From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Dec 17 2003 - 16:18:42 GMT
Hi Steve,
Platt
> > Social snobbery has shifted from who your ancestors were and how much
> > money you inherited to how much political influence you have (or wished
> > you had) so you can persuade government to coerce others into doing what
> > you think is best for them.
> >
> > Those in this discussion group who fit that description I call "elites."
Steve
> Let me see if I have it right. Your "elite" is someone who wants to impose
> his values on others? DMB is an "elite" because he wishes he had the
> political power to impose what he thinks is best for people on people.
> And you think that's bad. I know it can be bad and condescending and
> disrespectful to do that, but I thought you wanted to bring Democracy to
> Iraq. I thought you agreed with me that Democracy would be better for
> Iraqis than life under a dictator. Aren't we imposing our values on the
> Iraqis?
In the Civil War, the North freed the slaves from bondage, just as in Iraq
war the Coalition Against Terrorism led by the U.S. freed the citizens
from tyranny. To bring freedom to an entire culture can hardly be termed
an "imposition." When you "impose" something you add restrictions where
before there were none. An increase in taxes is an imposition on the those
who are forced to pay against their will. Liberals, of course, have no
problem with raising taxes, especially on the "wealthy" who, conveniently,
are rarely defined.
> But does Pirsig think we should be so passive about what we think is right?
>
> Lila, Chap. 24:
> "And this is a war in which intellect, to end the paralysis of society, has
> to know whose side it is on, and support that side, never undercut it.
> Where biological values are undermining social values, intellectuals must
> identify social behavior, no matter what its ethnic connection, and support
> it all the way without restraint. Intellectuals must find biological
> behavior, no matter what its ethnic connection, and limit or destroy
> destructive biological patterns with complete moral ruthlessness, the way
> a doctor destroys germs, before those biological patterns destroy
> civilization itself."
>
> It seems to be a logical extension that intellectuals *should* use
> political power to limit social threats to intellectual patterns. That
> extension would be needed for an MOQ justification for war in Iraq, anyway.
Agree. That's why I'm so adamant in defending the intellectual value of
free speech against the social threats of "fairness" and "equality." The
only "political power" that intellect can invoke is the power of a
nation's constitution which is formed in part to protect individuals from
the coercive power of government and to keep a majority from having the
power to impose its own tyranny. One cannot rely on the political power
granted to the legislatures and administrative branches of government to
protect individual rights. If anything, they are dedicated to violating
those rights "in the public interest." The courts are the ultimate bulwark
against encroachments on individual rights, a bulwark which in recent
years we have seen begin to crumble, as with the recent campaign reform
decision.
For intellect to use the social military power of government to free other
nations from intellectual and social bondage is moral, as Pirsig said in
his letter to Anthony McWatt:
"Destroying an inferior culture is better than allowing that inferior
culture to become a threat."
If I didn't know better I might have attributed those words to George
Bush. :-)
Regards,
Platt
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