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Facts, Argument, and Publicity

By Gordon Francis Corbett

Over sixty years after Adolf Hitler's long-overdue suicide, Hollywood is still making movies about his evil;  and, narrowly, some of them even tell the truth.  I say, "narrowly," because none, and I do mean none, of them names the prerequisite that made his deeds possible:  the economic socialism-fascism instituted by Otto von Bismarck.  And, of course, the precursor to that "reform" was the separate German principalities' royalism.

I define "royalism" strangely:  "a complex system of supposed nobility conferring on a relative few the power to order the lives of many others."  This state of affairs had been going on for thousands of years;  and, in a screwy way, I prefer such frankness to today's subterfuge and chicanery.  Then, everybody knew the rules.  You either obeyed the "boss," otherwise known as the local knight, earl, duke, or king, or you got skewered.  Think of it as something like the Mafia, but with ermine robes and a crown.  Everyone was ecstatic.  We know they were ecstatic because the un-ecstatic ones got skewered.

"What do you think of Don, I mean, King, Bilgewater?"

"I am absolutely ecstatic about King Bilgewater!"

"Fine.  Now hand over your tax and tell your son to come with us.  We are going to attack Prince Sewerbreath."

Today, such crass candor is passé.  Most of the world's countries are gloriously democratic.  Viz.:

"What do you think of Prime Minister / President Stinkbrain?"

"He stinks.  I can say that because it is my democratic privilege to say that."

"I agree.  You can say that.  Now hand over your tax and tell your son to come with us.  We must defend ourselves against Putrefonia."

"But we are not at war with Putrefonia!"

"We will be tomorrow."

Unfortunately, in what seem to be the waning days of our Constitutional Republic, few understand its true underlying principles, more think that those principles are obsolete, and more still evade the stark reality of the oligarchical dictatorship toward which our Establishment is rapidly pushing us.

Consequently, some celebrate our Constitution as a "living document," which supposedly lets it permit whatever our public guardians want.  They would object if they were to buy a new Cadillac and have the dealer give them a used Chevette.  They would erupt profanely if he tried to justify this bait-and-switch by saying that their contract "is a living document." 

The Constitution is a contract and a rulebook.  For our government, it is a contract specifying what they can and cannot do, with the proviso that its explicit prohibitions proscribe only some of the things forbidden.  Omission of explicit permission to do other things leaves them still illegal.  For the people, it is a rulebook of do's and don'ts which we, their employers, must enforce.  Our so doing is what really makes it "live."

Our Establishment, a loose coterie of powerful men and women in finance, business, philanthropy, and government, are playing us as a python treats its prey.  It squeezes us, forcing us to accept a smaller range of freedoms.  Then, when we accustom ourselves to those limits, it squeezes us again.  Eventually, they will return us to the good old days of King Bilgewater.  

If we want to keep our legal ability to use our rights, we must tell the truth and work to spread it.  Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, who wrote as "Ayn Rand," said that we must state facts accurately, outline issues clearly, and argue rationally.  This accuracy, clarity, and rationality will give us an unbeatable edge.  Spreading the truth, though, takes money and means.  Money will buy writers' time and effort;  means, comprising radio, television, and the Internet, will deliver what those writers create.

The rest is dedication.  Ronald Reagan said it best:

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.  We can preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we can sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.  If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us that we justified our brief moment here.  We did all that could be done."  

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