Why? To provide some (much-needed) common sense to a dialogue that has otherwise been dominated by MEA propaganda, scare tactics, tantrums at board meetings, and–if that weren’t enough–the opening of their own crisis center.
As you can guess, negotiations between the school board and the employee union haven’t gone too smoothly. Which is generally a good thing in my book…
But a crisis center? Haha. To quote Police Chief Bruce Grady (think Super Troopers), “desperation is a stinky cologne”. Yes, especially when it’s coming from the MEA.
[B]illboards were recently posted in the Gladstone community to paint a fuller picture of the school board’s situation there. The union has been using particularly over-the-top tactics…
The school board and larger community seem to have taken notice. To get a better understanding of what’s going on, check out the EAG video below.
In song and in dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher community; he has forgotten how to walk and speak; he is about to take a dancing flight into the air…He feels himself a god, he himself now walks about enchanted, in ecstasy…He is no loner an artist, he has become a work of art: in these paroxysms of intoxication the artistic power of all nature reveals itself to the highest gratification of the Primordial Unity”.
This weekend’s song–No Government by Nicolette–correlates quite well with the quote above…for a number of reasons.
For one, the techno beat.
Secondly, the lyrics border on a naive form of anarchism, which–if you ask me–is, well, fairly naive. The quote above is similarly incomplete and Nietzsche will be the first one to tell you. Tune in next week for the why!
Fifteen years ago yesterday–on April 19th, 1993–a 51-day standoff between the feds and the Branch Davidians ended in an appalling, totally-avoidable tragedy. The Waco Massacre, the fault of a stupid, brute-ridden federal government unable to respect both the 1st and 2nd Amendments, resulted in an incineration of 76 civilians, including 21 children.
Waco still matters. Not just because it has become the paradigmatic symbol for federal police power gone out of control. Not just because it starkly demonstrates the American government’s militarism unleashed against its own people. Not just because it showcases the propensity of politicians and law enforcers to deceitfully cover and obscure their wrongful actions. No, Waco’s still important mostly because it shows exactly what happens when people resist the unjust incursions of their own government, including under democracy.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the details of the original event, I highly recommend Waco: The Rules of Engagement. I saw it at my first IHS seminar in 2006.
Remembering how moving it was, I bought it from amazon last week in order to see it again. After I do that–since I live less than 200 miles away–I’m going to make the 3 hour trip and visit the historic site. Maybe even next weekend! I’m excited. Expect video and pictures.
Yes, eff the government.
Hmm, now that I think about it, “eff the government” is a pretty cool catchphrase…I’m thinking Bureaucrash should make a tee-shirt out of it.
Whew. I’ve been way busy folks. So you can guess what that means for my weekend “Nietzsche loves a dance party” post: half ass quality. Oh yeah!
So, alas, I’m evading elucidation of my Nietzschian reference for another week. And my blog will suffer the consequence of–horrors of horrors–even less traffic.
In any case, while it’s certainly appropriate for a libertarian dance party, this weekend’s pick doesn’t exactly qualify as workplace appropriate. So beware!
The dance party. Get a bunch of 20-somethings together with lots of booze on a Friday or Saturday night and–almost like clockwork–a dance party will break out. Doesn’t matter the location–club, house party or a sparsely-attended get-together–at some point between 11pm and 3am, a dance party will form. I’m pretty sure its instinctual.
And I couldn’t be happier. I always welcome–no, encourage–the manifestation of a dance party. Here’s this amazing social phenomenon that draws individuals together and produces this fluid mass of uninhibited energy and expression. And all smiles, it’s fun!
But the lyrics of most of these dance numbers…ugh. They’re generally these thoughtless, empty platitudes that say little of meaning, assuming–of course–that one can extract any meaning at all. And in the rare instance where a song gets deep, waxes philosophical, it’s some sort of nihilistic message of collectivism. I mean, come on…we’re talking about “artists” here! If they think at all, they think in the paradigm of post-modern socialism.
So that needs to change. Mainly because I really want to throw a libertarian dance party. A bumpin’ dance party that communicates self-affirmation, autonomy, individualism and personal responsibility. Really! I mean, how awesome would that be. And, I know–as an individual who has a synth and dabbles with that kind of stuff–I’m not one to lament but act.
In the meantime though, I’m going to collect a list of up-tempo songs with messages that speak to liberty and throw one up here every weekend in a thread entitled “Nietzsche loves a dance party”. Why Nietzsche, you ask? Um, hello! I’m name-dropping. Ha. Actually, I’ll explain the Nietzschian reference later, in installments since this will be an ongoing project. (Apologies for my intellectual procrastination…for those that can’t wait, good luck with The Birth of Tragedy.)
Without further ado, what follows is <trumpets sound!> the inaugural “Nietzsche loves a dance party” pick. As Thoughts on Freedom states, it’s “a clever piece of libertarian satire”…who target is “that canker on all societies prone to statist solutions: the bureaucrat.” Enjoy!
Today I had a really enjoyable afternoon soaking up some Houston sun and reading Ayn Rand’s Anthem. I actually finished it all in one sitting (can’t remember the last time I’ve done that). Compare that to the months upon months it took me to get through The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Woof…Now that I think of it, it took less time to read Anthem than it did to read the entire John Galt speech. Haha.
In any case, I highly recommend Anthem for those who are interested in Rand’s fiction but unwilling to commit to the epic length of her more popular novels. At 105 pages, it’s super quick.
But moreover, it’s just different…in a refreshing way. Whereas both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are written from a 3rd person, eye-in-the-sky perspective–in true Objectivist fashion, I suppose–Anthem is written as a 1st person narrative with a sort of phenomenological approach. And, rather than contemporary realism, it’s a dystopian, sci-fi novel set in a collectivist future where the concept of “I”–through totalitarian social conditioning–has no existence. Consider it the logical extension of pure egalitarianism and socialism. Below I’ve copied one of my favorite parts:
The word “We” is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.
What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and the impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?
But I am done with this creed of corruption.
I am done with the monster of “We,” the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.
And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.
This god, this one word:
“I.”
The book is in the public domain–has been since 1966–so set aside a few hours and read it now. Yes, right here! Let me know your thoughts…
Why? To provide some (much-needed) common sense to a dialogue that has otherwise been dominated by MEA propaganda, scare tactics, tantrums at board meetings, and–if that weren’t enough–the opening of their own crisis center.
