Today I ran across a writer/philosopher with the experience and perspective to make it simple to understand what we are struggling with. It was such a pleasure to read what I've been trying to say in various guises succinctly and powerfully put by this individual. Through a friend of mine who prevailed on the publisher to give out his phone number, I contacted this man to request permission to reproduce his thoughts and advice for you all. He freely gave me his permission, sending me the following article via a friends email so I wouldn't be making any mistakes in transcription.
TAKE A READ. There is truth, perspective, and, even humor to soften the blow of the powerful logic and observation. Chris Wolf tells me that he has seen the progression of events in England and in Canada and is now watching its nascent necrosis (now there's an alliterative oxymoron, if I must say so, myself!) in the United States, which he sees as the last bastion of true liberty in the world.
You are encouraged to reproduce it yourselves as copyrighted material in its entirety, as long as you give the authorship and publishing credit to those who deserve it.
This is the first installment, the one that got my attention. Tomorrow, I'll post an earlier article and some CrossFire pieces. I encourage you to bear with me and gives this a read. Then let's discuss it and act before it is too late, with an increased understanding of what needs to be done.
David Gross
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Chris Wolf is a Canadian free-lance writer with 12 years experience writing for outdoor sports/firearms publications in Canada, USA and UK. He can be reached by E-mail at - hunter@island.net. Or by regular mail at 886 Acacia Rd, Comox, B.C. Canada, V9M 3Y6.
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Published March 1998 in Gun Journal magazine. (www.bluebookinc.com) USA.
HOW BAD CAN IT GET?
by Chris Wolf
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. I think Winston Churchill said this (paraphrased from a speech by John Philpot Curran 1750-1817) and no truer words have ever been spoken. Curran went on to say, "Which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt". The word "servitude" is of particular significance here. Look this word up in the dictionary and it takes on a whole new scope.
When I wrote "The Death of the Great American Sportsman" back in October '96, I said that because of the amount of money involved in the shooting sports industry, I believed rifles and shotguns would never be banned in the United States. The Great American Sportsman told me different, saying in ten years it would all be over, and I frankly thought he was suffering from senility. I simply could not believe that the government of the United States - the single greatest democracy in the history of mankind - would purposely put an industry out of business and intentionally cause the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
But I was wrong. And one only need look at what is happening to the tobacco industry to realize the present administration in Washington would like nothing more than to see this industry put completely out of business. After all, people dying of cancer are a substantial drain on the various medical systems, and if people did not smoke there would be savings all around. The same argument can also be leveled against the firearms manufacturing community, saying if there were no firearms produced there would be less firearms related crimes. Again, savings all around.
Speaking of smoking, let me spin you a scenario that at the moment may seem extremely far fetched. If it is accepted that smoking is bad for the health, then it should not be done in the presence of small children. Second hand smoke can cause a number of health problems in young developing bodies, and there is not a person out there who could possibly disagree with this statement. Conversely, there should then be a law that prevents parents of young children from smoking in their presence. To enforce the law, anyone seeing an adult smoking in the presence of small children could ask that charges be filed or telephone a confidential police tips line to report the culprit. Check this out ten years from now to see how close we are then to such a scenario becoming fact and not remaining fiction.
What I am talking about here is the ultimate form of elitism, both on a political and social level. We have here a group of people taking what they see as the high moral ground and passing blanket legislation intended to save the rest of society that has not yet discovered the paths of righteousness. Sounds almost like some religion, doesn't it? And while I am certainly not about to question faith in a higher being, I do strongly support the separation of church and state. Should pious religious leaders be put in charge of the government, no thinking person doubts for one minute that the First Amendment would eventually be struck down because the word of man pales next to the word of his creator.
One of the problems here appears to be that modern day political and social elitism cannot be classified as a religion, and as such can therefore not be regulated. But if you really think about it, elitism has become a quasi-form of religion. Self-righteous liberal idealism (elitism) is as powerful a belief system as is the traditional belief in God. How wonderful it must feel to know one is so absolutely right about everything, and moreover their position can be proven on paper to be conclusively correct - both socially and politically.
