Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
"Sergeant Carter," the exasperated colonel said, "in the history you write, 'The 325th Fighter Wing was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, near Panama City, Florida.' It's still here, Sergeant Carter! Why are you writing like that?'" I explained to the colonel that regulations required us to write our histories in the past tense because we were writing for future researchers who might read our work at a future date neither the 325th Fighter Wing nor Tyndall Air Force Base may exist. There were other peculiarities that I had to explain to each and every colonel I worked for over the years. It was called, "breaking in a new colonel." Some of them understood after one explanation, while others required multiple refreshers but after all, I was an NCO dealing with senior officers so I had to adjust my expectations accordingly. Sometimes it was as if we spoke different languages entirely.
A similar disconnect came to mind in recent days as I heard the frontrunner for the Republican Party first accept the language of class division without any prodding from the interviewer and, days later, endorse the minimum wage and its indexing to the inflation rate. However you wish to slice it, this is not the language of a conservative. Forget breaking in colonels for a minute,…do we have to sit our own leaders down and make them watch videos of Milton Friedman? Do we need to order copies of Ameritopia for them and administer quizzes? For a guy who has for years now been running for the presidency as an ostensible conservative, is it too much to expect Governor Romney to demonstrate some fluency in the language and speak from the perspective of individual sovereignty? Is this the best the Republican party can muster in the face of the cataclysmic threat posed by the most radical collectivist to ever occupy the Oval Office? We took time from our jobs, our families, our lives, to organize and speak up against the encroachments of omnipotent government. We turned out in massive numbers and gave the Republicans a historic victory in 2010, and this is what we get?
Then again, surveying Romney's growing momentum in the primaries, it's tempting to wonder if the language of conservatism, of constitutionalism, of liberty itself, is even understandable (let alone palatable) to most Americans. On Ricochet's main podcast, Rob Long is fond of asking guests if they think the American people are really up for the challenge of meaningful cuts in their favorite programs. Many of Governor Romney's supporters base his supposed electability on his preternatural ability to equivocate and thereby avoid giving the vaunted independent voters a case of the vapors that would send them back into the waiting arms of the utopian left. It worked for Obama, after all. Enough vacuous platitudes, mixed in with a few centrist pledges to work across party lines and presto(!), he's touring golf courses in Air Force One.
Is that the lesson the party hierarchy learned? Have they surveyed the political landscape and found that Americans no longer have the stomach for liberty? Are they right? I don't think so. If I did, I'd be content to write nothing but articles about the glory of driving an 18 wheeler across the country and never again soil my mind or yours with politics. Recent polls indicate that about 21% of the American electorate self-identify as liberals. Fine. Let them boss each other around until they pass out. The rest of us, however, have something on the order of a national DNA. We're hard-wired for freedom, and we could lend enthusiastic support to leaders who understand and consistently advance conservative ideas.
Meanwhile, as we wait for that mythical figure, the winner from the current field of candidates, even if it's Governor Minimum Wage, will get my vote. If the best we can do is tread water and thereby delay catastrophe long enough for some real conservatives to turn this ship around, I'll take it. Why? Because years from now when my grandson, Daniel, asks what I did to defend freedom, I want to be able to look him in the eye and say, "Everything humanly possible."
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Comments:
Jan '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Where's the "Like" button?
May '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
And furthermore, it seems to have escaped the notice of the chronologically provincial purists who are unwilling to settle for anything less that the "whole package" right now, but it took us several generations to get into this mess. It is irrational to imagine that we can get out of it in a single election.
May '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
David - There are two things at work here.
First, I think Americans have always been led to believe that the only true enemy to their liberty would be external - Communism, Nazism, etc. They believe that the atomic bomb and the concept of mutual assured destruction has forever buried that. They don't think that such threat could possibly be homegrown.
Second, there are the true socialist believers who think that liberty is freedom from freedom itself. They believe that we should be as free as children - free from responsibility, free from financial and health worries and free from self determination as long as they get to play the role of the adult and be perpetually in charge and making all the decisions.
