One of the benefits of having a friend like Nitro is the mental stimulation that she offers. Our friends are commonly seen as people we turn to when we want to relax and indulge ourselves. But its nice to have thhoughtful conversationalist amongst your fold somewhere, even if it isn't a friend. Luckily Nitro is mine and she is a friend.
She sent me this article earlier this week, but I really only got a chance to properly read it today (Thanks to New York Times abolishing the archive fee, you can read it any day too). For those who don't want to do the legwork and click-through, a brief synopsis: the author draws comparisons to the post French Revolution Jacobins to today's conservative politicians. After the Revolution, the Jacobins decided that you were either for liberty or against it. And a militant branch arose that decided to ironically destroy anyone who opposed liberty. When the pro-war faction wanted to war against other European powers, it was a fledgling United States that refused to aid and abet the French.
And more than two centuries later, another well orchestrated group has decided that liberty is in danger and the despots and tyrants who threaten it are vile threats that should be readicated. This time it is the French who don't want to assist. Oh how times have changed. Or rather, they really haven't. One of the French brave enough in the 18th century to speak against the Jacobins referred to the idea as being "armed missionaries." How effective can your message be if it is being taught with weapons?
Where's Napolean when you need him?
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