I may have an inkling as to why the United States is
dominated by a two-party system, and I’m going out on the limb in my thinking:
Potential third parties are filled with loons.
I, of course, am a potential loon, having grown tired of the
shenanigans of both mainstream US political parties. Additionally, repeated
application of Facebook political tests consistently reveal I agree more with
Ron Paul (or, as it should be written, apparently, RON PAUL) than anyone else.
Clearly, I should have my head examined.
Then I read Connor Boyack’s “Feardom,” and have come to the
conclusion that the version of the Election Night Special skit performed on
Monty Python’s “The Final Rip-off” album is far superior to their television
version embedded here.
Oh. And libertarians are a bit loony. Just like the rest of
us.
Not that Boyack doesn’t have good points: We should be
discerning in our consumption of news and be willing to question what news and
politicians tell us is right. But as Boyack cautions us agains the hobgoblins
of fear and sheppleness required of the media and bad, icky government, he
fails to realize in writing that he’s trotting out the boring ol’ hobgoblins of
libertarianism, mainly the evils of the social safety net, police “often”
SWATting the wrong house and fomenting fear and distrust and an almost
fanatical devotion to the Pope, and the idea of any kind of government outside
of the Ron Swansonesque man sitting at a desk deciding who to nuke.
Boyack’s solution to whatever problem out there – increased
love, empathy, whatever you choose to call it – is also admirable. But it’s all
couched in the traditional libertarian hobgoblinism of sheeple too complacent
and whatever for peace and contentment and hamburgers and such who aren’t going
to do anything at all to fix things because they’re not smart enough. But love,
right?
I’m being harsh and snotty here, of course. Because Boyack
does bring up a very important example of the love he’s talking about: Israeli
Ronny Erdy with a small group of activists uploaded posters to Facebook telling
folks in Iran “we will never bomb your country, we [heart] you.” The effort
brought about a positive reaction throughout the Middle East that transcended
the narrative put forth by news media and governments. A good thing, yes.
But as far as libertarianism in writing, I have to go with
P.J. O’Rourke’s “Parliament of Whores,” where the solutions are ample as well
as the humor and hopelessness.
From the editor in me: Boyack needed one. He mentions the film
Monsters Inc but adds an apostrophe (Monster’s Inc) and misspells the name of
Miep Gies (as Miep Giles) and misrepresents her as the sole person who hid the
family of Anne Frank, when it was rather a group of Anne’s father Otto Frank’s
friends and office workers who hid the family from Nazi persecution.
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