Monday, January 29, 2007

Cheney "Delusional"? (Updated)

I don't think so. Lying to and otherwise deceiving the public as a means to achieve a government's goals are explicitly contained in the Neoconservative philosophy, which dates back to the German-born Jewish political philosopher Leo Strauss (1899-1973).

From Wikipedia:

Critics of Strauss also accuse him of elitism and anti-democratic sentiment. Shadia Drury, author of 1999's Leo Strauss and the American Right, argues that Strauss taught different things to different students, and inculcated an elitist strain in American political leaders that is linked to imperialist militarism and Christian fundamentalism. Drury accuses Strauss of teaching that "perpetual deception of the citizens by those in power is critical because they need to be led, and they need strong rulers to tell them what's good for them." Drury adds, "The Weimar Republic was his model of liberal democracy... liberalism in Weimar, in Strauss's view, led ultimately to the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews." [Emphasis mine.]

Sounds like Strauss turned out to be on the same side of the coin as the Nazis, and now his anti-democratic, un-American thinking has crept into the highest levels of our current government.

Having lived under despots themselves, our founding fathers were naturally opposed to any form of despotism or tyranny. In conceiving the U.S. government and embodying it in the Constitution, they didn't create a kingdom but a democracy, with an executive branch sharing power with the legislature and the judiciary. That's the form of government we were given, and it has served us well for many generations. I have no doubt in my mind that the founding fathers would find utterly repugnant -- and inimical to their democratic values -- the lying would-be tyrants who presently occupy the executive branch of government. Fortunately for us, and thanks to the founding fathers, they will be out soon enough. (That they got into office in the first place is a fluke, and one reason why I'm for abolishing the Electoral College through an amendment to the Constitution. Whoever wins the popular vote should become president.)

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