Growing up in a military family, Memorial Day weekend was always a time for reflection and remembrance, for attending services and ceremonies, and not a weekend for a trip to the beach or a mini-vacation. As I've gotten older, I've settled into habits that reflect the ideals of my upbringing.
Over the last few Memorial Day weekends, my habit has been to watch the exemplary Band of Brothers video set from beginning to end. This ten-hour film highlights some of the more important events in the history of E Company, 506th Regiment, of the 101st Airborne as they fought in Europe. It is a wonderful adaptation of the Stephen Ambrose history of the unit and should be watched by every American at least once.
Understanding the historical perspective of what these men went through is important, probably more so than the focus on the military history itself. They were raised during the great depression, and from childhood heard politicians drone on about the progressive wonders coming about in Europe thanks to the Fascists in Italy and the Socialists in Germany. Movie stars, celebrities, media people, and the progressive political machine in the US adored and parroted these "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans. They went so far as to identify with them with statements like "we are the American Fascists, and they are the European Progressives."
Not surprisingly, this morsel of history has been erased from our public school textbooks...and from our national memory for the great part.
In the years of training and bitter fighting, these men had become hardened to the soft psychosis of such nonsense. They had seen the truth behind the facade of populist propaganda. They understood the ugly reality. They had suffered, been wounded, watched friends die, and been forced to kill human beings all in order to save the "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans from...themselves!
Their frustration and anger changed them forever, and it changed the America they returned to. There was a moment, when the handful of men still left in Easy were on a deuce-and-a-half driving by a long column of surrendered German troops, that comes to mind. A private who had been with the company from the beginning stands and screams at a German General.
After getting the General's attention, with a list of expletives, he shouts "you son-of-a bitch...you've forced us to interrupt our lives and travel half way around the world. You ignorant, servile, scum."
He had been forced to come to grips with a great and brutally frank truth that historians often ignore, and are far too politically correct...or polite...to come right out and say. The German people were servile...they were ignorant...they did what they were told. Tens of millions openly embraced it. There were myriad reasons of course...a certain amount of brainwashing was involved...but they were susceptible to it...as were the Italian people, and the populace of Japan. Not all of them, of course. There was resistance, some questioned, but doubts and doubters were brushed aside by the popularity of the political moment.
After the destruction of their societies, some awoke with the realization they had indeed been "ignorant, servile, scum." Many of those became evangelical in their desire to make certain it never happened again. I have met some of them, and they are sincerely tortured human beings seeking redemption in their own ways. But so many never "got it" and never understood how they had been used. Some insisted they were right for the rest of their lives.
It's all about human nature. It's not a result of race or nationality...it's about what makes us tick. History is a looped track...it keeps repeating itself over and over again because human nature never changes. Socialism and Fascism are just labels. Hitler, Mussolini, and other dictators were little more than figureheads. They were evil...and their ideas were evil...but they were just points in time on the ever-repeating loop. There are more names to replace them...more labels on the same movements to lure the foolish, the greedy, and the weak.
That "greatest generation" of Americans who sacrificed so much, halted an immediate threat...but only that threat. Sadly such threats never go away...and never will. There is no "war to end all wars." There is no "lasting peace"...only constant diligence and the willingness to sacrifice again and again and again. Thank God we find, in every generation, men and women carrying greatness within them. Thank God they stand up and put on the uniform and serve.
But the endless loop goes on. Today we see the mindless mob mentality supporting "causes" that are simply new faces of tyranny. We see a global movement to destroy free markets and personal freedoms in the guise of "saving the planet." The movement is headed by obvious demagogues, and yet millions believe they are worthy of worship and adoration. These same fools completely buy into the inane mindset of the global warming religion (don't remind them Hitler was a fanatical environmentalist who preached the same blather about CO2 and social engineering in Mein Kampf).
Millions more take to the streets in "sophisticated" European nations, demanding government bend to their personal wills in matters of religion, or welfare, or shorter work weeks, extravagant pensions, and other socialist inspired give-away programs. In the US the same mind set drives hordes of fools who want their way...free health care, free college, free food and housing, instant citizenship for aliens...now!...despite the destruction of prosperity and the price to be paid by the majority; who want only to be left alone to live their lives.
The same human foibles which drove the socialists to power in Germany are driving the new movements of "social justice" and "fairness" and "saving the planet" and all the other hackneyed propaganda terms now popular in the culture of the "ignorant, servile, scum" and those who wish to manipulate them.
Yep...I've said it. History tells us the truth...no matter how much the teacher's unions or the progressive media propagandists try to hide it from us. Those who riot in the streets today are really no different than those who rioted in the streets in the 20's and 30's. The only reason we don't yet use the labels the frustrated private in Easy Company used is that we haven't yet had to face the harsh reality of what these naive fools truly represent.