"Liberalism" is a religion for control fanatics who need to force everyone into reprogramming for con-version into the Lowest Common Denominator. The liberalist view is to deny our perceptions and to prefer illusions over reality. The classic comparison is the belief in Communism. In it's purest sense, Communism is nothing short of the ultimate form of idealism. On paper, it is the perfect society working together for it's mutual benefit and betterment. And viewed on paper, it could be superficially 'proven' to be the consumate fullfilment of the social conciousness. Millions of people throughout the world still believe this, and their faith in the true Communist Manifesto is as unwavering as is faith in the Almighty.
So why is it not working? If so perfect why has virtually every former Communist country either collapsed or is rapidly changing to a free market economy? Because liberal idealism, be it in the form of Communism, or present day Political Correctness, does not work in the real world. There has never been and can never be a true Communist state. They are merely old-fashioned, inefficient totalitarian dictatorships, and the world of the self-righteous liberal idealist will be the same.
Even so-called Democratic Socialism (a contradiction in terms if there ever was one) is nothing more than a gradual slide into the same type of totalitarian regime equated with Communism. In any political system where the government is allowed ever widening controls, fascism is only around the corner. Give total control to any one body and we are sooner or later going to be truly screwed by whatever name one wishes to call it. That's why I like "servitude" the best.
Philosophy remains central to understanding the strengths of Western civilization. Accompanied by literature and history, philosophy permitted us to rediscover who we are and to discard the falsehoods of language which the Liberalists power structure had put in place, who's function was to lead the way in discouraging independent thought.
Presently there's scarcely any thinking going on at all. Taxpayers are addicted to consumer television which reintroduced discredited nineteenth century laissez-faire liberalism and neo-feudalism on a society whose common sense lacked proper understanding of words. Society's intelligence quotient was reduced to its lowest common denominator.
How was it possible to ram the Liberalist power structure into democratic states without any public debate? Where were all the philosophers who should be describing how issues were disguised behind a new vocabulary as the new tool of Liberal fascism?
In using the words "falsehoods of language", "proper understanding of words" and "new vocabulary", I do not mean to say that words are being changed, but rather the interpretation of words and language are being subverted as they apply to the social consciousness.
If the interpretation of words and language can be subverted and twisted to mean something else, supported by some half-baked paper dogma that does not work in the real world, we have a serious problem - particularly when these people start passing laws that satisfy their definition of what is good, or proper, or correct. Remember that laws are nothing more than the interpretation of words and language as they apply to the prevailing social consciousness. Or to put it another way, this group of new wave fascists are attempting to put into place an accepted standard of social behavior and law based on this same flawed self righteous belief. And once they have accomplished this, they will be in complete control of society and can start meddling in every aspect of your life.
Education not Legislation should be the bumper sticker of the 90's.
So why were all the philosophers absent from a debate which has transformed popular democracy into a system of anti-democratic leadership camouflaged as false populism? It would appear they were systematically silenced. Not in the way the Soviets handled dissidents with 25 years in a gulag, but the effect was the same. Virtually everyone who had a voice immediatly shut up out of fear of public ridicule or loss of employment. Heaven forbid that any dissident should label liberal idealism as a nonsense tenet that plays to the heart strings instead of the head.
In order to fathom the murky motives of liberal moralist dictatorship, the historical origins of such moral crusaders warrants a quick look. When Cromwell fell, the disgruntled Puritans left England for Holland, but not because they were persecuted for their religious beliefs but because they were forbidden to persecute others for their beliefs. After Holland hustled them out for minding everybody else's business only North America remained unclaimed, where they were free to create the kind of neo-theocratic quasi-society they had dreamed of. Here, free from any established restraints, they could now begin vigorously persecuting one another for religious heresies, witchcraft, and the most beloved sin of all, sexual misbehavior. New World puritanism thrived for more than a hundred years before it was finally recognized for what it was. Frankly, I do not have this long to wait for this new form of moralistic puritanism to be exposed.
Personally, I do not have a problem with anyone believing whatever he or she wants so long as they do not attempt to infringe on my rights or force their ideology on me. If I wish to smoke, that's my prerogative. And if I wish to possess a firearm that's my prerogative too. But liberals will say smoking is bad for you and owning a gun potentially carries the same threat to life. So does eating too many candy bars or owning a car that can travel at twice the legal speed limit, along with a host of other things that might at some point in time adversely effect my life or health. So, am I suggesting liberals will eventually ban candy bars and fast cars? Let's talk about that when a next door neighbor seeing a parent smoking in the same room as an infant child can summon the police or phone a tips line. Banning candy bars and fast cars could not be very far behind such legislation.
