I like this guy, Mike P.... Thanks for sharing Jonathan!
On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 6:30 PM, Jonathan Ashley < [email protected]> wrote: > The “Middle Ground” Is Empty > November 10, 2010 by Mike P > > People often tell me that I”m too extreme. They tell me that I need to look > at the other side of the issue. Often times people tell me that I ought to > find some “middle ground” from which I can negotiate and compromise with > others. This is is all very conventional and sounds very nice, but quite > often it is actually a load of crap and a form of bullying. > > People tend to get nervous and upset when you take an absolute moral stand > on something. They do not like moral certainty, and they particularly do not > like it when it can be backed up with logic and evidence. People tend to be > more comfortable with certainty when it is religious in nature. If someone > is certain about some kind of unprovable abstract absolute like god, sin or > the apocalypse they can be dismissed as crazy. Alternatively they can be > agreed with by someone else that shares their crazy belief system or they > can be manipulated by charismatic demagogues. Whichever route you go down, > this kind of fundamentalist certainty is something people are used to and > comfortable with. > > Recently a group of liberals led by government comedian John Stewart held a > rally in Washington DC called “The Rally to Restore Sanity” to oppose this > sort of fundamentalist certainty and demagoguery. Its interesting that this > rally was aimed primarily at the “insanity” of the political opponents of > liberals, not the insanity of the people that claim to be the state. > Apparently these liberals don’t like other people criticizing the state and > they see this as insane. Its interesting that they don’t seem to have any > complaints about the insanity and extremism of their own Nobel Peace Prize > winning leader who commands a robot drone army and destroys villages of > impoverished peasants. This seems pretty extreme and insane to me. In fact, > I have a hard time coming up with anything in today’s world that is more > insane. It seems that if people are looking to restore sanity, that may be a > good place to start. But of course that is not what these liberals want. > Restoring sanity is just code for restoring relativistic morals and not > questioning the state. > > Moral certainty that can be proven with logic and evidence will always make > relativists like John Stewart and the liberals that attended his rally > uncomfortable. They will usually try to lump it in with religious > fundamentalism and attack you with sarcasm and snarkiness. This rally was > basically a bunch of liberals getting together to snark at conservatives and > libertarians. Not that tea-party style conservatives and libertarians > necessarily should be defended, but if we are going to attack them we should > do it with reasoned arguments, not snarks, sarcasm and moral relativism. > > I’ve had a lot of arguments with liberals that have ended by “agreeing to > disagree.” The liberal usually sees this as a compromise. In fact it is not. > Agreeing to peacefully end the conversation and not initiate violence > against each other is in fact the libertarian/voluntaryist/anarchist > solution. The liberal, by agreeing to disagree, is in fact embracing the > position I was arguing for. The people that claim to be the state do not > agree to disagree. They want me to pay tribute (taxes) to them. They may > allow me to disagree in my mind that I should have to pay taxes, but they > will initiate violence against me if I do not pony up the cash. So the state > actually does not compromise no matter what liberal relativists may think or > wish. You cannot agree to disagree with others and support the state without > falling into contradiction. > > When someone tells you that you are being too extreme, or that you need to > find the middle ground and compromise, what are they really saying? Usually > they are trying to get you to shut up because you are making them > uncomfortable. > > If we are talking about taxation, or pretty much anything the state does, > the issue is actually clear cut. Taxation is immoral because it requires the > initiation of force. Period. This is not an issue where there are grey > areas. Where exactly would the middle ground lie here? How could you > compromise on this? It would be like compromising and finding “middle > ground” with someone that wants to punch you in the face. True, the two > positions “You want to punch me in the face” and “I do not want to be > punched in the face” are two extreme sides of an issue. But where exactly is > the middle ground here, and what would be the virtue in finding that middle > ground? A mild slap perhaps? This is not even middle ground because violence > is still being initiated. In this case the side of virtue lies with one > extreme and with the moral certainty that it is wrong to punch another > person in the face. > > Sure there are some areas where compromise and the middle ground are > appropriate, but these are areas of preference, like where to go to dinner, > what movie to watch or what to do over the weekend. These are not clear cut > moral issues, but rather areas of preference where you really do need to > negotiate with the people in your life. When it comes to clear cut moral > issues like taxation, war, and statism the virtue is in the extreme and the > middle ground is empty. Don’t compromise with people that want to punch you > in the face. > > http://theemptiness.info/2010/11/the-middle-ground-is-empty/ > -- > *Our courts will never be fair and just again until we force lawyers and > judges to follow their own rules. Do not allow yourself to be ruled by > tyrants. Learn how to control corrupt judges and crooked > lawyers<http://www.jurisdictionary.com/?refercode=CG0004>so you can get > Justice! Learn to litigate: Buy and Study > JURISDICTIONARY <http://www.jurisdictionary.com/?refercode=CG0004>* > > *I Refuse To Comply With The Unconstitutional Demands Of The Federal > Government* > http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html > > *"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they > are free." > - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe* > > *Government is only as strong as those who allow themselves to be governed > are weak. > > "We have plenty of rights in this country, provided you don't get caught > exercising them." - Terry Mitchell > > "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free it expects something that > cannot be." > - Thomas Jefferson* > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at > http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
