America, the Un-Perfect Society

Posted on 30/01/2012 by Grumpa Joe

WOW! I just finished reading Mark Levin’s new book Ameritopia, The Unmaking of America. I will not sleep tonight. Visions of Big Brother will be racing through my mind. Those of you who know me realize that I am a Conservative who leans toward Libertarianism. You know that Ameritopia is just the kind of book I often read and report on.

Mark Levin has crafted a beautifully logical premise to support the direction “We the People” are being led in. He begins with Plato’s Republic moves on to Thomas More’s Utopia, Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, and Marx’s Communist Manifesto,  and explains their various schemes for creating a Utopian (perfect) society where all men are equal in every way. In each case, in order for the philosophers to create such a society they needed a superior élite leadership. In each case, the inventor had a problem dealing with people who became seriously ill and did not fit anymore. One philosopher suggested a person who was unable should commit suicide for the good of the community. After educating the reader on the history of equal citizenry, Levin moves on to explain the impact of John Locke, Alexis de Tocqueville and Charles de Montesquieu, all philosophers, on the framers of the US Constitution. The men who drafted the Constitution were careful not to steer the new government toward Utopianism.

Mark puts the argument to bed by exposing the men who began to distort the US Constitution and point the country toward Utopia. These were men who believe the government should rule over the people and not the other way around. Guys like Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton, and now Obama are responsible for turning us into government dependents.

Although I found the early part of the book hard to read, it got easier as the author moved into more modern times. Levin presents a sound and logical argument for how our government is turning us into a utopian state. We are being spoon fed to become people who are dependent upon government for everything. Examples of these efforts are Social Security, Medicare, and Obama Care, all intended to free us from our responsibility, and to assume more power over us.

If Levin’s read on the history of Utopianism beginning in 380 BCE is correct, none of the scheme’s ever worked and there are huge reasons why they did not, nor ever will. Utopian societies depend on citizens who are happy to conform, and who like to be led by really special smart people.

Where is Glenn Beck when we need him?

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Simple Amusements, Part Three-Radio

Posted on 30/01/2012 by Grumpa Joe
Dagwood has created a typical Dagwood sandwich...

Image via Wikipedia

EAR TO THE SPEAKER

Radio was a large part of my life.  It was my entry into the world of imagination.  Every day after school, I played outside, then came in just before supper to listen to my favorite radio programs.  The programs were soap operas for kids.  A story ran in daily segments Monday through Friday. Every day a chapter left the main character hanging in a situation covered in the next segment.

The programs I  listened to: The Lone Ranger, Sky King, Yukon King, The Green Hornet, and Gene Autry. After supper, the entire family listened to variety shows like Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, Blondie and Dagwood, and the Life of Reilly.  We also listened to a mystery show called  The Inner Sanctum. It began with the noise of a squeaking door that  ran shivers up my spine, and set my mind into mystery mode.

Mom didn’t like to hear the radio on loud, so I turned the volume down real low. It was so low that I had to put my ear on the speaker. I leaned against the Zenith console, closed my eyes and imagined the characters in the story acting out their parts. In my mind I saw the Lone Ranger on Silver, his big white horse. Tonto, his Indian sidekick rode next to him.  At the end of each episode, the Lone Ranger and Tonto rode off into the sunset and one of the characters always asked “who was that masked man?”

I visioned the Green Hornet opening the secret door in his house to get to the “Black Beauty.”  To me the “Black Beauty” is a 1939 Buick sedan. I saw Sky King flying a Cessna low wing plane.  I saw Sargent Preston mushing his lead dog King through the snow and cold of the Yukon. I laughed every time I heard Fibber McGee opening the door to his hall closet, and his junk fell out with a big cacophony of sounds. I could see the look of bewilderment on Riley’s face when he got into his weekly jam and uttered “what a revoltin’ development this is.”

The radio played a large part in my life by making my mind work creatively. It stimulated the imagination, and  I participated in the adventures.

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