Is the Left Really More Evil Than the Right?

The question needs asking: is the Left really more evil than the Right?

Anyone who's slightly right-of-center has likely watched black-clad anarchists with hammer and sickle flags smashing up store fronts, starting bonfires in the streets, and brawling with the cops.  It's probably sent a chill down their spines.  I see an increasing ideological problem arising in libertarian circles: conservatives and libertarians are buying into the us-versus-them mentality to vilify the left, at the expense of giving conservatives a free pass on violent hypocrisy.  

People on the Right are rightfully concerned about violent neo-Communists, but they're ignoring the neo-Nazis.  Revolutionary and institutional fascism alike are equally willing to end lives and expropriate private property for the sake of the state, and always has, no matter how vehemently conservatives, the alt-right, and the far-right libertarian wannabes (anyone who does the "Roman" salute).  Soviet Socialism was certainly a plague on humanity, especially in the developing world, but so were the CIA and DEA. Remember, when Mises and Hayek fled Europe, it wasn't Communism they were fleeing for their lives.  So concern over militant leftism but not militant rightism is willful blindness.

Besides, the Right will always be the real evil, in my honest opinion. Liberals are all about high taxes and abortion. The radical leftists will take to the streets and break things when they don't get their way.  It was the same in Berkeley in 1968, and it was the same in Petrograd in 1917 and 1905. What else is new?  Republicans seem to have amnesia over the excessive force that was applied to Ron Paul supporters in 2012.

The police colluded with the GOP to assault and arrest Ron Paul supporters after they won the majority of delegates at the Louisiana GOP Convention.  Fingers were broken.

The police were in cahoots with the GOP to arrest Ron Paul supporters at the Missouri GOP Caucus.  When Ron Paul was winning the delegate race, the Missouri GOP revoked their credentials and had them physically removed.

Republicans in Orlando stomped on the feet of a Ron Paul supporter wearing flip flops for the high crime of holding a Ron Paul sign outside the National Convention.  

Ron Paul delegates in Orlando had their credentials stripped in mass.  I also met and spoke with a delegate who was kidnapped on Orlando's infamous Bus to Nowhere that unfortunately didn't arrive at the Convention Center in time for the Paul delegates to vote.  In addition, I've met others who claim marijuana was planted in their hotel rooms--this was back in 2012 when possession in the South was more than a slap on the wrist.

So while the Left breaks windows and blocks on-ramps, and every once in a while beats up a Donald Trump supporter, Republicans and a few libertarians with GOP Stockholm Syndrome play into the partisan game.  Libertarians and Republicans seem to find some common ground in denigrating the Left together, but all the libertarians in this situation do is buy into the statists' us-versus-them game.  

In their growing hatred of the Left, the embers of resentment fanned by hatemongers like Chris "I say cuck way too damn much" Cantwell and wackos like Alex "Cocaine tantrums" Jones.  There is no outcry from these people over the vandalized mosques and synagogues, the statistical increase in attacks against immigrants and minorities in this country,

But conservatives are the ones who were supposed to lower taxes, reign in federal spending, protect unborn life, maintain a humble foreign policy, preserve the rights of states from federal overreach according to the Bill of Rights. And what have we gotten? Boots on the ground in Syria, TrumpCare with the individual mandate intact, an Attorney General who has said on more than one occasion that he plans to prosecute legal recreational marijuana (because, according to Spicer and Sessions, when the Trump campaign said 'states rights', they only meant medical marijuana), and abortion still happens on the daily in Trump's America.

The leaders of the Right betrayed America, and most ordinary conservatives supported them the whole way.  Republicans are still making excuses to support Donald Trump, even though he's doing variations of the same crap the Obama Administration did.  This goes to show that a majority of Trump's supporters aren't really as married to their principles as they think they are.  They're not really as dedicated to the practice of conservative values as they think they are, or else they'd already have tarred and feathered 90% of the Republicans in Washington D.C. (both in the Legislative and Executive Branches).

We know the Left is "bad."  They're too wishy-washy on civil liberties and plain awful on property rights, and that leaves room for huge problems down the road. That's always been obvious.  But the Right are the snakes in the grass, who will talk in your face about 'principles over party' while they raise your taxes, fund abortion clinics, and drop more bombs on brown people (because WWJD don't matter to the "Christian" Right anymore).

So yes. The Right is evil. Perhaps the true evil, more so than the Left.  The Left is at least honest about their big government SJW utopian drivel. I can easily point to 3 books: Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto, Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, and Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States, and feel comfortable saying these 3 books pretty accurately summarize the Left.  We know exactly what the different Left factions believe and what they want to accomplish.

But the Right... we get volumes of propaganda from the Right about their moral superiority to liberals, even though conservatives are at this very moment giving America more of the same that we already had under Obama.they are the snakes.  The Right is the greater evil.  They're still lying to America.  Mexico's going to pay for that wall, not the American taxpayer, right?!

Yeah yeah yeah, the Left is "bad."  The Right is "worse."  Let's just break the Left-Right paradigm and focus on minimum versus maximum state presence, and maximum versus minimum individual liberty.

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Images courtesy of Old American Century.

