The Classic Liberal Blog

"Ideology" is treated as if it's a bad word these days. But does that make sense?

i·de·ol·o·gy

the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.

So without an ideology (principles/beliefs), how can you set goals? Without ideology, how could you even know what you're trying to accomplish?

But, but ... Ideologies are too extreme, they're not practical ... blah, blah, blah.

Really? Is that how you learned to set goals? Set them at the lowest point possible?

"Dad, I want to be an astronaut when I grow up."

"Son, that's unrealistic. You should focus on being a middle-manager with a nice cubicle instead."

You can shoot for the stars, fail, and land on the moon. Or you can only shoot for the moon, fail, and drown in the ocean.

Who's the crazy person now? They man who landed on the moon? Or the guy who drowned in the ocean?

The choice is yours.

Yes, there are indeed dangerous ideologies. As Walter Block notes:

1. The economic system of the USSR killed millions of people – this is entirely apart from millions more of actual murders also perpetrated in the name of the proletarian revolution – and yet it was allowed to persist for some seven decades ... [and] there were also legions of commie sympathizers cheering them on from the good old U.S. of A., in accents that were as American as apple pie.

3. One of the new ideologies is the utter and total evil of racial profiling. Given that these murderers commandeered commercial airplanes, it is only natural that attention would be paid to Saudi Arabian men in their twenties to forties, in an effort to preclude a repetition of this tragedy. Has this been the case? It has not. Instead, while greater efforts have indeed been made to monitor passengers, none of it has focused on this age-gender-ethnic cohort. Indeed, the very opposite has occurred. That is, efforts have been made not only to search other groups too – such as black grandmothers, white children, Orientals – but to reduce coverage of the very type of person responsible for the events of 9/11/01.

4. The perpetrators of 9/11/01 did their evil deed based on the threat of no more than razor sharp box cutters. (There was also the fact that previously, air plane high jackers were not suicidal, so pilots were told to submit in order to save lives). Well, there is one way to obviate future such occurrences: arm, if not all passengers, then at least the pilots and staff ... In any rational world, anxious to avoid a repetition of 9/11, this is exactly what would take place. But ours, alas, is beset by destructive ideologies. Earnest entreaties by pilots’ associations to this effect, signed by literally tens of thousands of them, have fallen on deaf Department of Transportation ears. Instead, they have contented themselves with meticulous searches for box cutters, nail clippers and nail files; talk about the Maginot Line.

According to the ideology now prevalent amongst our masters, we are to entrust the landing and takeoff skills of pilots with our very lives, but dare not rely upon them to be armed, even when specifically qualified to do so, as a last line of defense against evil doers.

5. [C]onsider Saudi Arabia, from whence emanated most of the terrorists. It is all well and good to seek out and punish the perpetrators of the events of 9/11 in Afghanistan, if that is where they are hiding. But business as usual with Saudi Arabia? Not even a strongly worded diplomatic note of protest? Not only do the monsters hail from that country, but so does Osama bin Laden, the arch criminal mastermind. Instead, President Bush puts out the welcome mat at his ranch in Texas for the head of this nation.

6. The failure to develop oil in Alaska is due to the power of yet another powerful ideology, left wing environmentalism. It would appear that not only are bald eagles, spotted owls, snail darters and various types of salamanders and frogs more important than human well being, but this applies, also, to land itself ... Let it be said once and for all, loud and clear, however; private property rights are not the enemy of a clean a safe environment. Indeed, the very opposite is the case. Free market environmentalism is not an oxymoron. Just go and ask the environmentalists on the other side of the Iron Curtain about how well socialist governments treat the land, air and water.

8. The failure of the FBI to protect the American public was horrendous ... the organizational apparatus was so inept no use could be made of this information. Yet the popular, nay, exalted status of the FBI is such that it, too, paid no penalty for its abject failure. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the FBI’s reputation remains untarnished in the aftermath of 9/11.

9. Worse, far worse, is the statolatry (worship of government, for the uninitiated) which has taken deep root in our society. For victims of this particular ideology, the government simply can do no wrong. Or, if it can, then the motto of the people is, "My state, right or wrong."

Radical Islam, progressivism, the list of bad ideology is legion. But how can we expect to defeat these dangerous ideologies, without an ideology of our own?

Is the American Creed so scary an ideology, that it must be avoided at all costs? Should we shove this "extreme" ideology of freedom and liberty in the garbage, simply because it can't be achieved in one or two election cycles?

Everyone has an ideology whether they realize it or not. "We gotta beat the Democrats" is an ideology. "We need to elect more Republicans" is an ideology. But I contend these ideologies are like the man who shoots for the moon, while the American Creed is the ideology of the man who shoots for the stars.

She’s a straight-A student who is studying to be a teacher, and I’ve told her exactly what she needs to do in her career: Start a private accelerated-education school for gifted children. Naturally, she thinks this is crazy-talk, but my experience is that the most brilliant schemes always sound crazy at first. - R.S. McCain

Now let me ask you a question. Have you ever negotiated for anything before?

Of course you have! You've negotiated the purchase of a car, negotiated for a date, negotiated for a little nookie ... When negotiating, do you start from where you're willing to settle?

For example: The sticker price on the car you want to buy is $30,000, but after some analysis, you decide you're willing to buy it for $28,000. Do you start your negotiation at $28,000? Or do you tell the salesman you'll buy it for $25,000?

If your bipartisan effort results in an even compromise, by starting out at $28,000, you end up paying $1,000 more than you wanted. But if you started at $25,000 ... You end up $500 better than you expected. Right?

So who won? The pragmatist who paid $29,000? Or the ideologue who paid only $27,500?

Organ player or monkey?

How’s that Scott Brown fella working out for ya’ll?

On the heels of CPAC and the so called victory of the non-aligned conservatives, libertarians, and other conservative leaning dissidents I found his recent betrayal to be a good teaching point and a more than adequate demonstration that no one is going to save any of you.

Are you looking for leadership? A voice? Do you seek redress of grievance? What is it that you want America that you need to pander to other men? Have you sunk so low in confidence, intestinal fortitude, intelligence and will that you require the aid of lesser men to prop you up?

Do you honestly believe that Scott Brown, Ron Paul, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or Mr. Moderate and former leftist Bill O’Reilly is going to do anything other than exploit you to their own ends? Politicians and entertainers are cut from the same insecure cloth. They require constant reinforcement and propping up in order to get through the day. No, the court jesters will not save you.

The only thing that will save you is you.

Conservatives have long forgotten the importance of their ideology - individual liberty and freedom - and replaced it with a fascination for political soap-opera, technique, and the desire for party power instead.

In this year's upcoming elections, primaries should be bitterly fought competitions, reminding all participants of the importance of good ideology (keeping their principles straight).

You need to embrace the ideology of individual freedom and liberty with all your might ... If you ever expect to push back the destructive ideology of progressivism. For without ideology, you've got no weapon against it at all.