Responding to Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind - pt. 2

In The Closing of the American Mind between pages 286-287 we find Hobbes, one of the formative thinkers and contributors to America today. He seemed to promote a police state of sorts, citing that it would be best for the public, because, after all, it is the fear of death that drives men, and further, to compliment that would be the pursuit of health, meaning that the only two important things in a society that believes this would be doctors (health care) and police. How interesting this is because those are the subjects of our general conversations today. At least many of the philosophers saw this, but in the very postmodern world that we live in today, this may not be the case anymore.

Hardly anyone thinks about death - at least in the sense that they don't want to. The truth is likely that the person does think about death but wants to suppress it and deny its reality until it is pressed upon them at the time of their own immanent death or the same of a close loved one. Everything is about the here and now - this life. What happens after death in inconsequential at best and irrelevant at worst. Thus, they might think upon death, but only insomuch as to postpone it a little bit.

To many of the postmodern persuasion (if not all) they subscribe to annihilation at the end of life. To them the spiritual doesn't even exist. This thought is hardly new. Richard Weaver speaks to this in the introduction of his book Ideas Have Consequences. He points out that this thinking actually dates back to the 14th century and the ideas of William of Occam - the elimination of the existence of transcendentals. This is an interesting (in a morbid sort of way) side note, because he wasn't even talking about believing in a certain transcendental. It wasn't the idea that you agreed or disagreed with it - it was the idea that, in order to realize your full potential as a human being, you had to disallow for their existence altogether. When this happens then the conscience becomes ambiguous and the existence of God becomes a fable.

Inherent with this shift is the idea that man is basically good. Some philosophers have been teaching this for some time now, but never has this idea run so rampant before. On page 291 Bloom states that modern philosophers "did not [. . .] understand the ineradicable character of evil." When talking with a gentleman yesterday (May 4, 2008) I asked him about sin and he looked at me as if I had just grown a third eye, as if that were a question with an obvious answer, and, it seemed, the man could figure out, so why couldn't I? To propose the concept of sin was nearly too much for this gentleman, so archaic that no one would even study that theory. He says that either what you call "bad" or "sin" is only your opinion, or, it is not your fault and is probably due to brain damage, maybe even from going through the birth canal!

How does one talk to such a man? He all but spit upon God's Word, obviously showing his distaste for it.

Responding to Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind - pt. 1

Pp. 164-165 - All men seek that particular form of government which will best serve this primary need for survival. The problem is that it used to be that man had to do this on a relatively small scale, if not alone. This would naturally lead to, in today's technology, some sort of ability to protect one's inherent right to life - i.e. right to keep and bear arms.

Now, however, we have become convinced that it is the government, and not ourselves, who must protect us and we have willingly surrendered ourselves to them and in turn, they have trampled us underfoot, as they have long abandoned those foundational principles and rights which set the course of sail for the Unites States so long ago.

Is there still hope for the America we once knew?

The following is a response to a forward that I received from some relatives about a man, Charlie Daniels, who said he was basically fed up with America and where it is headed. . .

I couldn’t resist replying to this one. I enjoy your forwards, so please don’t think that I am saying anything to the contrary. The issue here is that this man, Charlie Daniels says that he would love it if there were just ONE politician who didn’t care what others said or thought of him, that would just do the right thing and vote for the people of the United States and the Constitution – well, there is one and that man is Ron Paul. I am quite honestly perplexed as to why nobody ever seems to pay attention to him or hear about him. He is a published author (several books over the years), a fiscal conservative, truly believes in a limited form of government where the power actually resides in the people, not the politicians, is in his 11^th term of congress and is the only politician to have a consistent, constitutional voting record for the last 20+ years! And, to boot, he is still in the running for the office of the President this fall – he is still in the race and gaining support all the time.

The problem isn’t that there isn’t anyone out there, the problem is that we have extremely liberal media who refuse to give such a man the time of day or any recognition, even (in Ron Paul’s case) negative recognition. The reason? They’re scared of him. There are others besides Ron Paul, but he is probably the most public of them. The fact is, our country is so corrupt that it is hard to even imagine; and, what’s more – once you start digging into our past to find the roots of this terrible corruption you will discover that it has so thoroughly permeated this country for so long and is the result of a long, well-thought-out strategy that has been implemented for decades upon decades, that to get rid of it would be quite impossible.

