Democracy vs Aristocracy
The New York Times asks Tyler Cowen about the present state of the EU:
Since the European masses are turning against the EU, the next tactic of the EU elite will be to suborn leaders like the Socialist Hollande, who are elected on moderately anti-EU promises. I expect Hollande to turn around and stab his left-wing nationalist followers in the back by embracing the austerity programs designed to keep the banks out of default, thus assuring that Marine Le Pen and the National Front will have a real chance of winning the next set of French elections. But the overall pressure is growing, and so when the bait-and-switch tactics fail, the new European aristocracy will turn to the solution they've imposed in Italy and Greece, which is to altogether abandon democratic rule. Right now, these aristocratic interregnums are short-term, but no doubt another debt or currency crisis will provide the justification for extending them where they already exist and imposing them where they don't. The only way they can push for the political and fiscal union for which the monetary union was the bait is by throwing out all but the last vestiges of democratic government.
But the long-awaited nationalist tide is just beginning to rise, which is an excellent thing considering the monstrous and authoritarian nature of the globalist aristocracy. The potential problem is that in order to smash the edifice constructed by the ruling aristocracy, the nationalist pendulum will swing farther than it needs to. Thanks to the machinations of the multiculturalists, there are no shortage of scapegoats readily on hand for the angry and newly nationalistic natives; in fact, one wonders if the elite's encouragement of mass immigration might have been intended as a means of both distracting and marginalizing the nationalist forces from the start. Either way, it's already clear that it won't work; the National Front won 30 percent of the real French vote and similar results will be seen in other elections across Europe.
Today, very few countries in the euro zone are capable of making credible commitments or binding agreements with the others. Quite simply, democracy is having its say. The French soon may elect a left-wing candidate who, in essence, wants to exempt France from fiscal rules and place more fiscal risk on Germany. The Dutch can no longer form a governmental consensus on the budget. The Irish will be putting the fiscal compact up for a referendum, and the Greeks are holding an election in May. Even in Germany there could be problems holding together the ruling coalition.What we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of democracy as the new aristocratic age struggles to be born. The outcome of the current crisis is far from certain, but at least we're now able to see relatively clearly what the most likely possibilities are. The collapse of the Dutch government and the surge of the anti-EU National Front in France show that the strategy of the European political elite, which is to offer the people a choice between pro-EU Party A and pro-EU Party B, is no longer working. Even in the UK, which is slightly insulated from the problems of the Euro thanks to its retention of the pound sterling, the popularity of UKIP is now growing rapidly due to the recognition that there isn't any meaningful euroskepticism in the Conservative Party anymore. (Note to Daniel Hannan - you're a leader, not a follower, and so it's time to switch to UKIP).
In general, voters are unwilling to give up their say over policy, or to regard the European Union or euro zone as necessarily superior to national interests. When it comes to the specifics, it appears increasingly likely that at least one national electorate will pull the plug on the entire set of bailouts and austerity programs.
There is no way to pull off the required cross-national agreements. Resources are being drained from euro zone banks, which are contracting their lending to business. This will make the current recession worse, which in turn will necessitate further unpopular policies, including cuts in government spending. Euro zone countries will become more nationalistic in hard times, and more likely to vote against incumbent governments, no matter what the specific issue at stake. It is hard to see a stabilizing outcome, so the best bet is on a crack-up of some of Europe's major economies, including Spain and Italy.
There is an old saying in economics, namely "no monetary union without a corresponding fiscal union." It could be added "no fiscal union without a corresponding electoral union." In the longer run, we will probably end up with none of these institutions.
The euro zone probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why.
Since the European masses are turning against the EU, the next tactic of the EU elite will be to suborn leaders like the Socialist Hollande, who are elected on moderately anti-EU promises. I expect Hollande to turn around and stab his left-wing nationalist followers in the back by embracing the austerity programs designed to keep the banks out of default, thus assuring that Marine Le Pen and the National Front will have a real chance of winning the next set of French elections. But the overall pressure is growing, and so when the bait-and-switch tactics fail, the new European aristocracy will turn to the solution they've imposed in Italy and Greece, which is to altogether abandon democratic rule. Right now, these aristocratic interregnums are short-term, but no doubt another debt or currency crisis will provide the justification for extending them where they already exist and imposing them where they don't. The only way they can push for the political and fiscal union for which the monetary union was the bait is by throwing out all but the last vestiges of democratic government.
