| William Blake Jr. 2006-04-10, 11:29 am |
| I say not only that it is man's right to be free of all forms of
unofficial authority. I say that it is man's DUTY to do so - duty
before America and the Republic For Which It Stands. I say that any
mindset that is unwritten and unofficial, is unaccountable, unchecked
and unbalanced, and as such lacking accountability becomes tyrannical.
And that any serious interpretation of democracy - also of life and
liberty - requires a citizenry that is aware of all unofficial forms of
tyranny and stands against it.
Whether that tyranny be the mindset of Fort Wayne, Indiana, or the
mores of the average East Coast suburb, or the mindset of gangs.
I do not advocate freedom of thought as a form of rebellion. I advocate
it in and of itself, as a virtue, and the necessary condition for all
other virtues. I embrace it passionately and completely, not as a
matter of contrarianism but for its own sake and for the sake of all
else that requires it - all the other virtues stated above.
And I say quite clearly that true democracy and true liberty demands a
passionate, unconditional and absolute embrace of the freedom of
thought - as the true accomplishment of civilization and the core of
all its stated virtues.
In many cases, the arguments for democracy have been the wrong ones.
Relativism - the belief that all things are uncertain, and that
certainty is what distinguishes totalitarianism from democracy - is a
flimsy justification for democracy. Indeed it is a definition that
opens democracy to accusations of cowardice and corruption and serves
not democracy but totalitarianism of a creeping kind.
The only true, moral, absolute basis for democracy is absolute
conviction in absolute rightness of human freedom. And that means
absolute, unconditional and passionate embrace of freedom of thought.
In and of itself and as a basis for all other virtues.
The freedom of thought is the most fundamental of human liberties. And
freedom of thought involves also freedom of personhood. And radiating
out of that freedom of thought and freedom of personhood come all other
freedoms and all other virtues. It is impossible to have a country that
one proclaims free when there is no freedom of thought,
self-definition, emotion and personality.
It is impossible to have a country that one proclaims free when
official totalitarianism is replaced with unofficial totalitarianism of
a mindset controlling people's minds, hearts, spirits and
personalities.
And in freeing people from such unofficial totalitarianism it becomes
possible to arrive at population that is truly free.
Freedom is therefore a necessary condition for all other virtues. And
in affirming, passionately and absolutely, the freedom of thought, one
affirms likewise all other virtues.
Which then becomes the absolute and unshakeable ethical foundation for
democracy, and, as I have just shown, the root of all human attainment.
One that is far superior to the conman's ideology of relativism -
and one that possesses enough strength to combat the threats to
democracy, both external ones and internal, that we see today.
It is of course unavoidable that mindsets will come about. Recognizing
their power of authority over people's lives, I thus postulate
applying to them the same logic that has been applied rightfully and
successfully to the branches of American government; The logic of
checks-and-balances. Seeing in all mindsets - as in all governmental
organs - the capacity for both right and wrong, I seek to subject
mindsets to the same accountability as is done to American government.
Making them known and official is the first step.
Ilya Shambat.
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