Above Ground Pool

We try to remain optimistic but...

John Derbyshire, a naturalized American from Britain, writes for National Review and posts frequently on The Corner there. He is NOT an optimist. I have a T-shirt with his photo and the caption "Pop Culture is Filth." And he's right about that. It truly is.

To get an idea of where he's coming from I highly recommend his book We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism. It does not make for "Happy Reading." Unfortunately, I don't think his pessimism is unwarranted. He notes today for example that

"[Ron] Paul could never get elected President because the number of Americans who desire liberty is now smaller, much smaller, than the number who desire a dole."

Now, I don't care what you think about Dr. Paul - Derbyshire is absolutely correct here. Ron Paul won't be elected. But the fact that most Americans think that Paul is some kind of crank is downright sobering (and trust me - I KNOW sobering).  "Well, yes" they might say. "Liberty is important and all those protections listed in the Bill of Rights are foundational to our democracy, our shared birthright, and what separates us from the those socialist euroweenies..." and in the same breath it'll end with "but they'd better not mess with my Social Security or Medicare." And there you are.

And here we are: Doomed as truly free citizens.

But hey, how 'bout them Texans.

Labels: liberty

posted by Chuck in Houston @ 12:34 PM