So we politely point out that they "simply have a different point of view" and that "everyone has a right to their opinion." True...they do. But remember what happened to those who tried to voice their opinions against such tyranny in the past. When someone screams you are a "racist" because you believe in border security, or that you are a "denier" because you prefer scientific discussion over global warming fanaticism, they are doing exactly what was done to "deniers" of "change" and "social justice" in Germany in the 1930's.
Since I too apparently have a right to my opinion...at least for the time being...I'll choose to not "go along" with the pop culture ideologies that would empower a small number of "elites" to decide the future of humanity. They had their chance...many times...in the past, and hundreds of millions suffered and died as a result. These people are evil...simply and bluntly put...and want what they want and are willing to take it by guile or by force.
That they are on the move again...and gaining strength...does not mean the sacrifices made by the men of Easy Company, and all of the heroes of our past and present, were made in vain. It simply proves that struggle is eternal, and eternal vigilance is required of free people if they wish to remain free. Today, on Memorial Day 2010, we take the time to honor those who have fought the battles of the past, and are still fighting today, and to dedicate ourselves to the belief that "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
By doing so, we truly honor the meaning of the day.
When Stupid Becomes an Epidemic
There will always be foolish people...but there can come a time when society itself begins to encourage, train, protect, and even import truly stupid people because someone in society benefits from their presence. Unfortunately, this happens regularly in democracies, as elected officials can benefit greatly from a voting block of people who are easily persuaded into complacence.
Politicians learn to not only depend on such folks to stay elected, they can even use them as "muscle" or to create crisis situations which call out for "martial law" or other misuses of government power. We have seen this in countries all over the globe over the last century or so. It's become standard practice for demagogues and would-be tyrants.
The process begins with the practice of alleviating risk...a degree of which is actually good for society in general, but it does slowly start to erode the ability of people to think fast, make decisions, and see the world realistically.
My most important education as a child was to live for some years in the wilderness. I had to learn, very quickly, that there was no 9-1-1 number to call...no one to help me if I screwed up...and that I could die if I made even one simple mistake. Once you come near death a couple of times...and escape by pure luck more than skill...you learn to focus rather intently on your current surroundings and situation. You learn to be realistic, to be centered, and to eliminate stupid ideas from your inventory.
Our public education system, unfortunately, has managed to erase a lot of risk from life...even to the extent of removing the risk of being a "loser" in a sporting event. Everyone's a winner after all. They reward the simple act of staying in school as an accomplishment, and stress image and self-love over substance in most every subject.
When I was young, one of my acquaintances left a candy bar in his sleeping bag with him one night...and was killed by a black bear intent on getting to it. In the wilderness you either win or lose...for real...and a teacher telling you you're special isn't going to save you from a stupid mistake.
My father, who had grown up living off the land during the depression, often times alone in the wilderness, once told me, "there is no such thing as an accident in the woods...there is only stupid, because accidents are the result of mistakes, and making mistakes is simply stupid."
There is no real excuse for perfectly normal, average, folks like myself to be stupid. Everyone makes mistakes...some dumber than others...but being stupid is on a whole different level. Politicians create laws and institutions which encourage stupidity, and discourage discourse or discussion, being the enemies of stupidity, in order to create permanent voting blocks.
To maintain these voting blocks, they must keep the people within ignorant. It also helps to keep them angry, paranoid, and desperate. The use of emotions is the bedrock of managing stupidity.
It's important to make sure people have the basic needs of life, but not too much as they would then begin to think "outside the box" of obedience. They have to be paranoid...they should believe they can't succeed outside of the box because "the man will just keep me down" or some other rationale. They remain desperate as they are constantly living from paycheck to paycheck, or welfare check to welfare check. Angry, because they are told by the politicians that "rich, white republicans/democrats are pulling the strings" and keeping you from the life "you deserve."
There's a key phrase...does any intelligent person actually believe they "deserve" anything? Or do they believe they can "earn" things? Do they demand respect, because a teacher told them they "deserve" it, or do they work hard in order to earn respect?
Obviously these strategies work...sometimes it takes decades to really bear the fruit of these stupification programs...but they do eventually create increasingly stupid blocks of voters and supporters of "causes." This is invaluable for the politician who needs to increase their political power, or to rob society of its wealth for their own benefit, or to create a support base for permanent re-election.
So when a politician says you "deserve" something...they believe you are among the stupid. When they tell you that "it won't cost you a penny as long as you don't make $250,000 a year or more"...they think you are stupid.
When a politician explains you have a "right" to other people's labor or property...such as "giving" you health care paid for by others...they are assuming you are too stupid to think about that statement before cheering.
And when you find yourself marching in protests...waving signs like the one in the photo...you can be sure the politician was right. The guy in the photo is amazingly stupid...almost beyond description stupid...but like most truly stupid people, he is incapable of knowing it. He is desperate, paranoid, and arrogantly angry at those who refuse to be stupid along with him.
The Professor
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