ill-fated campaign against LBJ. I was eighteen that year, and 21 was the legal age for voting in 1964 (something we should reconsider to dilute the low-information-voter pool). If I were eligible, I would have cast my ballot for AuH2O even though I was largely unaware of the importance of his statement. Each and every day…the Senator from Arizona’s words are more prescient and necessary. Extremism is a natural result of passion, and if we have no passion for liberty, we may as well chain ourselves to the walls of tyranny.

It is possible for passion to lead from extremism to ultra-loonyness. An historic example might be John Brown, an abolitionist who believed so fervently that he initiated a nearly-suicidal attack on the armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Passion and extremism do not always lead to insane action and demented behavior, though those who distrust intense beliefs may characterize them as crazy. Lethargy morphs into indifference and perhaps sloth, but not all lethargic people are non-productive. Likewise with the passion to extremist model: Not all true believers are deranged. Think back to junior high school when you may have had a crush on someone who failed to acknowledge your existence. You probably pined for attention and notice. You may have undertaken some absurd actions to gain your beloved’s awareness, but so long as you weren’t a stalker or an invader of private space, your passion and your unrequited love were not dangerous. Puppy love can be sweet.

Obviously…I submit that extremism has unnecessarily and unfairly become a pejorative in our political discourse. Progressives and their Marxist cohorts passionately argue for “fairness and equity” yet their nonsensical extremism is tolerated, celebrated and endorsed. Their passion for instituting a Marxist agenda is mistaken for compassion for the downtrodden. Yet…their extremist goals and strategies are largely ignored because they have the cover of “caring.” Why should “extremism in the defense of liberty” be treated any differently? Particularly by those who claim to be conservative, constitutionalists or small-government activists. People who support a given political goal or ideological position should not be too quick to criticize and demean those who passionately embrace the cause. It should be a given that the passionate extremist should not be violent (unless necessary for self defense) or abusive (though so-called verbal abuse is often twisted for the “victim’s” advantage). Our movement to protect and re-assert our natural rights must have extremists in the vanguard. People will not follow the timid when urged to charge the barricades of despotism and tyranny. In fact…the timid and the “civil” advocates will not lead…it is too unseemly. They wouldn’t want anyone to get the idea that they believed too passionately about “that freedom thing.” Intuitively…I suspect those within the freedom movement who repudiate the extremists and radicals who are passionate for liberty are really in their hearts-of-hearts longing for positions of power and influence with the old-order statists. Consequently, they are fearful of making waves and resent those who do. Just my suspicious interpretation based on gut analysis.

Clearly this column is a self-serving justification for my alleged extremism. I don’t “feel” like an extremist. I have no trouble resisting the impulse to choke career politicians. I, so far, have managed to avoid knee-capping any sneering representatives of the bureaucracy. I do believe that I have a rational basis for my fear that our individual liberties are in “extreme” peril. Many of them have been discarded or modified already, and I fear the insatiable appetite of the Big Government monster cannot be satiated. The leviathan must be stopped. It must be dismantled. It must be discarded, and no tiny remnant should be allowed to grow again. I am an extremist and always will be.

The man was right. “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

Charlie Earl

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

http://thelibertylegation.blogspot.com