But the long-awaited nationalist tide is just beginning to rise, which is an excellent thing considering the monstrous and authoritarian nature of the globalist aristocracy. The potential problem is that in order to smash the edifice constructed by the ruling aristocracy, the nationalist pendulum will swing farther than it needs to. Thanks to the machinations of the multiculturalists, there are no shortage of scapegoats readily on hand for the angry and newly nationalistic natives; in fact, one wonders if the elite's encouragement of mass immigration might have been intended as a means of both distracting and marginalizing the nationalist forces from the start. Either way, it's already clear that it won't work; the National Front won 30 percent of the real French vote and similar results will be seen in other elections across Europe.
Labels: EU
69 Comments:
It will be interesting to see how long this farce will go on.
I also on the sceptical side. The EUcrats always have the righist hammer to throw down to the people. It has been the most effective political weapon in Europe since the end of WWII.
That's why I think the work of Kuenehlt-Leddihn is so important....and ignored.
Since you are a hater of the Old Order, Vox, a libertard, Please don't use the term "aristocracy" because an Aristocracy is the Warrior class! And that is part of the Old Order which you reject outright anyway. Your use of the term 'aristocracy' is a smear word and the context you use is a smear. If you were 'scientific' at all, you'd use the term 'oligarchy'.
Your political philosophy stems from the so-called Enlightenment that did away with Kings so that there can be a United Europe. What was standing in the way of a United Europe and then a United World was Kings. You subscribe to an ideology that is anti-monarchical and anti-Old Order. So it is kind of hypocritical of you to complain about a new rising oligarchy! If Kings were still around, there would never be talk of a United Europe.
Aristocracy is the "Rule of the Best". The best is the Warrior Class that has Virtue and noblise oblige. The Rule of the Best would be obedient to the Natural Law. There is none of that in Europe for "Democracy" in the form of the pseudo-republican movement destroyed it all. All Democracies, whereever and whenever, always have a pseudo-aristocracy. Nature dictates so because a democracy is never "according to nature" and so democracy creates faux groupings in imitation of the real thing.
Let's remember:
"Engels argued explicitly that the atomisation and deracination caused by international capitalism was the necessary precursor to worldwide emancipation: "The disintegration of mankind into a mass of isolated, mutually repelling atoms," he wrote, "means the destruction of all corporate, national and indeed of any particular interests and is the last necessary step towards the free and spontaneous association of men."
What teaches "atomization" is libertarianism. That is the goal of Libertarianism.
Nitpicking. It's just that the current Kings want the United World and that Kings are not established by birth, but by election.
Straight out of webster:
Aristocracy: government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class
Oligarchy: government by the few
Btw: This quote of Engels pretty much sums up that he didn't have a clue.
the nationalist pendulum will ... farther than it needs to.
you've elided a word there at the ellipses i inserted. i presume, "swing" is what you intended.
Your political philosophy stems from the so-called Enlightenment that did away with Kings so that there can be a United Europe. What was standing in the way of a United Europe and then a United World was Kings.
If that was their plan it didn't work. The result was the rise of the modern ethnic nation-state. Take the Austro-Hungarian Empire as an example. The Hapsburgs ruled over a multi-ethnic empire, which they kept backward and divided. When they went, it all broke up into seperate states. And this process is continuing. Look at how Yugoslavia went up like a string of firecrackers in the 1990's, with the Slovenes, the Croats, and the Bosnians all pulling free of Serbian rule. Tito was the "king" who held it together. Once he was out of the picture it was a ticking bomb.
Ditto the Russian Tsar. When the Bolsheviks offed him, the Finns, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Ukrainians, etc broke free. The Soviets had to laboriously reconquer them, and as Markku will no doubt gleefully confirm, some of them could not, in fact, be reconquered.
No, what kings stand in the way of, just as much, is local, representative government. Which is the polar opposite of some One World State To Rule Them All.
"What we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of democracy as the new aristocratic age struggles to be born."
Really? What I think we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of the elites, i.e., the modern aristocrats, as a more localized democracy struggles to be born.
It is a revolt against the modern aristocracy.
Wheeler - shut up you maleducated retard.
The salient question: how long can America pretend the forces of history don't apply?
At some point, it's going to become inescapable that there are competing interests. The last time there were divergent cultures and ways of life, a war was waged to keep the suicide pact.