One man's freedom is another man's jail.
Jun '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Strict logic is a luxury that successful presidential candidates can't indulge in very much. Logic often requires a long detailed explanation that doesn't match the first impressions that form the opinion of most people. Showing an avalanche of unintended consequences just confuses most people. So, if you can't swim against the riptide, you have to go sideways for awhile. That's politics. But it's comforting to know that most politicians are smarter than they pretend to be. Usually.
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
True Tom,...but we've got to put the brakes on now. My fear is that Romney will merely shift to a slower gear,...but if that buys us a little more time, it's better than going kamikaze. Understand, my statement applies to the candidates as well. I will not do anything that can equate to a vote for Obama.
Jun '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Advance when your forces are able.
Retreat when your forces are weak.
Win battles and you will win wars.
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
michael kelley: Advance when your forces are able.
Retreat when your forces are weak.
Win battles and you will win wars. · 1 minute ago
Agreed,...but how do you win battles when your standard bearer keeps giving ground? Didn't work for McCain or Dole. I know I sound like I'm arguing with my own conclusions here,...but I'm not convinced this guy is as electable as we keep hearing. That being said,...I'd vote for Mark Levin's infamous can of orange juice over Barack Obama. I'd just like a little reassurance that the nominee would be more effective than the can! And I'd like it from the nominee himself.
May '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
We get a bigger picture if we look at the other candidates for a second. Gingrich carried momentum by putting the moderators back in their place when they crossed a line, and by saying he would gladly bomb the snot out of anyone who posed a threat. Santorum has managed to (I think) battle Romneycare very effectively, and provide a nice balance of honesty and politeness. Paul has made the case a few times for way less govt intervention (2nd Florida Debate comes to mind) domestically.
So is it that we're not able to comprehend the language of conservatism? Or that it's only being spoken in bits and pieces, if at all? While my money is on both, the latter is a larger part of it for me.
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
EJHill: David - There are two things at work here.
First, I think Americans have always been led to believe that the only true enemy to their liberty would be external - Communism, Nazism, etc. They believe that the atomic bomb and the concept of mutual assured destruction has forever buried that. They don't think that such threat could possibly be homegrown.
Second, there are the true socialist believers who think that liberty is freedom from freedom itself. They believe that we should be as free as children - free from responsibility, free from financial and health worries and free from self determination as long as they get to play the role of the adult and be perpetually in charge and making all the decisions.
One man's freedom is another man's jail. · 8 minutes ago
EJ, your first point discounts the millions who became active, many for the first time, just in the last few years. The Republican party is proceeding as if these people don't exist, which I find terribly disconcerting.
Your second point describes the 21%, and they are a lost cause. They can't be won over. They must be defeated.
Dec '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Dave, I've made peace with your argument. I have believed for some time now that the over-arching need is to get Obama out. I have nothing but disdain for Romney. If by some unfortunate turn he is to win the nomination, then I will do my part and cast the vote for him. I will spend the next four years however, doing everything I can to rectify that unfortunate turn of events.
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Ah, yes yes. Leave it to my first born to focus in a little more finely on the point! I mostly agree with you, Son, in that a huge part of the problem is that the current message is very inconsistent, and the messengers themselves fatally flawed. As to whether or not people can comprehend the message (when spoken clearly), it's an open question. Conservatives can. Libertarians can. Utopians can't, or won't. That leaves the ostensibly faint-hearted independents. Some on our side believe that unashamed conservatism will frighten them. I disagree.
But the most important question I have for you is,...how was the gumbo you cooked yesterday?
Jun '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Dave Carter
michael kelley: Advance when your forces are able.
Retreat when your forces are weak.
Win battles and you will win wars. · 1 minute ago
Agreed,...but how do you win battles when your standard bearer keeps giving ground? Didn't work for McCain or Dole. I know I sound like I'm arguing with my own conclusions here,...but I'm not convinced this guy is as electable as we keep hearing. That being said,...I'd vote for Mark Levin's infamous can of orange juice over Barack Obama. I'd just like a little reassurance that the nominee would be more effective than the can! And I'd like it from the nominee himself. · 9 minutes ago
He is not electable. And if he is, he will disappoint.
