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Posted November 29, 2001
Dissent
As a soldier in the U.S. Army National Guard I would like to say thank you and keep up the good work.
Even soldiers are prone to dissent and the way I see it, that's good. It says that we too can distinguish between right and wrong.
It
is unfortunate that in this day and age there
are far to many that would jump the gun to
label some one a "commie" or "unpatriotic"
for his or her views towards current events.
As for me, I only have a few more years left until my enlistment is over, and I am not re-enlisting, my eight year commitment will be up and I will be done.
Metamorphosis
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of November 23, "Retro-Reality":]
Your metamorphosis from conservative to libertarian seems to parallel
mine. I recall the old adage that if one is a conservative
when he is twenty, he is hardhearted and if one is a liberal
when he is fifty, he is soft-headed. Well, I was a conservative
when I was twenty but am now totally libertarian.
I guess there needs to be an adage about the metamorphosis
from conservative to libertarian. Maybe: if one is a libertarian
when he is twenty, he is antisocial and if one is a conservative
when he is fifty, he just hasn't been paying attention. Well,
at age seventy-five, I have had the opportunity to have paid
a lot of attention. My evaluation is that people who need
people are the most dangerous people in the world. That, of
course, relates to collectivism.
...I am somewhat "spooked" by the often inappropriately
used terms "right" and "left" when referring
to political positions. This seems to be a stock in trade
of lazy-thinking people. It always concerns me that both "right"
and "left" are government positions, as if there
are no other positions. I found one of the better political
position charts in James
Dines' book, Mass Psychology on page 114. The chart
is a "north-south" (freedom vs. collectivism) chart
as differentiated from "right-left" (fascism-communism)
charts.
At any rate, my best to you. You write excellent and thoughtful
editorials.
~ Bud W.
Flag
While reading Justin's ... [column of November 26, "It Can Happen Here"], I felt myself getting stirred, excited as I read more and more, ready to join the fight against these amazingly audacious laws that remind me of the Evil Empire I grew up afraid of. Believe me, you guys aren't the only ones to note the irony that while, on one hand, bin Laden attacked us because he's "jealous of our liberties, freedom and prosperity," these are the very same things that are being stripped away from us in order to "fight the war on terrorism." Doublethink at its best. As I reached the end of the article, I felt the blood flowing in my veins. We need to nip these laws in the bud before it's too late! It's urgent! America as we know it depends on it, on us! Tell me what to do, Justin! Lead us! I was drooling, waiting for the answer, which was: to buy a flag with a snake on it. Excuse me while I put my coat on. That chair at the Chestnut Tree Cafe looks pretty comfortable.
Justin Raimondo replies:
I am a writer, not a political leader, or the grand strategist of a movement, and never pretended otherwise. As a writer, I can provide both analysis and symbolism in the struggle to repeal the "Patriot" Act: but if you're looking for a road-map, you've come to the wrong place.
Trumpet
You trumpet any marginal publication that prints the slightest anti-American spiel.
...Why don't you link to the Defense Department's official site, www.defenselink.com? They put up daily press releases and the like from the DoD, transcripts of speeches, etc.
And do you provide visitors with any sort of context about the fringe sites and publications you like to?
And how can you ever expect your movement to grow by embracing all the fringe elements? If you want to be an antiwar site, fine, but then there's all this gibberish about Greens and other hippy-dippy crap.
Eric Garris replies:
We have a permanent link to www.defenselink.com, and run many things from them. Our spotlight yesterday was Pat Buchanan, hardly a greenie anarchist. If you are referring to "fringe" publications like the Washington Post, the Times of London, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times -- yes, we have to run some of the fringe stuff, but we have a wide range of other items.
Sovereign Immunity
[Regarding Joseph Stromberg's column of November 24, "Is There a Constitution?":]
I am reminded of how the "downwinders'" federal court victory in Salt Lake was nullified by Ronald Reagan invoking Sovereign Immunity and refusing to compensate those intentionally poisoned by the choice of when to do above ground nuclear testing based on wind direction.
Morphing
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of November 23, "Retro-Reality":]
I've been reading (and benefiting) from your column for about a year. This one strikes close to home as I will turn 50 next month and your whole metamorphosis sounds so familiar. I was a Hitler youth as well and became a naval officer (a diver) at the tail end of the Vietnam War. Morphing from neocon into a paleolibertarian makes good sense if one has the ability to reason. Morphing from flower child to into a neocon befuddles me. I smoked plenty of dope in my youth too but the brain damage seems to have affected a different area!
Thank you very much for your insightful articles (and maybe incite-ful too).
~ Thomas O., M.D., paleolibertarian Confederate American
Freedom of Speech
Justin Raimondo's column of November 23 ["Retro-Reality"] contained this passage:
"'These campuses,' she moans, 'were once a haven for the exchange of ideas. But today flags are being torn down, ROTC offices are being closed and students are being silenced. Anti-American sentiments are tolerated under the protection of free speech while ideas on unity and patriotism are called "intolerant" and "oppressive."' What's next -- will 'Up With People' make a comeback?"
There is a plainly evident double standard here. In the passage above, Mr. Raimondo sarcastically tosses aside a mention of the curtailments of free speech that have affected war supporters. On the rest of the site, there appears to be literally no mention, besides Mr. Raimondo's, that it isn't only the antiwar folks who are losing their freedom of statement. Is there a logical reason why the freedom of speech of antiwar people is held to be an enormously important and serious issue (as it should be), but the freedom of speech of those who disagree with you is to be mocked?
~ PS