Saturday, September 24, 2005

Why "Conservatism" is Meaningless

I don't know precisely what to call this. A sad irony? A mindless contradiction? Sickening?



Here we have a guy with a "Commies aren't cool" T-Shirt on, and yet he is engaging in the most brazen form of state-worship I could imagine - short of blowing the president, perhaps.

This is why I can't stand conservatism - "neo" or "paleo", it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't be surprised if this gentleman is in favor of anti-price-gouging legislation "for the good of the country", or that he thinks "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is one of the amendments to the Constitution. It's these kinds of mindless drones that give anti-communism a bad name.

3 comments:

Lippard said...

I'm not sure I follow the argument--I don't see any hypocrisy in this guy's stance, opposing communism while supporting a particular non-communist (or even anti-communist) state. Isn't that the same position taken by Joe McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities? It seems to me that he fits well in the conservative tradition.

Einzige said...

Of course, we have to be cautious when it comes to saying what exactly this guy’s stance is. After all, his thought process when he got up that morning might not have been more complicated than “Chicks dig dudes with face paint.”

With that caveat out of the way, what might we reservedly conclude about the guy, based on what little we know about him?

Well, what we know about him is that he is at a counter-protest in the vicinity of the huge anti-war protest that took place on the Mall in DC. He is standing at attention, looking very solemn despite the ridiculous paint job, during the national anthem. Would you not agree that these actions demonstrate an exceptionally fervent patriotism? It’s probably safe to say that he is a strong Bush supporter. While somewhat more doubtful, admittedly, I’d venture to guess that he’s a fan of Limbaugh, Hannity, and O’Reilly.

Certainly Bush, Limbaugh, et. al., are self-described avowed “anti-communists”—but are they, really? I think they’re anti-communist in the same way the PATRIOT Act makes us safer, or “staying the course” in Iraq combats terrorism. This is why I pointed out O’Reilly’s absurd advocacy for price controls “for the good of the country.” That’s a perfect example of a so-called conservative anti-communist blurring the distinction!

Note that I am not accusing this guy of hypocrisy, only of being blind (apparently) to the fact that his behavior—a zealous reverence for the state—bears a striking resemblance to the very thing he is simultaneously decrying (as did the actions of McCarthy).

I should also point out that Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany were self-described "anti-communist", but in all salient aspects fascism and communism are the same thing.

I hope I’ve made my position at least a little clearer with this response!

Einzige said...

Hey, coincidentally, I just discovered this after posting the above.