California is likely to go bankrupt as they continue to skate toward a Latin-style omnipresent government (a secular Catholic Church it seems) but without the ability to debase the currency that Latin countries have traditionally relied on -- so they are in the same trap as a Spain or an Italy in the EU. America is a poorer country these days and no amount of manipulation by the California delegation is going to be able to steal enough money to fix a bleeding California budget when there are issues with getting the federal bonds sold.
Pat Buchanan's analysis in Suicide of a Superpower about the return of ethnonationalism it a really good read that continues this same line of thought from Vox's article. If there was ever a man standing astride US history for the last half century trying to stop the downgrade, Pat's the man.
I was about to point out that the EU is not aristocracy... but oligarchy...
Then I read wheeler's comment... and decided I better reconsider the matter more carefully.
Vox,
Do you have a link for the National Front winning 30% of the "real vote?" I assume you looked at a demographic breakdown?
Spacebunny April 24, 2012 7:48 AM
Wheeler - shut up you maleducated retard.
Oh, come on - he's thought-provoking, even when he seems to have it backwards.
Ampontan April 24, 2012 7:26 AM
"What we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of democracy as the new aristocratic age struggles to be born."
Really? What I think we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of the elites, i.e., the modern aristocrats, as a more localized democracy struggles to be born.
It is a revolt against the modern aristocracy.
It could turn out to be either.
"Time will tell. Sooner or later, time will tell..."
Due to family breakdown, I think we currently have a cyprianocracy, rule by venereal disease.
What we really need is a megalolinonocracy, rule by whomever has the most string.
"Oh, come on - he's thought-provoking, even when he seems to have it backwards."
Huffing gasoline can also be thought-provoking. Colors, shapes, they seem so real and alive.
That does not make it a good idea to imbibe the hydrocarbonic sweet fumes.
"Oh, come on - he's thought-provoking, even when he seems to have it backwards."
Oh he's thought provoking... of course most often the thought he provokes, "MY GOD WHAT AN IDIOT"
SB:
Wheeler - shut up you maleducated retard.
This block is an oligarchy [ruled by the few], thus, Wheeler can be admonished at will.
Now, whether we, the Ilk, trodden upon by the few, will rise up in revolt and establish a blog of resistance [I would call it VoxityItaliaNO] remains to be seen.
Actually, its early here and my post waking nap is due. Maybe revolt some other day....
Or, make an adult concoction and just enjoy our rulers [here, at least] rule their empire.
God help the poor people living under all this disorder.
Idle Spec has a point, could it be said that some in power have encephalitic or syphilitic disorders...
Due to increasing societal instability and lack of resources on Easter Island, the Rapa Nui people developed something called the "Tangata manu," or Birdman Cult in order to enforce a power structure in their chaotic times. Volunteers would swim from Easter Island to the nearby small islet of Motu Nui, and try to claim a tern's egg. The first one to swim back with the egg in hand and present it at the stone village of Orongo was declared the winner. They became the powerful Birdman for a year, until the next competition.
Now that economic crisis has hit the entire world, we too need a new way of defining power. Whoever collects the largest ball of string becomes King of the String. They keep the official title until someone either steals their string ball, or makes a bigger ball themselves.
Think of it!
We can all be kings! KINGS I TELL YOU! I'M GOING FIRST!
jack April 24, 2012 8:39 AM
SB:
Wheeler - shut up you maleducated retard.
This block is an oligarchy [ruled by the few], thus, Wheeler can be admonished at will.
Now, whether we, the Ilk, trodden upon by the few, will rise up in revolt and establish a blog of resistance [I would call it VoxityItaliaNO] remains to be seen.
Actually, its early here and my post waking nap is due. Maybe revolt some other day....
Or, make an adult concoction and just enjoy our rulers [here, at least] rule their empire.
Or just go have your own blog. Vox's little empire has open borders, and no password required to depart.
I wonder what he'd be like as the king of a little city-state?
"It looks like its a constitutional monarchy. King Vox is a figurehead - all the power is with an elected assembly."
"Nah, actually its an absolute monarchy. The king is just too busy playing videogames to actually bother with making any laws, so the people set up that parliament thing themselves. Vox would veto what they were doing if he actually gave a hoot."
"The euro zone probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why"
Put another way...
"Women's suffrage probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why"
Put another way...
"The Missouri Compromise probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why"
or...