This is not a war. It's a series of battles that someday they will look back on and call a war.
Wait till the deer moves into the clearing. At least that's the best I can do but I will not roll over. This is part of a much bigger wave.
Jun '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Benjamin Carter: We get a bigger picture if we look at the other candidates for a second. Gingrich carried momentum by putting the moderators back in their place when they crossed a line, and by saying he would gladly bomb the snot out of anyone who posed a threat. Santorum has managed to (I think) battle Romneycare very effectively, and provide a nice balance of honesty and politeness. Paul has made the case a few times for way less govt intervention (2nd Florida Debate comes to mind) domestically.
So is it that we're not able to comprehend the language of conservatism? Or that it's only being spoken in bits and pieces, if at all? While my money is on both, the latter is a larger part of it for me. · 15 minutes ago
It's bits and pieces, yeah. Much like life.
May '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
But as Murphy tells us (again and again and again) the base always turns out.
Jul '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Excellent analysis. And I consider your conclusion spot on. I do hope Mr. Ian Hanchett of Hillsdale has read your piece and has reconsidered his position of sitting out this election, notwithstanding the concerns you and many of the rest of us have.
Apr '11
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Dave, your post makes me wonder what the party's reaction would be if there was a true conservative candidate running. I know what the electorate's reaction would be but I'm not so sure the establishment would welcome any one speaking of the liberty you and I desire. The politicians we worked hard to elect I believe desire that "compassionate conservatism" we all have come to despise.
May '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Dave Carter: ...and the messengers themselves fatally flawed. ...Some on our side believe that unashamed conservatism will frighten them. I disagree.
But the most important question I have for you is,...how was the gumbo you cooked yesterday? · 1 minute ago
As Tom pointed out in an earlier post, there are many who are waiting for "the whole package". I agree that this is never going to happen. A flawed messenger is something we'll never see remedied.
To your second point about conservatism scaring independents. I don't see how the concept of freedom on an individual level could be frightening either, but I also understand it. I liken this to someone trying to school me in quantum physics, but maybe i'm missing the point a bit.
On to the gumbo. It was phenomenal! I'll be eating it for days because there's so much. I'll save you some. It should be able to cure cancer by the time you get back to eat it.
Edited on February 6, 2012 at 6:21amRe: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
Benjamin Carter
Dave Carter: ...and the messengers themselves fatally flawed. ...Some on our side believe that unashamed conservatism will frighten them. I disagree.
But the most important question I have for you is,...how was the gumbo you cooked yesterday? · 1 minute ago
As Tom pointed out in an earlier post, there are many who are waiting for "the whole package". I agree that this is never going to happen. A flawed messenger something we'll never see remedied.
To your second point about conservatism scaring independents. I don't see how the concept of freedom on an individual level could be frightening either, but I also understand it. I liken this to someone trying to school me in quantum physics, but maybe i'm missing the point a bit.
On to the gumbo. It was phenomenal! I'll be eating it for days because there's so much. I'll save you some. It should be able to cure cancer by the time you get back to eat it. · 5 minutes ago
If I sense a bit of polio, I'll let you know asap.
Jun '10
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
As we learned from recent revelations about insider stock trading within Congress, the politicians sometimes have their own private policy incentives that have little or nothing to do with ideology. They're busy working on their retirement portfolio, and here we are, interrupting them with the downfall of America. How rude.
That's the natural byproduct of having the government's finger in everything. But then, lots of folks look at that and decide we need more oversight...from government. You want to pull your hair out, but what can you do?
Re: Is the Language of Liberty Foreign?
etoiledunord: ...
That's the natural byproduct of having the government's finger in everything. But then, lots of folks look at that and decide we need more oversight...from government. You want to pull your hair out, but what can you do? · 3 minutes ago
Vote,..and make the case repeatedly, in every fashion and forum available, that the Founders had it right.