This is a continuation of a point I made in my first post on this subject, The Welfare State: The Difference between ‘Feeling,’ ‘Understanding’ and ‘Wisdom’. However, in this case, the point is made more clearly and more credibly because the two sources I cite to make my point were exempt from the problems most commonly associated with poverty. During the majority of the time the following two men were espousing collectivist ideals, they were wildly successful, and thus, enjoyed all the trappings and comfort that came with that success. This means that their change of heart cannot be blamed on some sudden acquisition of wealth that they needed to preserve. They were wealthy before they had their change of heart. This means the most likely explanation for that change of heart is that they were paying attention to how the world really works, they came to understand it and, through that understanding, they developed the wisdom to know they were wrong and why. In other words, these two men clearly demonstrate the Truth in these words:
If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain.
The radicals of the 1960’s were nothing new to history. Essentially, they were the product of a Russian plot to subvert our society. If you study what they wanted and how they believed they could achieve it, you’ll find they were advancing a close approximation of the Leninist/Maoist model of Revolutionary Communism. They thought that, if they could just create enough civil unrest through violence and terror, they could cause the people to rise up and collapse the system. They failed for the same reason Lenin failed: they did not understand human nature, let alone the nature of the American culture. But those 1960’s radicals didn’t accept defeat, and they didn’t give up on their goals. They simply changed their methods. They went from looking to violence to achieve those goals to ‘progressive’ steps via infiltration of the social institutions that support the society they wish to destroy. This revolutionary spirit lives on today. It is what drives the Occupy Wall Street types. It is also what drives many of the people who are now in control of our government and our social institutions – the people who have been organizing and funding the Occupy Wall Street groups. And, in spite of all their efforts, they continue to fail. They fail because they have never developed a brain.
However, there are those who have brains, who use them and, consequently, have developed the wisdom to see the folly of their youth. Many of these people still hold to some of their older idealism, but – for the most part – they are trying to explain to those who will listen that the radical agenda is domed to fail because it is out of step with reality. We cannot change the universal laws that govern the way our world works. Once again, I would point you to what Bono had to say about the importance of Capitalism to the elimination of poverty. What he is telling us in this story and the associated video is important because it is true.
Famed Rock Star Opens Up About His Faith, Career: ‘I Believe That Jesus Was…the Son of God’
[NOTE: there are two video/audio links in this story. They are both lengthy, but well worth your time. Not only does Bono explain his faith, but he details how he came to understand why welfare doesn’t work, but Capitalism does. Yes, Bono explains that the most powerful force for lifting people out of poverty in all of human history has been Capitalism. This is in direct opposition to the narrative of the political Left. Essentially, these stories about Bono detail how a person goes from just ‘feeling’ for the poor to understanding the problem to having the ‘wisdom’ to know how best to help them. The interviews in this story are simply powerful testimony as to the futility of welfare and how best to help the poor from a man who has publicly spent the majority of his adult life trying to help the poor.]
But is isn’t just Bono. One of the heroes of the political Left in the 1960’s was John Lenin. But how many of us know that Lenin changed his position as he grew older and wiser? Here is just one story about who Lenin had become by the time he died:
Lennon was a closet Republican: Assistant
John Lennon was a closet Republican, who felt a little embarrassed by his former radicalism, at the time of his death – according to the tragic Beatles star’s last personal assistant.
Fred Seaman worked alongside the music legend from 1979 to Lennon’s death at the end of 1980 and he reveals the star was a Ronald Reagan fan who enjoyed arguing with left-wing radicals who reminded him of his former self.
But there’s more to Lenin’s story. Even while he was still with the Beatles, he apparently understood the problems with the movement to which he was attached at the time. Though he may not yet have developed the wisdom to know better at the time he wrote this song, the words of this song clearly demonstrate that he understood the agenda of the radical Left was wrong. Here, read and think about the lyrics as you listen to “Revolution:”
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AqC_Gma221M
And this is what we should take away from this and my previous post: that a free society is not structured the way it is because it suits the rich and powerful; a free society is structured the way it is because that is the only way freedom can exist. It is when the principles of freedom are subverted that people truly suffer; when free people allow the rich and powerful to bend them to their desire is when those same free people are made subservient. And this is why every citizen of a free and self-governing people has a duty to know, understand and protect those principles. It’s call Natural Law, and you can learn about Natural Law on The Road to Concord.
The Oil for Your Lamp 