"The destruction of Pearl Harbor probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why"
or
"The handing over to Madoff of our 30 million dollar nestegg probably was unworkable from the beginning, and now we are seeing why"
Hindsight is so very handy.
If the stupid read this blog, they don't stay stupid long. They either leave or they become smart.
Of course most rules have exceptions ... Wheeler
Just Mark April 24, 2012 9:27 AM
If the stupid read this blog, they don't stay stupid long. They either leave or they become smart.
Of course most rules have exceptions ... Wheeler
I don't consider Wheeler to be stupid. Just to have an outlier political worldview. People can be misinformed, or wrong-thinking, without being stupid. There is such a thing as articulate, lucid-thinking nonsense. (eg: Richard Dawkins)
he's thought-provoking
No, he's not.
> Aristocracy: government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class
I am genuinely surprised. I always thought aristocracy meant "government by rich inbred cretins."
No, he's not.
He is thought provoking. It's just that the thought is usually "What the hell is this guy talking about?"
I am genuinely surprised. I always thought aristocracy meant "government by rich inbred cretins."
always inbred?
The EU nonsense started as a crackpot idea to prevent future wars in Europe by dividing up the steel and coal industry among the main European nations so that no one country would be able to independently produce their own steel, ergo, they could not produce steel without the other nations, then they cannot produce war equipment or weapons without steel. Of course, the idea was nonsense.....and from that basic concept.....we got more nonsense.
What might have been possible with the original membership of the EU became increasingly unlikely the more varied the nations were added to the EU.....and the more likely that EU membership will create even more tensions and conflicts, calling into question the same crap of expanding membership in NATO.....which has expanded far from the North Atlantic.
"...when there are issues with getting the federal bonds sold."
I keep asking all over the internet about this. Are there unsold bonds after the auctions? Why don't government checks start getting returned at that point? Are we not already monetizing debt? Is the primary dealers network stepping in to fill the gap? Foreign central banks? I find it awfully hard to believe that the US is stuffing a trillion in debt at below-inflation rates down the world's throat and they're swallowing. And that's just the US debt.
"What we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of democracy as the new aristocratic age struggles to be born."
Correct. The next stage will be the struggle between the public elites on the one hand and the private elites on the other for control of geography as the social democracies start shutting down and feminism, Marxism, multiculturalism, and all the other indulgences of advanced civilization dry up and disappear faster than you can say blood is thicker than water. The private elites will win, and anarcho-capitalism--neo feudalism, that is--will carry the day. And I think a lot of erstwhile anarcho-capitalists won't like what they see.
> Aristocracy: government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class
O.C....I am genuinely surprised. I always thought aristocracy meant "government by rich inbred cretins."
Of course, the aristocrats are not normally the best individuals, or the smartest, or the strongest, or the best qualified, or the richest.....but they are often the small privileged class.
The next stage will be the struggle between the public elites on the one hand and the private elites on the other for control of geography
That's a staged struggle already taking place. It's staged. Both are part of the oligarchy...and we are already there.
Occupy both sides of the argument, and you'll likely win...until it is realized that they are, indeed, the on the same side.
The private elites will win, and anarcho-capitalism--neo feudalism, that is--will carry the day. And I think a lot of erstwhile anarcho-capitalists won't like what they see.
you mean there will be no state power left? there will be private police, private armies? And what will be the difference between those private powers and the current state?
There are a number of possible outcomes, but anarcho-capitalism is not a very likely one.
The French soon may elect a left-wing candidate who, in essence, wants to exempt France from fiscal rules and place more fiscal risk on Germany.
Just wanted to laugh at this.
Go on now.
always inbred?
See, e.g. previous posts regarding prevalence of cousin marriage among middle eastern cultures, even when said cultures are transported to the West via immigration or diaspora.
Jamie-R, don't forget the leftist credo: Rules for thee, but none for me.
The U.S. had the ideal approach, neither a democracy nor an aristocracy. It's become obvious that left to themselves the huge mass of idiots will always select the nanny option. That could not be more obvious than it is right now in the West. The concept of the Federal Republic rooted in a constitution could well be one of the greatest achievements ever. The United States started to unravel when we began moving away from federalism toward pure democracy, popular selection of Senators for instance. Unfortunately Tocqueville was right, as soon as the masses figure out they can vote themselves whatever they want, the game is up.
Jamie-R, don't forget the leftist credo: Rules for thee, but none for me.