The Liberty Movement in Cinema

When I talk about the liberty movement in movies or television, I don’t refer to Ron Paul Flix or Rand Paul Flix (though those are both great venues and all Paul supporters should check them out on YouTube as soon as possible).  I’m talking about well-known and loved Hollywood movies where the conservative/libertarian viewer can draw clear parallels between the content of the film and a particular episode from his own time as an activist.  Once the viewer knows what themes, archetypes, and patterns in character and plot development to look for, there will be liberty movement parallels leaping at him from the screen.

I won’t include The Patriot in this rant, nor will I include Atlas Shrugged, Margin Call, The Social Network, or any of the other movies favorably reviewed by Jeffrey Tucker, Mark Thornton, and other Austrian economists.  Why?  Those movies show the glories of voluntary association and individual liberty while exposing the blatant evils of large, oppressive government, intellectual property, Keynesian economics, etc.  Basically, those movies all preach to the conservative/libertarian choir.

Since I’m feeling bitter and cynical, I want to have a good dark-humored laugh and make light of the more trying episodes in our movement’s recent history.  I want to be able to laugh at our failures.  Trust me, I’m not just some nihilist—nihilists rarely apply themselves—I just think it’s healthy for us in the liberty movement to be able to laugh at ourselves once in a while, otherwise we’ll go crazy from all the setbacks and disappointments.  Hence the popularity of the Ron Paul Problems blog.  Here’s a look at five movies with scenes that serve as perfect metaphors for epic fails in our recent history:

1.   Henry V.  Kenneth Branagh’s portrayal of England’s King Henry the Fifth (according to William Shakespeare) is nothing short of excellent.  The film and story truly are epic (and enjoyable, despite the imperialistic overtones).  The best scene of the entire film takes place just after the Battle of Agincourt, where the English have defeated the French but at a painful cost.  Even the king’s own squire was killed.  The victors sing the religious chant “Non Nobis Domine” as they wade through mud, blood, and thousands of corpses to collect their own dead.  This scene reminds me of the day after the 2012 California Primary Election where Ron Paul and a great many liberty candidates were annihilated by neocons, yet we still managed to score a few victories for liberty candidates who would survive to see the general election.

2.    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  This movie is a classic for reasons I need not explain.  I’ll only mention that it’s a great underdog story.  Several of the men in the asylum remind me of my comrades in our movement.  Like them, people think we’re crazy but we’re only playing their game because it serves our purposes.  Unfortunately, the little rebellion in the mental hospital was crushed by the vindictive nurse.  At least the chief escaped!  Most of our candidates may have been evaporated in the 2012 election cycle, but some of them will live to fight another day.

Col. Claus von Stauffenberg

3.     Valkyrie.  The Germans who conspired to take out Hitler were by no means men of Ludwig von Mises’ caliber.  Many of them were dedicated socialists and more like rats on a sinking ship who saw how thinly stretched the Third Reich’s forces were.  Still, I have the highest admiration for Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who was truly different from most of his co-conspirators in that he was never a member of the Nazi Party nor a supporter of Hitler.  Everyone knows the July 20^th plot to assassinate Hitler failed and Stauffenberg and company were executed.  This small group of dedicated reformers who dared hijack the state, the Nazi Party, and the German armed forces to enact instant change for the survival of their country remind me of the vastly outnumbered Ron Paul delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention.  What advice would I have given the Paul delegates as they were being de-credentialed and swept aside at the RNC?  Stauffenberg’s words to General Olbricht: “Look them in the eyes.  That way they’ll remember you.”

4.   Richard III.  Shakespeare has led us to believe that England’s notorious king Richard the Third was a cruel and wicked despot whose overthrow meant the liberation of his people from tyranny.  Roy Morris Jr.’s editorial in the December 2012 issue of Military Heritage turns that historical theory upside down since Richard had a legitimate claim to the throne and the victorious Henry Tudor (Henry VII) was technically the usurper who strong-armed his way to the throne in a bloody coup.  Since Queen Elizabeth was a Tudor, Shakespeare probably had to kiss ass in order to obtain the Queen’s political favor by demonizing Richard III while making Henry VII look way more awesome than even Ron Paul.  Unfortunately, Morris’ probably-true account doesn’t make good drama and Shakespeare’s douchebag king does.  Ian McKellen does the role justice in the 1995 film paralleling the York regime with the Third Reich.  When the despot finally commits suicide at Bosworth Field (with musical accompaniment by Al Jolson) the viewer is left incredibly frustrated.  Sure, it’s great and dandy that the despot is dead, but everyone knows Henry should have dealt the death blow!  Picture the 2012 General Election: We’re all happy Romney got the crippling defeat he deserved, especially after the millions he spent to sabotage Ron Paul, but it still sucks that Paul wasn’t the victor in this election (and that we still have another four years of Obama waiting for us).

