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
No comments:
Post a Comment