22 July 2012

OF HEROES AND EVIL

One of the most poignant stories to come out of the Aurora, Colorado movie massacre was how three young men rushed to cover and protect their girlfriends from the gunfire. They shielded them with their bodies, sacrificing their lives in the process. Sadly all three died, but all three women survived. It is striking how each man had the same reaction, instinctively acting to protect their female companion. We live in an age when gender roles are supposedly blurred and their is endless pressure from "progressives" to eliminate them completely. Nevertheless there are things in human nature that cannot be changed so easily. It is not simply a chivalric response, but a natural protective impulse of self-sacrifice. Such stories occur over and over, such as in the case of a pair of young people found frozen on a mountain, the male shielding the female with his body, as well as throughout history. While a strong sense of duty may be socially inculcated, there is more at work in instinctive actions to protect women and children.

It is true that the role of women has changed radically over the past one hundred years. This has only been possible through the veneer of civilization and law. However, most women still appreciate and will seek out men who act like men. Yes, there are in fact characteristics that are particularly male as well as female. Neither is better than the other. They are simply different, and no amount of blurred sex roles can change this. This is clearly most evident in the absence of civilization, or when civil society breaks down and natural tendencies become more obvious, notwithstanding all the nonsense on tv and in the movies depicting women acting like men. The three heroes were not from an older, presumably more traditional generation, but were young men in their twenties with everything to live for, and raised with contemporary assumptions. They grew up without anyone like John Wayne on the scene, yet each one "did a John Wayne," as they used to say during the Vietnam war era.

There is another false premise of the left apparent in this incident. It is best summed up, continuing with movie metaphors, in a scene from the film The Good Son, when one boy warns a liberal psychologist of the awful deeds of another boy and she responds "I don't believe in evil." But the reality is that there is evil in the world. That is obvious in the meticulous, extensive preparation of the murderer in this incident. While lawyers will no doubt come up with some "insanity" defense, on the assumption that such a heinous crime could only be attributable to mental derangement, the pre-meditation and methodical, rational planning belie that explanation. Nor can lax "gun laws" be blamed, as prior to this incident this individual could have passed any kind of background screening. He was an honor student with a clean background. The reality is that some people do terrible things. Fortunately the most extreme are few in number, but there are evil people willing and capable of committing horrendous acts.  While it is possible to come up with psychological motivations for almost anything, there is no way that evil deeds are blameless.

Sometimes a whole regime can be permeated with evil,such as those we have struggled with in the past, often through war,  as well as a place like Syria today, where the government has slaughtered over 17,000 of its own citizens. The belief that proper conditioning is somehow going to eliminate evil in the world is a dangerous fantasy, for whether one is a believer or not, there will always be evil in the world. But against this backdrop we can take comfort in the ubiquity of good in life, most apparent in the actions of our heroes.

18 July 2012

AN UNHINGED PRESIDENCY

It is just incredible that a President of the United States would state that business people are not responsible for their own success, based on the assumption that the government makes this possible. On that basis, he argues further, the government is entitled to a larger share of their earnings in order to spread the wealth. This is outright socialism, and an unprecedented attitude on the part of the chief executive, who apparently has gone off the deep end. Does he really think the radical left is going to re-elect him, along with minorities? He has pursued a divisive strategy of pitting groups against each other that is unworthy of high office. He has exceeded presidential powers in issuing decrees that override the will of congress. He has successfully intimidated the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with veiled threats. The list goes on and on, as it becomes evident that for the first time in the history of this country we have a genuine radical in the White House.
He and his followers regard the constitution as a nuisance and hindrance to their great plans, rather than as the ironclad law of the land. But the result of his policies is an economy that is stalling and a nation in decline. As a result we are facing a capital strike, as corporations with a great deal of cash on their balance sheets refuse to invest in this country, unsurprisingly, given the anti-business rhetoric and policies of this administration. I try to avoid being partisan, but we are on the path to disaster and terminal decline under this administration and I cannot ignore that reality. I am frankly baffled as to how the election could even be close at this point even with a lackluster opposition candidate. Perhaps we really are seeing a divide between the producers and the takers, when half the country pays no income tax and huge numbers rely on government support.
If this continues the country will soon be unrecognizable and we will pass over the cliff to the point of no return. There is little chance of economic recovery if these policies continue, and our standing in the world will be irreversibly diminished. This election will truly determine what kind of country we are going to be, and whether that which we have held dear throughout our lives is going to survive. If re-elected, we can expect an acceleration of these trends via an unfettered presidency. This has never been a radical country, but what has thus far been implemented by stealth will become overt and inexorable. There is only one way to avoid this now, and that is to elect a new President.