No no no! Don't ever include France in the Right of anything.
No no no! Don't ever include France in the Right of anything.
You can take the Aussie out of England, but you cannot take England out of the Aussie.
The potential problem is that in order to smash the edifice constructed by the ruling aristocracy, the nationalist pendulum will swing farther than it needs to.
This problem is further compounded by the natural tendency to seek a strong leader or a strong group in times of crisis. The American Revolution is an historical outlier in that the leaders generally adhered to their principles rather than allowing the revolt to devolve into nothing more than a struggle for personal power among the men and factions that led the fight.
Just look at the relatively mild example of FDR. His blatant power grabs were approved by the electorate 3 times based on the the observably false promise that he, as a strong leader, would make things better for the common man. Confronted with his failures, the stock response of politicians everywhere served him well: it would have been worse without me.
> The United States started to unravel when we began moving away from federalism toward pure democracy, popular selection of Senators for instance.
The entire concept of the "United States" unraveled when the federal government decided it could use force against those who wished to leave it.
The entire concept of the "United States" unraveled when the federal government decided it could use force against those who wished to leave it.
Damn straight.
Stilicho is correct. The people tried to make Washington King and he declined. It was only the Founders character that made America in the beginning. God help us now.
The original pan-european aristocracy was finally broken up by the Hundred Years War when kings started using Nationalism to exert more control over the important barons. At the start of the Hundred Years War, most of the aristocracy thought of themselves as free agent members of a big, exteneded family and they squabbled over power and status. Dukes in France would ally with the King of England against the King of France when they thought it was to their advantage. Diplomacy was conducted household to household among the baronial class.
But eventually the concept of Nationalism began to grow and the Kings of France and England used it to prevent the Dukes nominally under their control from going Free Agent. The King allied with the peasants and middle class against the Dukes.
There are divisions, fault lines, and class boundaries within any aristocracy, and infighting is common. In fact, that's probably the worst thing about aristocracies - the people in leadership positions are more interested in competiting with the other aristocrats than in looking after their own domains. Aristocrats are driven more by status than by wealth, and status is a zero-sum game.
What's happened in Europe is that democracy has lost control of the process and is struggling to regain it. I don't know if it will succeed or not. Meanwhile, with Monetary union and the expansion of the EU, the frontiers sort of closed, so the Eurocrats don't have any new virgin territory to conquer and, like wolves who've eaten the last sheep have to look at each other for the next meal. Of course going broke at the same time just makes it all the more entertaining, in a depressing, blood-bowl sort of way.
Clown pontificting: In general, voters are unwilling to give up their say over policy, or to regard the European Union or euro zone as necessarily superior to national interests. When it comes to the specifics, it appears increasingly likely that at least one national electorate will pull the plug on the entire set of bailouts and austerity programs.
Voters have no say over anything of importance. Not even the EUSSR Supreme Soviet ("Parliament") has any meaningful say over what goes on there. All actual decision making is done by the Politboro (EUSSR Commission) and - most importantly - the Central Committee (EUSSR Council). Idiots thought the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. It didn't collapse, it merely changed location.
Dan 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
Dan 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
James Dixon: The entire concept of the "United States" unraveled when the federal government decided it could use force against those who wished to leave it.
Indeed. That changed the entire ball game. After the issue was decided (at the cost of 700,000 dead and vast destruction), the game was on for the eventual takeover of the entire polity by the slave power via their New England-New York mercantilist proxies, robber-barons, et al. The post civil-war era saw the rise of the women's suffrage and public edumacation movements - funded by the above. Final takeover was consummated in 1913.
Oligarchies become aristocracies when they've consolidated their control sufficiently. I expect that is what Vox means here by "aristocracy". In Europe there are a few remaining members of the old aristocracy - who are quite powerless. Folks like filthy banksta DSK are oligarchs who clearly aspire to aristocracy - complete with the nose-high-in-the-air "I am the Law" attitude (and nothing of the nobility or military service mentioned by Wheeler, though Wheeler - ever the romantic - wildly overstates the case).
Should I be encouraged by these developments, or should I ratchet up the worry machine?
Should I be encouraged by these developments, or should I ratchet up the worry machine?
Now that economic crisis has hit the entire world...
The economic crisis is just a means to an end.
Whether by divine providence or not... no man may buy or sell unless he have the mark of the beast.
