This just occurred to me. Is the "Peikoff" quoted in Frenchy's quote the Leonard Peikoff, acolyte of Ayn Rand, the rabid Russian nutcase? Does this mean that Frenchy is a closet Randian? Well, if that doesn't beat all. Frenchy, were you aware that Rand was a militant atheist? Onme who not only opposed, but had CONTEMPT for all religion? Even MArx had respect for the role of religion; LAdy Ayn had none. How can you square that with your Christian religion? : Free Republic? Again with the ultra-conservative websites! That's like going to the National Cattlemen's Association website for a nonbiased opinion on the benefits of beef eating.
Well, MDG, let's be genrous here. Even people we find politically uncongenial may have good points sometimes. Still....
: :
: : Why Hitler Was a Left-winger; Left as Enemy of Individualism
: : Peikoff then quotes Fichte as saying "(T)he individual life has no real existence...since it has no value of itself,
: : but must and should sink to nothing... (T)he Race alone...ought to be looked upon as really living." Ahh, what a
: : glorious celebration of being you! The Nazi philosophy pursued this belief unfailingly. "They preached authority
: : above rights, the group above the individual, sacrifice above happiness, nihilism above morality, feelings above
: : facts, pliability above absolutes, obedience above logic..."
: : Does the rejection of the individual, the rejection of personal happiness, the rejection of morality, and the
: : rejection of facts and logic sound like behavior coming from the right? Quite the contrary, it sounds like a nutshell
: : summation of all Leftist ideology.
: No, Frechy. Leftists believe in human rights, civil rights, and individual freedom, things Hitler, as a fascist and hence an extreme right-winger, disregarded.
Might I add that many of the Nazi practices, including hostility to labor unions, eugenics, competition between individuals and nations, and admiraion for nationalism and militarism have been endorsed by conservatives, some of them ON THIS VERY SITE? Give me a Nazi practice and I'll show you where it's been used by conservatives in teh furtherance of their own right wing ideology. The similarities are as plain as day.
:Do not confuse Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism with Leftism. Even Barry Stoller, perhaps the most dogmatic Communist on this site, stresses the respect for individual rights. Repression can corrupt any system, be it left, like Stalin's USSR, or right, like Pinochet's Chile.
:
: : Wonder if McSpotlight will let this through?
: As a fine leftwing website, it upholds your right to speak freely, no matter how silly you wish to get.
: --
: McSpotlight: Damn straight. For the record, the only of Frenchy's posts we have ever rejected are ones which aren't 'debating' in any recognized sense of the word; and we make it quite clear that irrelevant posts will be rejected. That applies not merely to Frenchy, but to everyone who posts here; we welcome all points of view, but just ask that you a) debate and b) do your best to be vaguely civil.
On a different note, I have to add that it's very easy for eprsonal annoyance to come to teh fore when debating political issues. This fall I was at a mall, collecting signatures on a petition in favor of state health care. Every time someone passed by without listening to my spiel, I felt personally insulted, because I'd just spent the time and effort trying to talk to them and they were ignoring me. It's irrational, I know, but I think it's easy to fall into anyway.
