Radicalism vs. Kumbaya

Dr. William Bennett’s seminal work “The Book of Virtues” explored the tenets of integrity, honesty and morality from Plato until the present time in ways that provided both a sense of comfort from, and finality to, the goodness of man. And in that implied constant struggle there is no doubt that compromising any of these principles is no virtue. Assuredly, this is a radical approach in the age of “can’t we all just get along?”

And if justice is the venue by which a civilized society deters deviation from integrity, honesty and morality, then the virtuous should be uncompromisingly incessant in demanding justice from those institutions that theoretically we have empowered to govern for us.

Hence many throughout this great land became understandably indignant when the “new Lincoln”, B. Hussein Obama proclaimed his foreign policy tact to meet with the world’s darlings, the likes of Ahmadinejad, Castro (I or II) and Kim Jong-Il. For after all, these murderers are uncompromising - therefore the onus would fall to America (again) to compromise on some virtue or to moderate its pursuit of justice for human rights and democracy for all peoples.

But why should we become indignant when the “new Lincoln” will compromise America’s principles and moderate her pursuit of justice, and yet we are resigned to compromise our principles and moderate our pursuit of justice with the “new” council?

Namely, why should those that were indignant before the landslide as to the transgression of our rights, our laws and our environment now be any less demanding on law enforcement, fiscal accountability, protection of our environment and safeguarding our way of life just because the governing deck was shuffled?

It is not as if the “new” council will address these wrongs, their capacity to act tempered by their handlers and consumed by intellectually pressing issues such as regulating rental properties, appealing a court ruling so that a handful of rich people can park their yachts near rich people’s mansions and enabling canines to defecate in city parks. Even the looming budget death-knell is approached one-dimensionally, the cost-cutting/more taxes juggernaut venue seemingly the only tactic available to the rulers.

For those of us that actually exercise the First Amendment, we know that it is our right and obligation to petition the government for a redress of grievances. For you see, the less you exercise these liberties, the more authority the government has over you. And since Jeffersonian democracy has morphed into a kleptocracy, governing agencies today are but shills for the syndicates of special interests – none of which represent the individual. Ergo we radicals, namely those that repeatedly exercise their duty, are the last vestiges of a true representative form of government dedicated to reversing the ominous metamorphosis.

Clearly, ours has been a Sisyphusian task, the mountain being a government sold and bought by special interests, the boulder being the vast bureaucracies we pushed, begged and deplored to uphold the law. Every incursion into the netherworld of law enforcement was met with an odd combination of acknowledging the crimes while expressing remorse for not prosecuting same – except for the localized policia since they were in on the scams.

But that does not mean we should quit. Or similarly that we should waste the only resource we can not buy by singing Kumbaya to the “new” council, and therefore implicitly support the continuation of past practices albeit more pleasantly. Sans a sound plan by which to further one’s beliefs, the next best course is to do nothing, the absolute worst course is to support those that further the slide away from virtue, honesty and integrity in upholding all tenets of our waning constitutional freedoms and protections.

It is unclear as to what those that now “support” the new council are supporting. It is unclear what is being praised by those that are now crooning Kumbaya. It is unclear exactly what has changed (post the landslide) in quantifiable terms that not only addresses past transgressions but ensures that they never recur. It is unclear what we are compromising and why. It is unclear why we all need to “just get along.” Namely, it is unclear why we should “support” the new council.

Convince yourself that “If we are surrounded by the trivial and the vicious, it is all too easy to make our peace with it.”

As the French sociologist Gustave Le Bon aptly noted, countries have an inherent penchant to surrender their traditions thereby self-destruct by creating chaos in the process. This tendency comes from drowning their moral compass via crowd-think so anything goes because now the goal is “compromise” and “reach across the aisle” and “let’s just put it behind us” and “work with the new council” – as opposed to … how about upholding the rule of law by demanding a forensic audit and demanding an independent investigation and demanding an environmental impact study and demanding the prosecution of civil rights abuses and demanding that toxic substances never be introduced into our environment ever again and … and … and …?

And since the latest deal from the shuffled deck won’t do these things voluntarily or otherwise, then exactly why are we intoning Kumbaya?

You compromise on the rule of law, especially with those that took it for a ride and you are finished – literally. Just ask any immigrant from a communist country lest you doubt the finality of compromising virtue and moderating the pursuit of justice.

Is one a radical for being uncompromising and intolerant for not moderating one’s beliefs and therefore for not bowing to the temporary inhabitants of the mecca at 50 Bald Eagle Dr.? Absolutely, and proudly so.

For after all, in the words of Barry Goldwater “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!”

So, other than demanding to do the right thing from those whose interests are appreciably regulated by the syndicate, where do we go from here? Where do we go without compromising virtue, honesty, integrity, without giving up on demanding the rule of law and never backing away from the extremism that is our duty without moderation in pursuit of these demands? Namely, what do we do until satisfied that all transgressions of the near past are vetted?

Let’s try this tact from the sage of the ages … “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are!”

The untroubled spirit will derive such initiatives as an economic revitalization plan, a property tax abatement initiative for all residents, an initiative to recover the approximately $40 million a year of the island’s residents’ money that vanishes in the abortion that is the public school system, an environmental protection commission, a high school for educational excellence with free adult continuing education for all residents, and, and, and, … and a plethora of other initiatives that could be worked on concurrently by qualified citizen volunteers.

As we know them for who they are, those temporarily empowered by the latest election will not conceive such strategies nor drive these initiatives.

For after all, they are being serenaded with Kumbaya.