There are innumerable lessons to be mastered from the dissection of history; there have been tremendous accomplishments and horrendous misfortunes from which we can learn. It is relatively easy to predict the outcome of present and future action by consulting the records of what has been or what failed to be. My personal viewpoint on the efficacy of understanding history – in opposition of the excessively regurgitated phrase “history repeats itself” – is that human nature only goes so far: history doesn’t repeat itself per se, but rather, modern times dictate similar reactions to undefined dilemmas—things happen that mirror historic events, but for reasons inaccessible to even the most gifted of modernity’s time-travelers.
It would be easy to assert that what I have said is nothing more than a highbrow reiteration of “history repeats itself.” In a way, it is; permit me to redefine my terms, avoiding hyper-scholastic phrasing: hindsight is not foresight; looking back will not enable one to see forward; however, reflection upon humanities past undertakings – the pros and cons – does benefit the forecasting of a sagacious, cognitively vital individual.
That being said, it seems appropriate to quote one of America’s most purely sagacious minds, so that my purpose may be framed. Benjamin Franklin once said; “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom,” when he spoke of the Constitution’s strength in guarding Virtue and Freedom—constitutive parts of the Republican Ideology—which helped establish the United States of America as a sovereign Nation. Sagacious Ben’s predication following the previous quote was an ‘ah ha!’ moment for me; “As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
Our nation’s helmsman of late, seems to have neither the power of hind- nor foresight. His politicking feels void of lessons learned from history, doubly affecting his ability to lead America into the pole position of the future. I have a difficult time envisioning a world championed by the Chinese Communist Party or the Russian Federation. Critiquing the president is not my intention – although the continuous finger-pointing is really starting to make me raise a finger – I feel that the bitching is being done by more critics than necessary—similar to saying f**k in every sentence, the potential power of slander is being so diluted that it may become entirely ineffective if we don’t start focusing our efforts elsewhere.
It is not the conductor I am worried about though, his ability to conduct even a community orchestra is at this point questionable. I’m concerned with how he got to where he is, and how we can avoid seating another demigod borne of American Democracy. I see Obama as the result of irrationality; the first – and hopefully last – president voted into office by a nation of citizens unwilling or unable to think rationally for themselves. If the current education system in America continues on its path of below average result, we will not only be outsourcing American jobs, but American thinkers as well. I desperately hope that there are student who appreciate the opportunity to be in college – like myself – using the brief period to develop rational and pragmatic skills paramount the “real” world. I know they are out there; why must they insist on remaining thoughtless, voiceless, and nameless. Obama’s victory was so one-sided on University campuses nationwide, in part, because there was no opposition to oppose; no voices to silence—for me, the silence was deafening. People voted for him because other people were voting for him, they did not know why he was to be voted for; they did not give or ask for a reason. Fortunately, I see a light at the end of the ignorance tunnel: the mind.
Without thinkers in America – the “integrated man: a thinker who is a man of action” – society inevitably spirals downwards; the economy collapses and the irrational demigods seize power. The mind, fueled by rational thought, is the motive power that fuels man’s existence; the only evil is the refusal to think for ones self. What we’re currently facing is the destructive power of the state potentially overtaking the creative power of the individual.
President Obama is an example of one of the great paradoxes of socialism: a great mind (give credit where credit is due) becoming employed in hindering the progress of the state—that my friend is “Progressticide.”
Socialism destroys innovation: when the government influences the economy, corruption and mediocrity inevitably follow, ultimately creating an irrational system in which need matters more than production. Our current – and previous – government’s interference in the economy and private sectors has had – and will continue to have – unanticipated effects that will require further intervention to fix.
The more the government tries to fix the American system, the more repairs it seems to need. America’s political structure was designed to make legislation at the federal level difficult, not easy.
With the security of retaining full knowledge of our course – not the blind sense of being pulled into the unknown by an unknown power – do not trust, but know, that We [the American people] can take the power back; not for a political party, but for the America of the future. The historic need for leaders who think has been great before, but the consequences of inaction have almost never before been as dire as they are today. Raise your hand and be counted no more! Raise your head, and count on yourself as someone who will not permit mediocrity! Know that we will fight against great odds, and win!
“We who are not about the die…”
Talon’s Out.
