House of Eratosthenes

“We must teach our children to hate,” Vladimir Lenin instructed his education commissars. The Bolshevik godfather declared that hatred was not only “the basis of communism” but “the basis of every socialist and Communist movement.”

Class envy has been a defining staple of the left for centuries, from the frenzied mobs leaping around the French guillotines to the Soviets to, well, the new masses circling AIG executives today. The difference is merely the degree of response — a question of socially acceptable force or violence.

Historically, this behavior is both foreign and antithetical to the American experience. Unfortunately, modern Americans don’t understand their founding and the nation’s core principles — our educational system doesn’t teach those things. Thus, they are now voting, and behaving, in kind. And we are now witnessing our own homegrown socialist movement in action, inspired by hate.

B-b-but that’s not true, is it? The ~~liberal~~ progressive movement is defined and fortified by love!

Sorry, it’s true. Think on it: What highly energized, self-motivating idea has emerged from the left side of the aisle…in the last hundred years or so…that didn’t include a villain that had to be cut down to size?

Sure, they’re always supposed to be defending something, too. Snail darters, children, woemyn, persons of color, labor, teachers, et al. That’s another staple ingredient in the stew. It doesn’t mean the Snidely Whiplash isn’t just as vital, and present just as often. It doesn’t mean the formula isn’t actually based on good old-fashioned hate…which it is. It’s just as simple, and just as reliable, as finding the Little Dipper by tracing your way through the stars in the Big Dipper. Who’s the victim in this idea, in need of progressive sustenance, fortification, defense? Why is the need there? Who is attacking the victim? There’s your bad guy. And he’s always, always, always there…in every single liberal idea, there’s always a villain.

AIG executives. Christians. Bush and Cheney. Stay-at-home moms. Bitter people clinging to their bibles and their guns. Boy Scouts. Small business owners, which employ most of us. Large corporations, which employ most of the rest of us. Men who watch football. Intelligent Design proponents. Advocates for abstinence-education. Cops. Mothers who decide not to abort their children. The U.S. Military, and people who appreciate their efforts. Hooters waitresses. NASCAR fans. People who slaughter, butcher, prepare, cook and eat meat.

Whatever can blast that hate-ray in the greatest number of directions, seeking out multiple targets along a panorama, without conscious thought, is sure to be a popular idea in the liberal camp. Especially if it comes cloaked in some cheap, tacky, wafer-thin, translucent camouflage of something positive, like love, concern or compassion. And so it has come to this: Now you’re a bad guy if you emit carbon dioxide. At this point, you can only ignore what’s really going on, if you put some effort into ignoring it.

The truth is, the ideology is just shopping around for a way to engage in the greatest quantity of hating, with the lowest quantity of work.

Thing I Know #217. Populism, according to the hard evidence that has managed to come my way, has a tough time staying positive. It seems there has to be a dirty so-and-so who’s due for a come-uppins, behind every energized populist movement. That might be because populism seeks to decide issues according to the satisfaction of the majority, and most of us like to feel our way to a decision rather than think our way through. Naturally, laying the smack down on an enemy feels a whole lot better than actually solving a problem.

[…] Or, do you just stir up a whole lot of motivating emotions in your audience, get them all outraged against some straw-man Snidely Whiplash, anti-logical exuberance for your “ideas,” […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 02/15/2010 @ 12:44

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent

Items of Interest

Monthly Archives

What They Say

Links

Socialism Requires HatredFriday, March 27th, 2009

Socialism Requires Hatred
Friday, March 27th, 2009