Good evening again, Robert! Robert Goodman wrote to Frank Reichert...
I previously wrote: > >The discussions here revolving around Christmas IS on topic, > >certainly for the most part, excepting Robert Goodman's > >accusation that I have used the occassion for proslytising, which > >I contend honestly, I have not, or at least have not intended to > >do. To which, you replied: > But it seemed that way when you kept posting it annually. I liked the > Ramblin' Gamblin' Willie stories we used to get on Libernet... Wasn't aware of that, although I likely just passed over it all as simply irrelevant, at least to me, at that time. Well, Christmas is an annual event, is it not? The history of Western Civilization, including both North and South America, is indeed largely concurrent with 'Christian history' in such a way, that only until quite recently in history is that emphasis shifting somewhat. However, I wish to stress here that Christmas is a product of BOTH secular and Christian history, which was largely seen as a whole, again until very recent times. Some of the most recent discussions here this past week in fact, originated by Dave Laird, bring that Christmas message into a 'matter of fact' existence in everyday American life. My intent, as it has been now for over a decade, is to bring the 'real Christmas message' home to roost in such a way that individuals can at least identify with the origin of the holiday, and its impact upon our society, politics and government, and economics. I understand full well that SOME Libertarians indeed wish to ignore this history, and forget that it ever occurred, or at least minimize its practical influence on the way we ought to approach the future in a political context. I personally find it difficult to differentiate such history in any context, including that which currently comprises 1/3rd of the planet, that is the Islamic world. The above is germane, in that some of the Libertarian Platform doesn't take into account the reality that religion has and is playing in the context of recent contingencies in history to the present time. One of the planks of the Libertarian Platform deals with the 'open borders' issue! That suggests at least to me, that the LP in general supports the opening of unrestricted borders and probably the elimination of political geographical territorial control. Such could be considered only in some far fetched utopian context in which religion, political ideologies, and social differences are forgotten! Well, the reality is, 9/11 proved pretty much that such issues would invite disaster if truly implemented today! Or, probably tomorrow, if not forever! We don't live now, and I doubt human kind will ever reach a utopian reality in which humanity will live in perfect ideological and social harmony. Such differences almost always invite friction, and if not defended, open-ended violence against a society would be the end result. Such a ridiculous platform statement totally ignores history, and the propensity of human nature in such things as greed, abuse of power, and theft, and all kinds of things present not only in today's world, but the entire history of the human race. As long as that human condition prevails in human nature, open borders is never going to be considered to become a realistic practical option for this country, and probably most other countries, although Europe seems to be find a way to largely erase borders, and only time will tell if that ultimately will become workable. In other words, given the two-thousand plus years of European history, the European Union is only a small scratch on the surface of such history. Also, the open borders thing in Europe is creating new issues, not only in terms of legal wrangling with laws on the books in various member states, but with religious growth of islamic immigration in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and other member states. There is also an apparent growth of neo-fascism growing in France and Germany (perhaps also in the Netherlands) in very recent times as a result of a growing and sizable muslim community. And then, there is desecration of Jewish institutions in France of recent note, likely by muslim fundamentalists, and the backlash to all of this may become a growing trend depending upon the outcome of America's new emphasis upon occupation of islamic states and our growing propensity to invoke military force for regime changes is such states. I didn't regress like this for no reason at all. I did so only to point out that in the West, generally speaking we have historically been the product of Christianity, in which Christmas is an annual tradition. As such, I believe the Christmas story points to real liberty. A lot of the vestiges of that history are still very alive and well within the western world. For what it's worth, the tension in the mid-East today is part and parcel of that historical reality, and that seems to occupy a large part of our everyday thinking these days. Another thing, although again, I do not intend to use this as a basis for others to insist that the 'story' posted annually is an effort to proselytize anyone, but we cannot intend to build a political party that divorces itself from the cultural orientation of the society in which we wish to function. In saying this, if Libertarian idealism is to be realized in any culture, in any society, in any such setting, it must adapt itself to that culture or it will simply be irrelevant. In that sense alone, Libertarianism must become much more eclectic than it has been. We must find ways of displaying a Libertarian character based upon principle that can be applied in various cultural settings and in different ways. On practical matters, I doubt totally open borders will ever be achieved outside of an absolute world dictatorship, such as the United Nations, and in such a case, that would become a far cry from Libertarianism! So, I suspect that you are really offering a 'reactionary' adjunct to the 'Christmas story' evening showing up at all. Perhaps you don't like Christianity and have no use for it. At the same time, millions of others relate to it in a very close fashion, and in this sense, the message isn't proselytizing in nature, but a story that many people around this planet still believe is true and sacred. It is the story in which America's most favourite holiday originated! That story won't disappear, and based upon my observations again this year, Christmas in America isn't likely to disappear either any time soon! Kindest regards, Frank _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
