*Virtue as those in the cocktail circuit see it
Proverbs 17: 7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
We are told by our “princes” to believe all of the following if we are to be considered virtuous:
· We are not committing genocide.
· This is the most moral army in the world.
· Palestinians are animals.
· We care about free speech.
· The laptop is a hoax.
· The election was the fairest in history.
· They tried to overthrow the government.
· The election was stolen by the Russians.
· Two weeks to flatten the curve.
· Masks.
· Six feet.
· Safe and effective.
· Take the shot and stop the spread.
· You’re killing grandma.
· A rules-based order.
· Ukraine is fighting for democracy.
· Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet Union.
· Climate change will end the world in [insert new timeframe here].
· Electric vehicles reduce carbon emissions.
· A boy can be a girl.
· A girl can be a boy.
And this is just a sampling from the last 5 years or so.
Conclusion
John 8: 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
To avoid confusion, that was Jesus talking. You will never see that verse in one of those “He Gets Us” commercials.
Epilogue
Revelation 12: 7-9 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
I look forward to your comments on the shots fired on LRC this morning between HHH and Walter Block. I have been praying for something like that on LRC.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's coming in the next couple of days.
DeleteLooking forward to it as well. In fact, reading Gordon's somewhat disappointing contribution this morning is what prompted me to stop by. Now I'll be here half the day catching up on everything I've missed!
Deletehttp://bionicmosquito.blogspot.com/2024/02/an-enemy-of-liberty.html
DeleteOn another note…. Did you see Hans Herman-Hoppes article published on LRC today calling out Walter Block? Right on the money.
ReplyDeleteEpic, but I expect nothing less when Hans puts his pen to paper. He is a gem.
DeleteLying to the state is in fact a virtue when it is in service of protecting yourself from their misused power. Something which is corrupt at the root needs to be distrusted from the root (taxes) to the leaves (woke cultural ideology).
ReplyDeletehttps://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-ethics-of-liberty-state.html
I have heard two people talking about similar things from different perspectives over the last few weeks, which have created questions in my mind.
First, Pete Quinones would take that list and say the source of all those problems is Jewish elites. He will criticize how they have captured our federal government while at the same time rage against libertarian critiques of the state, even Austrian economics. I am confused how why he would rail against libertarians for the acts of those pulling the levers of states and central banks. He is great on his appeal to localism and self-improvement, but he doesn't say what actions should result from "noticing" the actions of an ethnic minority. What should normal people do with that information? I am not interested in collective ethnic punishment as that is not helpful but also it isn't Biblical.
Second, is Owen Benjamin who made the rounds on podcasts last week to ramble streams of consciousness invectives against libertarians, anarchists, and even against individuals like Dave Smith, Clint Russell, Michael Malice, and Bob Murphy. He incessantly blames private individuals for the crimes of government. He also sings the praises of the federal government for their supposed protection against usury and immorality. But when I look at government officials and their allies they are the ones pushing central banks, inflation, war, immorality, and healthcare industry malpractice. I just don't get how the government is able to escape criticism for their many crimes against humanity, while those who clearly explain where the problems come from get blamed. Add to that it is former libertarians or supposed allies to libertarians who seem to lose their sanity like this.
Many who see the same negative outcomes have different theories on the causes. Perhaps like the several blind men touching different parts of the elephant, they are right as far as they know, but wrong if they could see the big picture.
DeleteThe line dividing good and evil runs through each one of us, and we see it in many people - some more prevalent than others, perhaps.
But we wrestle not against flesh and blood...and all that.
I don't see how former libertarians think the federal government is the hero. You have shown that doctrinaire libertarianism isn't the answer, but that freedom comes out of Christianity and Western culture. Pete and Owen criticize Protestant Christianity with no awareness.
DeleteThey acknowledge no evil in their own hearts that I have heard. They use perverse language and accuse other Christians and libertarians of creating the problems we face.
