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Consent Of The Exploited
By BRADLEY HARRINGTON, For The Bulletin
“Men cannot be enslaved politically until they have been disarmed ideologically. When they are so disarmed, it is the victims who take the lead in the process of their own destruction.” — Ayn Rand, “The Wreckage of the Consensus,” 1967.
Economically, the United States, at present, finds itself in the midst of lethargy: unemployment, taxes, deficits and the cost of living are all rising, while growth, investment, savings and productivity are all shrinking. Who has made this possible?
Socially, we find ourselves in the midst of paralysis: opportunity for all has been steamrollered by political pull, respect for individual character has been obliterated by class and race warfare and the sanctity of property has been swamped by the looting, mooching decrees of the “welfare” state. Who has made this possible?
Culturally, we find ourselves in the midst of jadedness: ethical standards have been overrun by the reign of moral relativity, adherence to principles has been overwhelmed by the moronic rule of the immediate moment, and the quest for truth has been torpedoed by bombastic, sensationalistic propaganda. Who has made this possible?
Educationally, we find ourselves in the midst of mindlessness: school costs continue to escalate while test scores decline, phonics teachings have been supplanted by the non-abstractive dictates of “look-say,” and the inculcation of the facts and accomplishments of American history have been superseded by a touchy-feely, non-objective, non-conceptual mass of indoctrinational worthlessness. Who has made this possible?
Politically, we find ourselves and our individual rights held hostage by government officials who hold their ability to plunder the productive people of our society as superior to our right to retain the product of our efforts, who consider themselves and their laws to be above and greater than our former constitutional protections, and who have no problem whatsoever with replacing our peaceful desires with their legally-mandated declarations and promulgations, all enforced at the point of a gun whether we agree or not. Who has made this possible?
It would be nice to be able to declare, at this point, that we have been victimized by a malevolent conspiracy that we could resist and overcome, or assailed by an enemy that we could fight and vanquish. The reality, however, is completely different, for the answer to all of the above questions is: we have. That’s right. Not a single one of the deficient horrors mentioned above has taken place without our prior approval. We, the majority of the voters of the United States, have, at one time or another, demanded all of it.
If we now find our economy in a shambles, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have asked for the controls that are bleeding us dry – all in the name of “fairness.” If we now find our society teetering on the brink of collapse, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have had it re-engineered – all in the name of “progress.” If we now find our culture besieged by an irrational cesspool of degenerative senselessness, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have supported it – all in the name of “tolerance.” If we now find our “educational” system at the mercy of concrete-bound, range-of-the-moment brainlessness, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have encouraged it – all in the name of “self-esteem.” If we now find our political system hijacked by self-serving politicians bent on raping and pillaging the system for their own greedy aggrandizement, where is the surprise? We, the voters, continue to return them to the halls of Washington, D.C. year after year after year – all in the name of “representation.” Are we now shocked that, in all of these instances, and many more, we have been granted our wishes?
The conspiracy we are being victimized by – is the internal logical consistency of our own ideas. The enemy assailing us – is ourselves. Yes, we are being used, abused, manipulated and exploited – but no form of exploitation can continue for long without the consent of the exploited.
Aren’t the implications clear? We, the people, can bring about “change” – real change, not the mere trading of dictators that has been foisted upon us by our own ignorance – any time we desire to do so; all that is necessary is that we stop acting as our own destroyers. To have the virtue of freedom taken away is one thing; voluntarily giving it away, however, is something else altogether.
The power of choice, as always, is in our hands. What do we intend to do with it?
Bradley Harrington is a former United States Marine and a free-lance writer who lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Economically, the United States, at present, finds itself in the midst of lethargy: unemployment, taxes, deficits and the cost of living are all rising, while growth, investment, savings and productivity are all shrinking. Who has made this possible?
Socially, we find ourselves in the midst of paralysis: opportunity for all has been steamrollered by political pull, respect for individual character has been obliterated by class and race warfare and the sanctity of property has been swamped by the looting, mooching decrees of the “welfare” state. Who has made this possible?
Culturally, we find ourselves in the midst of jadedness: ethical standards have been overrun by the reign of moral relativity, adherence to principles has been overwhelmed by the moronic rule of the immediate moment, and the quest for truth has been torpedoed by bombastic, sensationalistic propaganda. Who has made this possible?
Educationally, we find ourselves in the midst of mindlessness: school costs continue to escalate while test scores decline, phonics teachings have been supplanted by the non-abstractive dictates of “look-say,” and the inculcation of the facts and accomplishments of American history have been superseded by a touchy-feely, non-objective, non-conceptual mass of indoctrinational worthlessness. Who has made this possible?
Politically, we find ourselves and our individual rights held hostage by government officials who hold their ability to plunder the productive people of our society as superior to our right to retain the product of our efforts, who consider themselves and their laws to be above and greater than our former constitutional protections, and who have no problem whatsoever with replacing our peaceful desires with their legally-mandated declarations and promulgations, all enforced at the point of a gun whether we agree or not. Who has made this possible?
It would be nice to be able to declare, at this point, that we have been victimized by a malevolent conspiracy that we could resist and overcome, or assailed by an enemy that we could fight and vanquish. The reality, however, is completely different, for the answer to all of the above questions is: we have. That’s right. Not a single one of the deficient horrors mentioned above has taken place without our prior approval. We, the majority of the voters of the United States, have, at one time or another, demanded all of it.
If we now find our economy in a shambles, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have asked for the controls that are bleeding us dry – all in the name of “fairness.” If we now find our society teetering on the brink of collapse, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have had it re-engineered – all in the name of “progress.” If we now find our culture besieged by an irrational cesspool of degenerative senselessness, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have supported it – all in the name of “tolerance.” If we now find our “educational” system at the mercy of concrete-bound, range-of-the-moment brainlessness, where is the surprise? We, the voters, have encouraged it – all in the name of “self-esteem.” If we now find our political system hijacked by self-serving politicians bent on raping and pillaging the system for their own greedy aggrandizement, where is the surprise? We, the voters, continue to return them to the halls of Washington, D.C. year after year after year – all in the name of “representation.” Are we now shocked that, in all of these instances, and many more, we have been granted our wishes?
The conspiracy we are being victimized by – is the internal logical consistency of our own ideas. The enemy assailing us – is ourselves. Yes, we are being used, abused, manipulated and exploited – but no form of exploitation can continue for long without the consent of the exploited.
Aren’t the implications clear? We, the people, can bring about “change” – real change, not the mere trading of dictators that has been foisted upon us by our own ignorance – any time we desire to do so; all that is necessary is that we stop acting as our own destroyers. To have the virtue of freedom taken away is one thing; voluntarily giving it away, however, is something else altogether.
The power of choice, as always, is in our hands. What do we intend to do with it?
Bradley Harrington is a former United States Marine and a free-lance writer who lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
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Ayn_Rand_Fan wrote on Nov 29, 2009 9:26 PM: