In Kim Willenson’s collected oral history of Vietnam, the most interesting perspectives often come from the senior and junior military officers. Reading the warnings of Admiral James B. Stockdale on the importance of “moral leverage” would have been extremely useful for members of the Bush administration, especially those who knew the evidence of WMD was in short supply. 
This past weekend, I took my wife to see the film Valkyrie. Featuring Tom Cruise, Valkyrie is already ranked among the top five films of the season. Valkyrie details the plot of July 20, 1944 devised by German officers to assassinate Adolph Hitler. Cruise played the mastermind of the plot Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
I make no claim to have a depth of understanding of Hitler’s National Socialism and the details of the War effort. However, I was raised by a father who was a World War II veteran who was present on D-Day and both uncles served in the European theater during that great War.
Here is the situation: A man in Oklahoma City gets pulled over by the police. Reason? He has a sign on the back of his truck that reads “Abort Obama, not the Unborn.” The police tell the man that this sign could be construed to be threatening the president’s life!
Wait a minute… I thought all abortion does is remove a blob of tissue from a woman’s uterus. Seems like the Oklahoma City Police know better… But I digress.
The police confiscate the sign and then call the Secret Service, who show up at the man’s home and search it to make sure he wasn’t a part of some “hate group.” After politely interviewing the man for 30 minutes, the Secret Service leaves.
And the crickets start chirping from the Left.
Economist Ludwig von Mises, a man who witnessed the rise of totalitarian systems of fascism and communism, noted that totalitarian governments thrive in the soil of etatism, or “the trend toward government control of business”. On Mises’ view, etatism went hand-in-hand with economic nationalism and the glorification of war. There is no better example than Nazi Germany, the home of national socialism. Before Hitler could mobilize resources and support for his Lebensraum-oriented war machine, he first nationalized businesses, turning them from entrepreneurial market ventures to servants of the state. But what does that have to do with us?
I have shifted between anger and humor at the recent outcry from liberals concerning the invitation issued by President-elect Obama to Pastor Rick Warren to lead in prayer at the Obama inauguration. Consider that Presidents of both parties traditionally asked Evangelist Billy Graham to lead in prayer at their respective inaugurations. Graham was long considered America’s Pastor and one might wonder if Rick Warren might be assuming that same role.
jason [at] unitedliberty [dot] org
brett [at] unitedliberty [dot] org
United Liberty