If you've read the Dune series of books, you may recall that Leto II, in God Emperor of Dune, called himself the ultimate aristocrat. His system of government used the bureaucracy, but all leadership positions were filled by aristocrats.
He recruited all of his leaders from former rebels. Because they had the right mindset and attitude, once he converted their mindset into seeing his vision.
Essentially, govern fairly where possible, ruthlessly where needed, and ultimately keep Leto's Peace. It was utilitarianism taken to its extreme. Leto deliberately intended it as a everlasting lesson for the human race to never again seek long term stability and peace, which would be bred into their bones, culture, and genes so deeply that they would never turn from the path of progress and innovation.
But Leto paid a very high price to be the absolute dictator. And his culling of leaders to produce the very best was ruthless and very effective. He deliberately fostered rebellion in order to develop leaders and keep himself sharp. Can you imagine any of our current leadership doing that?
What we're seeing here is the last desperate gasps of democracy as the new aristocratic age struggles to be born.
But the long-awaited nationalist tide is just beginning to rise
Being an "American" in Europe where is your stand on all of this? Have you an expectation that it will pass you by? Or are you yourself riding the wave whatever it happens to be?
artie:
"you mean there will be no state power left? there will be private police, private armies? And what will be the difference between those private powers and the current state?"
Social democracy will lead to socialism will lead to chaos, and soldiers and law enforcement will desert to the highest bidder. Their families and friends will follow after them and the State will lose legitimacy, no longer having an intact bureaucracy or apparatus to exercise power. People will pay tribute to the monied interests left standing in order to establish trade and security. (Think of African villages ceding administrative control in exchange for a labor pool and mineral rights.)
Over time, these interests will evolve to hereditary institutions: neo-feudalism.
The nation-state has already been superseded and the democratic state will follow. I don't really see people going to communism and I don't imagine post-modern man calling out things like "God save the King!" So my hypothesis is this variant of feudalism will pop up again in the cycle.
Given the above: wouldn't the U.S. be better off with Obama's re-election? At least there would be some alive in the aftermath who would remember who to blame--a financial oligarchy that owned politicians. After the coming unpleasantness, we might hear "return to our Founding Fathers! Limited govt, capitalism, and individual freedom!"
Not that I'd bet a ton of money on that happening--but if Capt Underoos wins and then the system collapses (which it will regardless of who wins), then we'll hear ..."it was capitalism that did us in! All hail Saint Hillary, Savior of Us All!"
Question for the ilk: where will Hillary's Wannee conference be held to root out the Conservative problem? Keystone CO is beautiful and semi-isolated. Or Aspen. If you're going to create Educational Welcome Centers, might as well do it in a beautiful, calm, pastoral setting.
Not that I'd bet a ton of money on that happening--but if Capt Underoos wins and then the system collapses (which it will regardless of who wins), then we'll hear ..."it was capitalism that did us in! All hail Saint Hillary, Savior of Us All!"
Seriously. Does it really matter?
Well, I guess it does if you really believe that left/right matters.
By the time (Bush) Obama is done with America, anything Romney does thereafter will pale in comparison?
And people think that is a good thing.
Could that be the point?
We’ve come far these past 11 years of the Bush-Obama drama.
Will it be a time for another big sleep?
Will AmeriKans sleep soundly in their post 911 Bush-Obama chains?
Will AmeriKans be entertained with a pre-election national emergency catalyst?
Will AmeriKans be lulled into a sense of sleep during a Romney administration, only to later be called upon to once again rally around the… flag?
So many questions.
Time will tell. But you can be sure that you will not be any freer.
You can be sure that for every step forward that your government takes, you will be one step behind.
Enjoy.
After all… anything is better than… than… than… well, take your pick and measure your liberty.
One step. Two steps. Three steps…
Getting any closer?
Drama
Being an "American" in Europe where is your stand on all of this?
All Americans are hyphenated Americans. That's their real nationality in the end. There is no "American" nation per se. And, like every other American, I have a real nationality, which is European. Europeans think much more in ethnic terms than Americans do, for obvious reasons.
VD is an European but what tribe of the European? Your Italian Roots? Yes, he is right, all white Americans are European unless your Slavic. Russians and Slavs are not European.
Being an "American" in Europe where is your stand on all of this?
All Americans are hyphenated Americans. That's their real nationality in the end. There is no "American" nation per se. And, like every other American, I have a real nationality, which is European.
