Saturday, May 16, 2009

A Pro-Fascist Dynamic

My freshman year in college, 1964-65, coincided with the birth of the Free Speech Movement at UC-Berkeley. It took a while for that movement to cross the continent and take root in greater Washington where it would merge, in short order, with the anti-war forces. In four decades, the term "free speech" has undergone an Orwellian transformation. Some - the learned Marxists - would say it was on schedule. To practice "free speech" on many campuses today means that what you say must conform with the wishes of the mob or you can't speak at all. This is why it is acceptable for an Ahmadinejad to be heard and a Netanyahu to be silenced. Edward Olshaker, writing at American Thinker, provides us with some background on this turn of events.

Again, I must return to a frequent theme I have addresses since beginning this blog in October 2008. That theme is the struggle between classical reason and revolutionary emotion on the national stage. That struggle has led some nations into serious pathology. It is a journey my county must avoid if we are to fulfill the intents of the Founding Fathers.

For a look at the Free Speech Movement today, go here. To read more about Mario Savio, the modern-day Rousseau who led the movement then, go here.

No comments:

ShareThis