Right after my retirement I got a letter of praise from one the people I try so hard to reach.
My quotation of his support was right above my quotation of the encouragement of a female black guard who read my book from cover to cover and who thinks it’s terrific.
What I write is simply true. Nobody with a good brain has any trouble with it. It cuts through the crapola and says what we all know.
Now that, brothers and sisters, is a VERY hard concept to explain.
Anyway, this brilliant appreciation of EXACTLY what I am trying to say needs some more commentary. So I repeat it below with my own comments enclosed in **********
It is a burden to a person with my modesty to reiterate such instinted praise. It offends my natural modesty.
But for you, dear reader, no sacrifice is too great.
A Brilliant Tribute
Filed under: Comment Responses— Bob
Dear Bob,
After I wrote to you the first time, you posted my message on your blog
and guessed that I’m a “respectable conservative.”
The truth is even worse, I’m afraid. I’m a liberal, I come from a long
line of Yankees, and I live in San Francisco.
********There is NOTHING worse than a respectable conservative.
******** Liberals hit us from the FRONT.
******** In any war, your objectives with the ENEMY are 1) rout him, 2) kill him, 3) capture him.
******* Collaborators, like respectable conservatives, you just shoot.
So why do I like your stuff? Well, being a liberal, I favor scientific
method over authority and very much dislike established religion. And
you have, in my opinion, written the most convincing justification for
science and secularism that I’ve ever read.
********* I believe Christ’s kingdom is not of this earth.
********* He said so.
I’m also against genocide and racism, and you’re the least racist person
I’ve ever come across. As you see it, no group of human beings should
be treated as animals or angels. Instead, you believe that human beings
should be treated as human beings. You accept that anybody who is human
will do both good and bad, and when you see him doing something bad, you
do him the honor of saying so. People don’t come less racist, or more
humane, than that.
********* Many thanks. I am a decent human being, defensive of my own and respectful of others.
********* It takes great perception to cut to that simple reality despite today’s brainwashing, aka, “education.”
It doesn’t really matter much, however, that I call myself a “liberal”
and that you call yourself a “conservative”.
******* I am about the least conservative person you will ever meet. In today’s political dialogue I have no choice but to ally with that category.
******* Liberalism has become the code word for the established religion of Political Correctness. I have fought it all my life and have had to ally myself with respectable conservatives and so-called “Christian” conservatives whom I despise.
We’re both white American gentiles, which means that we’re kin, and kinship is the only foundation
upon which a democracy may be erected.
******* If you said that out loud in a liberal or respectable conservative gathering they would lynch you.
“Democracy” is a Greek word that means “rule of the people.” It does not mean “rule of opinion.” Rule of opinion, whether that opinion be the Public’s or the Supreme Court’s,
can be many things but it cannot, by definition, be democratic. But you
have already made this point much better than I can.
My main point in writing you today is: 1) to let you know that I’m not,
contrary to your guess, a “respectable conservative” and that the truth
is even worse;
********* No. You are explaining that you do not belong to the category that would make a maggot gag. (see FOOTNOTE below)
2) to let you know that if your writings have managed to
get beyond the Stormfront types and reach *me*, a left-leaning San
Francisco liberal, then your work is truly “out there” now and your
decision to call it a day is therefore entirely justified.
I’m very glad that you’ve decided to continue the blog, however. It’s
nice to know that there’s at least one place on the Internet that can
offer enlightenment not only about life in Washington and the history
of Christianity, but also about Baywatch and the Village People.
******** Wait until you see my discussion of Kermit and bare-assed amphibians!
Best wishes,
FOOTNOTE:
Thanks, Lake!
#1 by Anonymous on 09/09/2005 - 5:23 pm
Readers of this blog, I’m the liberal Bob is talking about in this post.
On page 116 of his book, Bob writes “When the words of freedom are used to destroy freedom, it is time for a revolution, and nothing less than a revolution.” Once upon a time, “liberalism” and “conservatism” were both words of freedom in this country. Decent people on Capitol Hill of both persuasions would argue about things up there, and a great country was the result.
Nowadays, “liberalism” and “conservatism” are words used to destroy freedom, and the “respectable” standard bearers of both persuasions are just maggots that you can’t tell apart without a scorecard. A real revolution, as Bob implies by his context, means changing the language. That’s what John Locke and John Stuart Mill did. It’s what Mozart and Shakespeare did, too. Bob’s doing the same thing.
Just so Bob isn’t doing all the work around here, I’d like to invent a new term myself: the “respectable liberal.” And as a first step toward reviving our democratic republic, Bob and I can have a good, old-fashioned, liberal vs. conservative argument over whether “respectable conservative” really *is* as low as you can get.
#2 by Peter on 09/09/2005 - 8:33 pm
You and Lake have atoned?
#3 by Bob on 09/10/2005 - 8:49 am
Peter, Lake and I, combined, spent a full century in this battle.
We met fifty years ago almost exactly and both of us had already been in the battle. We both saw clearly what was going to happen to our country when we were fourteen and had already mourned what frantic e-mailers are just discovering today.
Fighting and knowing things will get worse and worse. Then having people finally inform us that what we saw is actually happening.
How much atonement can anybody ask?
#4 by Trager Smith on 09/16/2005 - 2:48 pm
Bob, you will die within the year if you stop Whitaker Online. Purpose will have been drained out of it. No matter what pain you are in, acting purposefully in the world is a more important source of happiness.
Bob, I won’t wait till you die to make you a tribute.
Bob, you got me going. You were the one who convinced me to go to the library and look up the case for racial differences. I have told you many times that I found a book by Ashley Montagu saying that leading anthropologist proved that the races were equal. Where? Montague quotes Margaret Mead and Gunnar Myrdal. I turned to Mean and she said leading anthropologists had proven the races were equal. Where? She quoted Ashley Montagu and Gunnar Myrdal. I turned to Myrdal. He said leading
anthropologists proved the races were equal. Where?
You guessed it.
Thanks for introducing me, not merely to the facts, but to an entire community of people. Never would I have met so many blowhards, bozos, bloviators, con men, crooks, cynics, lowlifes, losers, loonies, including a full fledged paranoid schizophrenic, I mean a guy who retired from the post office on total mental disability. It takes a lot to be retired from the post office on total mental
disability.
A chiropractor, too.
Thanks, Bob.
And a few of the most insightful, courageous, and intelligent people I have ever known.
Bob, I may be wrong. Resuming Whitaker Online may shorten your life.
But you’ll die with your boots on.