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Monday, June 01, 2009
Who are the Real Advocates of Human Rights?
After reading the excellent new book by conservative activist Ezra Levant titled “Shakedown”, I knew I wasn’t finished talking about the ideas of the great Edmund Burke. In Burke’s 1790 classic “Reflections on the Revolution in France”, the concept of spontaneous grouping within society was introduced and defended passionately. Levant praised the internet, essentially stating that the internet has been the one forum of free speech that has allowed him to speak his and his supporters’ minds and bring justice to the table. The media and the government weren’t going to help – that would be too much trouble and cause negative publicity. To me, Levant was saying that the internet is the base for today’s version of Burke’s “little platoons”; the cornerstone of society that cannot simply be tweaked by the state.
Burke described an organic state that formed without planning, as opposed to the socialist idea of an artificial, organized, planned state (the French Revolution in Burke’s day, for example). He argues that an organic society is adaptable; change occurs in an evolutionary manner that sways with the times. As one can guess, rigid societal structures and the obsession of the left with perfecting humanity can and will lead to violent revolution. While many enjoy the thought of a bloody revolution like in the late 18th century in France, classical conservatives prefer slow reform that comes from the private citizens, as a relatively collective move towards what is needed. Don’t get me wrong, I am largely an individualist. However, I do not believe that natural society can occur through planning by the government or media. Even if there is no formal planning, there is an incredible amount of folks in Canada who either wish to indoctrinate people with their ideas that would undoubtedly (to them) help create the perfect society.
Burke may have lived hundreds of years ago, but what he wrote about will never not apply. I have to agree with Burke, that society or rather the “social fabric” must me acted upon almost without even speaking to one another. I don’t mean people don’t speak about what their culture or society consists of, but it’s something the people of a certain group do naturally, without thinking about it. It’s something that’s ingrained in us, handed down from generation to generation. The aspects that transcend generations and work stay, and the failed ideas sink like the sun – the natural way of things. This may all sound obvious, but that’s exactly the point. Society is organic, and the reason all this mumbo jumbo sounds obvious is because it’s the natural way of life that practically every ethnicity, nation, and tribe has been following for hundreds if not thousands of years.
One has to wonder why the left insists that humanity is perfectible and that the state can (since it has the power to do so) do certain things to push us in the “right” direction. The obvious problem is the idea of whether or not the government has the right to push us in a direction, no matter what direction it is. Some of us think that’s the job of parents, little platoons, and common morality. This leads me to believe that as crazy as this sounds, conservatives are the ones that are pro-humanity. Even though historically conservatives believe and accept the idea that humans are naturally flawed beings, we think humans can overcome such flaws – without the state giving us a hand. We appreciate the offer to be sure, but we happen to have a little respect and faith in ourselves.
Cross Posted at The Right Coast
Posted by Dane Richard on June 1, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
Excellent article and absolutely spot on. Prior to "Shakedown" there was another excellent and well researched book on the same: "Against Judicial Activism" by Rory Leishman. It is about the loss of freedom and democracy in Canada. I know there are other books dealing with the same but these two I have read.
Posted by: Alain | 2009-06-02 11:14:43 AM
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