Forgive Me a Conservative Moment
Under withering condemnation of his job as Secretary of Defense by his former generals, Donald Rumsfeld was continually buffeted by protesters yesterday, one after another, at a speech at the Southern Center for International Studies. Some stood and turned their backs on him, others shouted angry accusations, and one man, an ex-CIA operative accused him of being a liar. The mostly supportive crowd booed them.
As gutsy as those protesters were and as much as I admire their pluck, it was not their accusations, but Rumsfeld's response that really took my breath away.
“You know, that charge has been leveled against the President for one reason or another,” he said as one of the protesters was dragged out of the room by guards, “and it is...so wrong...and so unfair...and so destructive in a free system where people need to trust each other and government. The idea that people in government are lying about something is fundamentally destructive of that trust...”
Excuse me?!
Has the esteemed Secretary of Defense ever bothered to read anything our founding fathers wrote? Apparently not. If he had, he'd have realized that government is nothing more than a necessary evil, a constant and grave threat to our freedoms, and must never, NEVER be trusted. The citizens of this country must watch their government with a hyper-vigilance, ever mindful that power corrupts and that it is only through excessive stewardship that the interests of the everyman will be maintained. What's that line from V for Vendetta--people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people. Exactly.
A lack of trust is destructive in a democracy, Mr. Secretary? Nonsense. It is a bedrock of everything we hold dear. To trust blindly is destructive. To not confront corruption and menace when it rears its head in our own halls of power is both capricious and national suicide.
posted by Brandon at 11:00 AM
11 Comments:
Ok, and how exactly is that a "Conservative" moment? Or did I miss a piece of sarcasm in the headline?
Secrecy is a separate value from conserving the status quo or progressing to a better system (my pocket definition of the diff between Con & Pro/Lib)
And Secrecy is the first weapon of Tyrants.
WARNING: Rash stereotype to follow (but things become stereotypes for a reason)--
Liberals tend to like government, appreciate it what it can do for the masses and tend to have much less of a problem with large government.
Conservatives hate big government, want less intrusive government (except at this point in our history--I wonder sometimes if there is a true conservative left in the country), and generally distrust it altogether
This is awesome. Soon we will be debating what the three branches of government are, and how a bill becomes a law.
Don't START that song in my head!!!!
......hmmmmhhhmmmmmm...I'm only a bill, I'm only a bill....
True conservative checking in.
I may still be wearing blue, but that doesn't mean I trust 'em.
"....I'm sittin' here on capitol hill..."
Hey Jeff...conservatives are red....
counter to old standards of pinko's....
Red yes, but the navy requires blue.
Navy blue that is. Don't you be callin' it black, now, ya hear!
perish the thought!
Back on topic, I think 'ol Rummy may have overstayed his Washington welcome politcally. I will however miss his tirades against the media when and if he ever does leave. They're always good for a laugh
Beyond conservative, this is American. As the protester was being draggd off, my comment would have been, "Let him stay, we all agree in the wisdom of democracy."
Calvin
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