If Rudy Giuliani wants to call out American citizens for not loving their country he really should start with Michael Hill, who runs an organization called the League of the South. Among other things, the LoS is organizing a celebration of the 150th anniversary of John Wilkes Booth's assassination of "the tyrant Abraham Lincoln". And if that left any doubt in your mind that Mr. Hill does not love America, there's this:
America stands for the projection of raw power for its own benefit. It does not propagate the Christian gospel nor does it seek to preserve traditional nations and cultures, especially those of the white Western world that used to be known proudly as Christendom. No, America is a destroyer of true nations and traditions, all in the name of “progress.” American is, in reality, a huge experiment in Enlightenment liberalism gone completely haywire.
As a traditional Christian Southerner, I want no part of “America.” I’m not talking about a particular piece of land in the western hemisphere; rather, I am talking about an idea, a proposition, a regime, a way of life. I am a Southerner, an old-fashioned Christian. The status of “American” is my antithesis.
Now before you tell me to “Love it or leave it” and pack up and move somewhere else, let me explain. The South, Alabama in particular, is my home. It is also a captive colony of this American monstrosity. Yes, many of our citizens have, wittingly or unwittingly, embraced Americanism for either survival or profit. I have not, and I intend to convince my fellow Southerners to join my side. I do not intend to leave Alabama or the South. Nor do I intend to leave them in the clutches of America. I intend to fight, and if necessary kill and die, for their survival, well-being, and independence.
I intend to use this website and other means at The League’s disposal to point out why the South cannot and must not remain under America’s control.If Rudy Giuliani really cares as much about love for country as he is putting on, then I call on him to call out Michael Hill, who is using his first amendment rights to openly call for treason against the United States. But I'll give you long, long odds that Mr. Giuliani will not do that. I'll also give you odds that Mr. Hill does not vote Democratic. And I'll double down and say that these two facts are not unrelated. Mr. Giuliani, before you next criticize the president for not loving his country, I suggest you read Matthew 7:3-5.
>> America stands for the projection of raw power for its own benefit.
ReplyDeleteThe talk of power is quite interesting, given our own discussions of power, especially orbiting Mt 20:20–28 and Jn 13:1–20. Ron, where's that article about how the Empire was better than the Rebels in Star Wars? This could be an interesting conversation.
I'm sure that Mr. Hill has some bad stuff too, but the question in my mind is what he might have gotten right. Can you really mobilize a number of people with 100% falsehood? I doubt it. So, it becomes fun, enlightening, and potentially very useful to figure out where that dividing line is between truth and falsehood, as well as between good and evil.
> Can you really mobilize a number of people with 100% falsehood? I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI dunno. I think Kim Jong Un is doing a pretty credible job in that regard.
This is not to say that Michael Hill might not have a few valid points buried underneath his racism. But just having people following you isn't evidence of that.
So you think Kim Jong Un is telling the public in North Korea something like 95%–100% falsehoods? I know someone who does missionary work in NK, so this is an empirically testable claim. I am extremely interested in what you say here, because if you end up being wrong, it is evidence that your prior was wrong, or more drastically your model of reality was wrong.
ReplyDeleteShall we run the experiment?
FYI, my model is that you actually have to say a lot of truth, and mix in the falsehood. Nothing close to 100% falsehood can last for very long. It's not even clear that 100% falsehood is intelligible. After all, these people have to grow their crops, understand the exposure they do get to the outside world, render the DVDs smuggled in intelligible, etc.
@Luke: "where's that article about how the Empire was better than the Rebels in Star Wars?"
ReplyDeletePerhaps something like The Case for the Empire?
>If Rudy Giuliani wants to call out American citizens for not loving their country he really should start with
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could create a prioritized checklist of the topics and people Rudy Giuliani has to talk about before he can talk about President Obama.
Your post is nothing but the logical fallacy of relative privation. A staple strategy for columnists, pundits, and talk radio.