A Question For Dave Carter
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Jul 4, 2011 at 10:05am
Dave, I read your Independence Day post, and I was reflecting on this line in particular:
Please understand if for the first time in my memory, I don't spend the day wishing others a “Happy Independence Day,” because we are no longer independent in any meaningful sense.
And I have a serious question for you. Before you posted that, did you think--even for a second--"Maybe I'd better not, because I might be the next one they lock up?"
If not, go out and wish others a Happy Independence Day. You're still independent in a very meaningful sense.
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Comments :
Apr '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Good point, Claire, but that is a pretty de minimis view: land of the free to bitch. To a large extent, they don't care what we say. More important, that is how they define freedom, and the fact that we are having these conversations is the mark of the Beast, or as Oscar Wilde put it: The trouble with Socialism is that it takes too many evenings.
We have to restore the idea that in a regime of negative freedoms and rights the fundamental right is the right to be left alone.
Apr '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
I understand the sentiment and we certainly don't want to be like the lefties who think every minor inconvenience is akin to fascism, but I can't take too much comfort with the idea of "well, at least we aren't a self-imposed police state yet!" woo-hoo!
Mar '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Hyperbole can be a useful literary device. It can bring problems into focus, it can rally the passions in the service of a just cause.
But it can also be mere overstatement.
We need to replace Obama and his cronies. We need to turn back the democratic agenda.
But the idea we live in a tyrannical society, that we are no longer independent, that political liberty is absent in America.....that, my friends, is a bridge too far.
Apr '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Good point Claire. I see Dave's point but your post brought me back to a comment Rob made on a past Ricochet podcast pertaining to the act of a person that stormed the cockpit recently and was subdued by passengers and crew I believe. Rob took heart in the passengers willingness to get involved and stated his real fear would be on the day they refused to so for whatever reason one might imagine.
Dave, and the rest of us can celebrate in the "meaningful sense" his fearlessness to speak out and our liberty to read and spread his message to the self described gate keepers of our liberty.
I rejoice that Dave and Claire have the ability to think critically and independently and give us pause in what to be thankful for this glorious day.
Sep '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Crow's Nest: Hyperbole can be a useful literary device. It can bring problems into focus, it can rally the passions in the service of a just cause.
But it can also be mere overstatement.
We need to replace Obama and his cronies. We need to turn back the democratic agenda.
But the idea we live in a tyrannical society, that we are no longer independent, that political liberty is absent in America.....that, my friends, is a bridge too far. · Jul 4 at 11:07am
Yes. Thanks for your last sentence. Between Kenneth last night and now Dave, I didn't know whether to slit my wrists or shoot myself and forget about fixing anything wrong with our country.
I have the same attitude as you: we can turn this around. I lived through Carter and saw what transpired afterword, we can make it through Obama and see where we come out on the other side. Maybe instead of one leader this time, we will have millions of them in the form of tea party members and ordinary Americans who finally stand up and say enough is enough. Let's quit mainlining government and look to a happier future.
Apr '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
It my not " a bridge to far" for someone with an 18 wheeler, Crow's Nest!
Keep on trucking! Dave
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Claire, excellent question. I'm on the road at the moment, as today is a work day for me. It will be several hours before I'm stopped for the night, but I will answer your question. I promise.
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Crow's Nest: Hyperbole can be a useful literary device. It can bring problems into focus, it can rally the passions in the service of a just cause.
But it can also be mere overstatement.
We need to replace Obama and his cronies. We need to turn back the democratic agenda.
But the idea we live in a tyrannical society, that we are no longer independent, that political liberty is absent in America.....that, my friends, is a bridge too far. · Jul 4 at 11:07am
It is. I don't mean constantly to be pulling the "I live in an authoritarian country and I know the difference" card, but--well, I do. The difference between being able to insult the president in the certainty that no harm will come to you because of it and thinking, "Maybe that's unwise" is very profound.
Mar '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
All of that said, Dave, please keep posting. You do great work here.
May '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Claire, I hope this post doesn't appear rude.
I'm with Dave and Sam Dominguez on this one. The expatriate perspective is incredibly important but, with all respect to Claire, its usefulness only goes so far. The political and social life of the home country may grow distant and the expat may see ideas in the wrong context. Claire is on the money to point out that she sees honest-to-God totalitarianism up close and personal, and that the U.S. is a far piece from that (and thank heaven for it). Sam, however, takes my vote with "I can't take too much comfort with the idea of 'well, at least we aren't a self-imposed police state yet!'"