The proponents of gun control also have a particular affinity for overlooking the down side of their self righteous crusade. Everything comes at a price, and I have a problem with a dogma that disregards some very serious issues for the sake of something that is questionable to work in the first place.
And what are the down sides?
As space limits me to only one example, consider this. For the police to effectively do their job, they must have the support and trust of the community in which they serve. Strip this trust and support out a large segment of the community and the obvious end result is the police are less able to carry out their duty of serving and protecting the community. As gun control rapidly encroaches on the rights of honest firearms owners (the ones who work for a living and pay the police's salary) a deep resentment begins to form.
I see this happening in ever growing proportions with law abiding firearms owners in Canada. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are steadily being viewed as the bad guy and many people I know who used to be strong supporters of the RCMP are now viewing this organization in the same way one associates with Hitler's Brown Shirts of the 1930's. I suppose the Brown Shirts could also make a case that they were only following the orders of their fascist leaders; yet it is hard for the average person to overlook the ones who are doing the dirty work and blame only the ethically corrupt politicians behind them. I know I certainly feel this way after all of the abuse I have been subjected to over the past year. I despise the politicians too, but I am hard pressed not to feel a particular resentment for the one who is actually turning the screw. After my experience, I doubt if I will ever again view the RCMP with the same trust and respect that I once had for this organization. Multiply this same resentment many thousands of times over and one can begin to see the undermining effect the crusading liberal idealist is having on our society.
And how bad can it get?
What is now happening in Canada, England and Australia with respect to firearms legislation will eventually happen in the United States should the American pro-gun lobby continue to function in the way that it is. As someone who has had close contact with all of the major players over the years, I can tell you there are serious problems. There is no cohesion between the various groups, each functioning on a separate agenda, fueled by ego, special interest, conflicting points of view, and a general lack of understanding how to deal with the issue. We are now at a point where an ever growing number of American firearms owners are beginning to believe the major pro-gun lobby groups are becoming more of a liability than a help in preserving the rights decreed under the Second Amendment. The end result of this confusion will be nothing short of the universal disarming of America. And make no mistake this is the ultimate objective.
If left unchecked the United States will regress to a system of Puritanical control, where all firearms will eventually be banned. This, of course, will not get rid of firearms, but it will make 'criminals' of a vast number of people who simply refuse to give up their possessions. If you are a collector, dealer, firearms manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or work for any of the above, you'd better start thinking about night school or something else to occupy your time. Firearms publications (and the dissenting voice that goes with them) will also be fazed out due to lack of advertising revenue and political correct pressure. Accessory manufacturers and their employees will be out of work, as will many providers to the manufactures. The ripple effect will work its way right down the line, putting a huge number of people in dire straits.
This prediction for the US is now a reality where I live. As such, what I have been expounding on here is not theory, but fact. Everything I have been talking about with respect to gun control in this article has either happened or is well underway to happening in my country. Writers like myself are also under siege in a manner in which I never thought possible. Canadian magazines I write for have been under attack as well from the government controlled media. It would appear the Canadian government is not simply satisfied with enacting the most stringent gun control in the world today, but they also seem to feel the need to silence dissent. And this is called Democracy?
The present Canadian government of Jean Chretien's Liberals are quite literally defining fascism in a country where scores of people gave their lives in war fighting the very same oppressive mentality. No wonder many people in Quebec and British Columbia strongly favor separation. I can only concur.
But why should anyone in the US really care about what is happening in a pip squeak country north of your border? I only draw on these facts to make it loud and clear that THE SAME CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!
And why should I care about what is happening to a country south of my border? Perhaps it goes back to my high school days in Camas Washington (USA). I lived there for the later half of the 1960's, becoming after five years considerably enlightened about what the USA stood for. As the last vestige of true democracy remaining on earth, the responsibility in the hands of American citizens is nothing short of enormous. If American politics are allowed to become hijacked by the puritanical moral crusaders I have devoted the majority of this article to, we will all start a nightmare journey back to the middle ages.
I'll leave you with a familiar quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". George Santayana, American Philosopher (1863 - 1952).
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