Ja.
But. While America originally was an English nation it was formed on premises that transcended it. Has the transcendence any reality or has it merely failed for whatever reason? Or has the transcendence itself caused America to fail?
But what I meant by my question was how will nationalist Italians see you? And if you are sufficiently upper-class that your nationality does not matter then how will a financially-stressed Italian government see you? Having left America to avoid certain issues I would assume you have made plans not to evacuate again. Are you a nationalist or an aristocrat or ... something else? "I am Giovanni."?
> And, like every other American, I have a real nationality,
Strange, I don't. Unless you count being a Virginian. Western province, of course.
Maybe that a difference between those who belong to the land and those who don't.
Having lived in Florida, then in TN, then given up on TN and moved back to Florida, I realized this: I have much more connection to my native state and its culture than to the alien world of TN.
I'm a Anglo-Franco-Germanic-Floridian-American.
I have palm trees in the yard, think four seasons are an aberration, and probably have more in common with Yankees than with the Southrons (though I think the latter knows more about freedom and that the Confederacy was the best chance we had at liberty on this continent.) I don't have a dog or a pickup, though I like the latter. The world of Seinfeld is just as weird to me as the land of Uncle Remus and Huck Finn.
Regionalism and race both play a part in our identities.
According to the Constitution, every natural-born American is a dual citizen. First, as a citizen of the United States of American and second, as a citizen of the state in which they were born.
According to the Constitution, every natural-born American is a dual citizen. First, as a citizen of the United States of American and second, as a citizen of the state in which they were born.
Oh good grief don't say that Don, or my native state of California may decide to come after me for back taxes even though I haven't lived there for 17 years.
According to the Constitution, every natural-born American is a dual citizen. First, as a citizen of the United States of American and second, as a citizen of the state in which they were born.
Thanks to the 14th amendment, which expanded that 10 square miles...
W.LindsayWheeler April 24, 2012 7:46 PM
VD is an European but what tribe of the European? Your Italian Roots? Yes, he is right, all white Americans are European unless your Slavic. Russians and Slavs are not European.
Technically they are. "Europe" extends to the Ural Mountains. If you mean the Russians are descended from people who moved there from somewhere else, well that is true of everyone. We all come from Noah.
Its also a fact that over time, new ethnicities can form out of old ones. Here in South Africa, the Afrikaner people are mostly descended from Dutch settlers, but there's been an admixture of a lot of other things.
In the room where I'm sitting typing this, there are a whole lot of people whose very race did not exist 500 years ago.
Spacebunny April 24, 2012 9:54 AM
No, he's not.
Actually he is, as long as at least one person is provoked to thought by his posts.
If life gives you sand, build a sandcastle.
So we have to be "ruled," by one style of ruler or another? That means you have to go through an ordeal to get even one approved sign on your business. It means you can't rent a store for the Christmas shoppimg months only. It means you can't buy sun tan lotion for $1.00 in town and peddle it for $2.00 on the beach.
> I have much more connection to my native state and its culture than to the alien world of TN.
This is second hand, as I've never lived in TN, so take it for what it's worth. But part of the problem there is that there are at least three distinct regions and cultures in TN. The Eastern, Middle, and Western regions of TN are fairly distinct.
There's even a Wikipedia article on the matter.
in fact, one wonders if the elite's encouragement of mass immigration might have been intended as a means of both distracting and marginalizing the nationalist forces from the start.
Cultural marxism.
"According to the Constitution, every natural-born American is a dual citizen. First, as a citizen of the United States of American and second, as a citizen of the state in which they were born."
Blood > paper
Vox said:
"All Americans are hyphenated Americans. That's their real nationality in the end. There is no "American" nation per se. And, like every other American, I have a real nationality, which is European."
I have a different manner of viewing the issue of nationality hyphenation, the same way I see hyphenated surnames in feminist women. That is, to view it as a subtraction symbol, and to carry out the mathematical operation, where what is to the right of the minus sign goes away. You're an @sscrackistan-American? Nope, just an @sscrackistani -- and it's time to go home, 10,000 miles east (on the first available leaky trawler), now, and forever. Likewise for married feminist women; treat the hyphenation as an annulment, no divorce court needed, and send them on their way with nothing but what they brought into the supposed "marriage".
Post a Comment
NO ANONYMOUS COMMENTS. Anonymous comments will be deleted.
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home