5.     The Empire Strikes Back.  If anyone’s actually thinking of correcting me for not writing the Star Wars Episode V prefix, go punch yourself and bathe in cold water now.  What happens in the Empire Strikes Back?  Just to name a few: the Rebel Alliance get their asses handed to them in the Battle of Hoth, the Alliance only narrowly survives after a fighting retreat, Luke Skywalker quits his Jedi training early (and loses his arm in close combat), and Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite and hauled away by Boba Fett.  The gleeful days following the destruction of the first Death Star are long gone, the Empire has regained the initiative, and the Rebel Alliance is losing the war.  Welcome to the liberty movement today!  Ron Paul didn’t get the nomination, he’s now retired from Congress, a great many liberty candidates didn’t get elected in 2012, Justin Amash and other fiscal conservatives have been kicked off of key committees, and freaking Jim DeMint left the Senate to go write fairy tales at the Heritage Foundation.  What the hell, man!  But not all is lost.  Rand Paul and Mike Lee are still the liberty movement’s Dynamic Duo of the Senate; Amash, Bentivolio, Massey, and other pillars of conservative/libertarian thought are still raising hell in the House, and Judge Napolitano still hasn’t shut up.

Furthermore, the final scene of The Empire Strikes Back where Luke holds Leia is bittersweet but with a shade of optimism.  Sure, it seems like the good guys are up shit creek without a paddle, but the fact stands that Luke and Leia will live to fight another day.  The fact that members of the liberty movement are reading this and agreeing with some of it means that we will live to fight another day in the political process.  Rand may even run for President in 2016!  Together, you and I will push forward for liberty and Constitutional government for as long as fifteen or twenty years if we have to.  (Because I’m also missing my right arm, I get to be Luke Skywalker. No discussions.)  The statists may have won this round but the fight ain’t over.  I don’t know about all of you, but I don’t intend to go quietly.

For liberty!

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Film festival photo by "Borislavkf" and used via CC BY-SA 3.0 license.  No copyrights were given or implied for the Stauffenberg photo.  Both images were obtained from Wikimedia Commons.  YouTube videos are not the property of Zach Foster but are used according to the Standard YouTube License.  Intellectual Property can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.  If it weren't I'd have used photo stills from Star Wars.  Oh well.  Add that to the list of things to bellyache about.

Recovering from the Falcon Punch

I finally managed to pick myself up off the floor after the spinning kick to the jaw that was the 2012 General Election.  Good Lord, I’m still exhausted!  Hell, unlike your average idiot who only pretends to care about politics when the election debates start interrupting Monday Night Football, I’ve been involved in the election cycle since April 2011.

THANK GOD IT’S OVER.

I fully expected Mitt Romney to lose and, frankly, I don’t sympathize with all my fellow Republicans who couldn’t see this epic failure chugging around the mountain.  After twice losing to Barack Obama, I’m mildly surprised the RNC members aren’t committing mass ritual suicide like the Romulans do whenever they lose a battle to Picard.  Oh well.

Being a dedicated Ron Paul supporter, my vision for “restoring America” (whatever that means) stretches farther than one dumb election cycle.  I think most voters must have political ADD and serious Alzheimer’s disease since they’re all convinced this election is “the most important election of our time.”  Whatever, dudes, I’m not even 24 and I’ve already seen at least 4 or 5 of those, not even counting the midterms.  DGAF.

However, I was genuinely taken aback by the fact that every election I actually supported was crushed harder than the hopes and dreams of a 12-year-old girl who didn’t make the dance team, in part because her parents never told her she had all the grace of a dodo bird bred by Doctor Moreau.  Not one of my personal friends or heroes was elected.  Daaaaaaamn!

Even though I’m not joining fellow Republicans—still mourning Romney’s candidacy—in committing hara-kiri for disgracing Ronald Reagan, this election was a giant falcon punch even for me.

I was already over the RNC punching me in the heart through their destruction of Ron Paul’s candidacy, and I’d picked up the pieces and taken my leftover time and energy to campaign for a friend of mine running for Congress, another friend running for State Assembly, and another buddy running for the Colorado legislature.  All wiped out and in the 60s-30s margin.  Ouch!

Since 2008 the GOP had been obnoxiously crying “This is madness!” and the Democrats responded with a kick to the stomach and the words “This is SPARTA!!!”

I’m also reminded of the scene from Revenge of the Sith where Anakin Skywalker shouts “You underestimate my power!” just moments before Obi-wan Kenobi gives him a permanent height reduction.  In a nutshell, Mitt Romney and the Republican Party were Anakin while the Democrats were Obi-wan Kenobi, his lightsaber, and all the hot lava too.

Since I’ve already surrendered all my journalistic credibility to the idol of Star Wars fandom, I might as well continue with this political fanboy metaphor.  Like Yoda and the few remaining Jedi at the end of Episode III, I can finally go into exile from politics and enjoy my PlayStation for the first time in 8 months.

Better yet, the best is yet to come!  We in the “greater liberty movement” have reason to look to a new hope: Rand Paul 2016!

[Some people call this a “man crush.”  Whatevah, whatevah, I do what I want!]

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Election image courtesy of "DonkeyHotey" via Wikimedia Commons under license CC BY-SA 2.0.

Star Wars GIF courtesy of Ron Paul Problems.  Star Wars is the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Ltd.  Or Disney by now.  Or the Chinese government.  Nobody really knows.  I'm beginning to care less and less.