For right-wingers like Quinones, libertarianism is an ideology that either serves to obfuscate the real, particular interests of it's adherents behind universalist rhetoric or a honeypot preventing Whites for realizing their own interests and wielding the powers of government for their own benefit.
DeleteBenjamin OTOH is a highly malicious grifter. Just know that his story of being frozen out of Hollywood for objecting to trans kids is something made up ex post facto by him.
It's really indeterminable whether he truly believes the Earth is flat, space isn't real and drinking turpentine cures various ailments or he says those things because wants to attract a certain audience he can squeeze dry to add to his already considerable wealth.
Paid shill, thanks for the feedback. I agree with what you are saying about PQ. I think he makes important critiques of the status quo and libertines. But I don't agree overall about his issues with libertarianism per se. Many times his claims about it are unfounded in my view in that they actually agree with Mises, Rothbard, and Hoppe even though he criticizes those who follow those guys. I also don't understand what actions should be undertaken as a result of the political activity of a certain ethnic group. Are we supposed to hold the whole group guilty of the sins committed by a part of that group? He specifically says people shouldn't use individualism in such matters. Not only is individualism the most moral approach to the matter but it is more than sufficient to protect liberty.
DeleteI also think he misunderstands power. A government can be small but powerful. You can have a free society with a government that wields power to protect citizens from evil doers. Our problems don't exist because our government doesn't have enough power. Our problems exist because the government wields power over areas of our lives of which they shouldn't and they refuse to employ their power to protect life, liberty, and property. It isn't a lack of power but a misapplication.
Your comments about Owen are interesting. I remember when he went into seclusion. I was watching conservative type shows where he would appear. Then out of the blue secluded himself and refused to talk to people once considered friends. It was unclear what caused the change. It sounded like OB had a nervous breakdown. People with bipolar sound a lot like him.
>Not only is individualism the most moral approach to the matter but it is more than sufficient to protect liberty.
DeleteWhich is the heart of the issue: Quinones and his fellow right-wingers look at the past ~200 years and see individualism progressively failing when confronted with ethnocentric cooperation as a strategy. Therefore individualism must be discarded since it is clear the stake is the very survival of the West itself.
And this is why they disagree with libertarian prescriptions even if they agree with many libertarian critiques of the current postliberal-managerial order.
>People with bipolar sound a lot like him.
I strongly suspect OB was whacked in the head from the start and it contributed to the death of his career in Hollywood. Afterwards he was quickly thrown out of the LA comedian clique (which is filled genuine sexual rebrobates to the brim; funny enough there are at least two accounts out there where mena recount being sexually assaulted by OB) because he wouldn't stop singing things like "Nigga stola my bike" which ceased to be socially acceptable in the mainstream a decade even before that.
The adderall consumption wasn't helpful either I suspect.
You are correct in your understanding of PQ and the dissident right. But I think they misunderstand history a bit and over simplify it. Yes a certain ethnic group was influential in the Bolshevik movement. But Stalin was Georgian. He kicked that ethnic group out along with Georgians and made the CCCP a Russian party. It was still anti-human and evil. FDR was old money American and he followed the same policy as Stalin. All you have to do is enforce laws. Punish evil doers. Show impartiality under the law. If that is somehow not enough use natural law as the dividing line. Natural law defines what a human is. If a person attacks natural law itself then that person commits crimes against humanity and at some point ceases to be human themselves. We are seeing a post-human movement. But only humans possess natural rights. Non-humans don't. Humans should act accordingly to protect themselves.
DeleteYeah. I find OB funny, but anyone who looks to him for wisdom or truth will be mislead. He is a lot like Alex Jones in that way. Alex makes more sense though. Alex can talk for 2 hours and make complete sense. But that 3rd hour descends into absolute craziness.
The only conclusion is that truth can not be found there. Some even lack the ability to define 51% of the population of this world. The question is why listen.
ReplyDelete