Americans don't demand liberty and independence using Turkey (or Saudi Arabia, or Iran, or Russia, or Singapore, or South Korea, or France, or so on and so forth) as the yardstick to measure our freedoms. We judge our freedom based on the rights the original Colonists claimed that all people enjoy by virtue of God's grace. The fact that things are better here than they are elsewhere is not good enough, and shouldn't be.
Sep '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
You're absolutely right, Claire, but context matters. Individual Turks do not have freedom in the American sense, but that's the whole point. When they do have the freedom to criticize their government but don't because of inertia or fear of being looked down upon or because they just don't have the time, then the situation will be comparable to ours. Today especially it seems well to remember that the Americans who fought for independence did not do so for money or glory but for freedom, freedoms they had had for centuries but were being taken away from them, act by act, by a parliament in need of funds to fight their wars and to maintain the peace in their colonies—much as our current government seeks to do, in my opinion, in the fulfillment of their utopian fantasies, which we are supposed look upon as wisdom or risk being called stupid or racist or mean. I think Dave's talking about freedom relinquished as much as anything else, and that to me is a tragedy.
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Matthew Gilley: Claire, I hope this post doesn't appear rude.
Americans don't demand liberty and independence using Turkey (or Saudi Arabia, or Iran, or Russia, or Singapore, or South Korea, or France, or so on and so forth) as the yardstick to measure our freedoms. We judge our freedom based on the rights the original Colonists claimed that all people enjoy by virtue of God's grace. The fact that things are better here than they are elsewhere is not good enough, and shouldn't be. · Jul 4 at 12:21pm
It's not rude at all. And I don't disagree. But hopelessness to the point of despair isn't warranted by the circumstances. I don't think. Things have been worse. Mind you, I go back and forth on "despair" about twenty times a day.
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Just in the interests of accuracy--I see honest-to-God authoritarianism, not totalitarianism. Technical term: "hybrid democracy." If it were totalitarianism, there's no way I could be writing this.
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Actually, to some extent that is the situation here, which is--exactly as you say--tragic. And the part that sends me around the bend is seeing the same phenomenon at work in both countries.
Jan '11
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
I'm interested in how Dave responds to Claire, but before he does, let me say that I take inspiration in his reluctance.
Dave certainly isn't the only one to feel that way, and it's good to let others know it. For freedom to be celebrated, it has to be real.
What worries me, Claire, is not that government will crudely exercise its authoritarianism through violence ... it's that government has become subtle enough to exercise its authoritarianism without offending the instincts of free men. They've become so slick that the Nanny doesn't have to nag. The Nanny has learned to do it without notice, or before being noticed.
What scares me is not that the Nanny will crack down on us. What scares me is that we're ... well ... whipped. "Use this light bulb." Yes, dear.
Edited on Jul 4, 2011 at 12:48pmMay '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Here's a piece of unsolicited advice: if you do move back stateside, probably best not to settle in South Carolina. We treat fragile hopes for humanity the way a German Shepherd goes after rawhide.
May '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Just in the interests of accuracy--I see honest-to-God authoritarianism, not totalitarianism. Technical term: "hybrid democracy." If it were totalitarianism, there's no way I could be writing this. · Jul 4 at 12:40pm
Thanks for picking up on that. One more example why I shouldn't be allowed to type my own stuff.
Jun '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
I worry about what I post, that it might very well bring a SWAT team in the middle of the night, or even just another audit, or something in between. I believe that saying things like "it's not that bad yet" are a good way for things to get that bad. It's easier to stop the erosion of our liberties than to get our freedom back once it's lost.
America is the yardstick freedom worldwide is measured by. How then will the world hope for freedom when it is gone from America? If you would measure the state of freedom in America today, compare it not with some other country, some other regime, but compare it with those freedoms enumerated in our founding documents.
May '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
Americans have higher standards of freedom. God forbid we ever weigh our liberty by the standards of others.
May '10
Re: A Question For Dave Carter
My wife & I started homeschooling in a time and place where homeschoolers were being hauled off in handcuffs. For about 20 years (5 children) we lived acutely aware that a knock at the door could be DCFS or the truant officer. And you do not want to be caught in the coils of that system.I post online under a nom-de-cyber with Molly Norris and name-googling HR flacks in mind.It isn't as bad as Dave may have implied, but it's bad enough and quickly getting worse.