We are at the point now where our government does what it wants to do, regardless of the input from the common man. They tell us what they want us to hear. They brainwash us in the public schools, and the few, faint voices of objection are drowned out in the cacophony of apathy by the rest of the parents who want nothing to do with their own children’s education. They tell us that global warming is real (Al Gore, by the way, is not a scientist, nor does he have any reputable scientists working with him to propagate his claims) when nothing could be further from the truth (http://www.globalclimatescam.com). They start a “war on terror” that is nebulous in its objectives, but which has been disastrous in its consequences, both in lives lost and in policy. Thanks to this illegal act of war (check the constitutional guidelines as to how it should have been carried out) we stand at a precipice of true globalization – a precipice that once we fall over as a country we will never be able to go back to what we once were. The American public has been seduced by the media to believe wholeheartedly that words such as “constitutionalist,” “libertarian,” “conspiracy,” and many, many more are awful words, nefarious at best – words that should be shunned and frowned upon when used in nearly any circumstance. Thus, if you believe as I do, that 9/11 was a conspiracy – in the truest sense of the word – on behalf of our government to advance their own causes (and don’t think for a moment that they would have any qualms about sacrificing the lives of Americans to accomplish their goals); causes which have affected global policy and certain key attitudes and laws, as well as taking away some very precious rights of our own (please read about the Homeland Security Act and the Military Commissions Act of 2006) (cf. http://www.ae911truth.org), then you are considered a radical, and are written off as such and completely discredited. If you are confronted with evidence then you call it as it is. You know the old saying: “call a spade a spade.” If the government is conspiring to hurdle us headlong into world government and all the evidence points toward that then call it a conspiracy.

By the way, I mentioned Ron Paul’s books. His latest book The Revolution: a manifesto, made #1 on Amazon’s list, and for quite a while. That means that there are a lot of people who are perking up to this and who realize that there is a significant problem. The problem now is that there is not enough organization on behalf of those who want a restored country and government. There is not enough commitment to the ideal. In other words, they (or should I say “we” because I am a part of that crowd?) have not reached their breaking point yet. Throughout man’s history this type of problem has only ever been solved one way, through revolution, i.e. war, i.e. bloodshed. That was how our country was founded – on bloodshed, and at this point, that is the only way it will ever be won back. Will America, the true America, wake up to this fact before it is too late? Personally, I doubt it. The problem fundamentally lies in the common philosophy found in this once great country. This common philosophy has completely rejected any idea of the transcendental, has looked with futility at man’s “goodness” while completely rejecting the idea that there could be evil in the very nature of man. Yes, this philosophy is a terminal cancer. It has been put forth by our “great thinkers of late,” Locke, Hobbes, Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, Rousseau – men whose ideas have literally been damning to all who read them. One cannot read these men only. No, if one is to get a true perspective of The Conversation, as it is known, then he must continue to delve deeper into the discussion. Why stop four hundred years ago? Why not read Thomas Aquinas? What about Luther? What about Augustine? Chrysostom? Plato? Aristotle? The Bible? Ahh – if one were to read the aforementioned list, he would have a much different impression of the authors first mentioned, and would be able to discern a distinct change in tone. Then the thinking individual would then have to ponder where that change came from, how it came about and the process it took to get there. Now comes the argument that this is too much work – even for those who are fed up with this country and want change – they don’t want it badly enough to do that kind of work! They don’t want it badly enough to give up their precious materialistic lifestyle that is bent solely on hedonism.

Herein lies the problem. Could I do something drastic for the cause of liberty that would make a statement? Of course I could; but, one man, no matter what his cause is only a lunatic. The press and government would have no problem writing the one off. Even a group of several hundred would not be effective, for that would merely be a cult. The work would be a little more on the part of the press, but it still could be painted in such a way as to indicate that the group was a fringe group and didn’t really represent the views of the majority. In order for a true revolution to happen here in the United States, the effort would have to be organized, with weapons and training, and the numbers would have to be serious – in the tens of thousands at the very least. We will not get our country back without bloodshed and right now, the people who say they want this very thing think that it can be accomplished peaceably when nothing could be further from the truth!

The real question personally is ‘would I join such a group if it formed?’ The answer to this would most probably be no, though I would have to ponder that some more. The reason that I would hesitate is my unswerving belief that the Bible is truly God’s Word to us, and that it is authoritative and true. Thus, I can see that the ultimate endgame – the endgame for this earth – is one where the world is eventually run by a world government. Try as one might to find it, America just doesn’t seem to be found in the end of the Biblical timeline for the earth – at least, not the America we have known. God’s Word has always come true, and these last days will be no exception. Does that mean that I give into without a fight? Certainly not, but what is the most important thing? Martha had a little trouble realizing what the most important thing was. She was busy getting things together and trying to be a good host. She then got frustrated at her sister, Mary, who was not helping, and wanted the Lord to rebuke Mary. What she got instead was a lesson about the one necessary thing (cf. Luke 10:38-42). The point is – there will wars and rumors of wars (Matt 24:6), and nations will come and go. Unfortunately, we have every reason to believe that this nation is in its twilight, both biblically and pragmatically. Biblically because Romans 1 maps out the course of a nation that abandons God and we seem to fit into that course near the end. And pragmatically, because the rest of the world is moving on – they don’t care about America anymore (cf. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria). Personally, I am fed up, but with nothing really to do about it. I believe that the events we are seeing today are occurring under the sovereign hand of God. Further, I believe that the one needful thing in today’s morally and ethically starved world is the gospel – the same thing that was needed 2,000 years ago, and will be needed to the end of the world. That is the one needful thing. That is the one thing that is worth spilling blood for and I would do it in a heartbeat, for as Paul said in Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Or, in Romans 8:18 – “for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)