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A Call To Servitude: Reflections on John Kerry



By C.J. Maloney

He and a few friends had rearranged Heaven very comfortably, but the reorganization of Earth, which they called Society, was even greater fun. Such strong days sent Frankwell Midmore back to his flat assured that he and his friends had helped the world a step nearer the Truth, the Dawn, and the New Order

-Rudyard Kipling, "My Son's Wife" (1913)

In our modern times, America's knowledge of technology and science has leapt forward, while our knowledge of political science has regressed to the tribal, collectivist level of our distant, barbaric ancestors. Economically and politically, America today is much more savage and uncivilized than in decades past. There is no greater example of this decline than the writings of our current candidates for office. Compared to the writings from our Founding Era -- where mastery in the usage of our written word was coupled with a depth of thought and learnedness becoming to our nation's subsequent greatness - these modern booklets read with all the depth of a fourth grader's "What I Did Last Summer" essay. They are, for the most part, little more than promises of other peoples' money to some, thinly veiled by supposed good intentions for all. Socialism, the vile bane of humankind's last century, has found a loving home in America's bosom.

A Call To Service -- written by John Kerry to "communicate his values, his goals, his ideas, and much of who he is" (p.XVI) -- reads as if he dictated it into a recorder while running from one meeting to the next. You have my assurance that Mr. Kerry is so enamored of his big Ivy League brain he feels it incumbent to take the workers' money and spend it for them; to remove their freedom to choose and choose for them. Adolph Hitler, one of history's greatest socialist leaders, once noted that "control over a man's wallet is control over that man's life". Mr. Kerry has taken that view to heart. Unlike Hitler's mixed intentions he, of course, has nothing but good ones. He intends to pave our road to Utopia with them.

While I have little doubt that he is a well meaning man, Mr. Kerry, despite (or because of) the giant out-sized brain he purchased at Yale, is amazingly blind to the giant, out-sized examples of what his economic and political proposals will bring upon the people. The twentieth century can rightly be described as the century of socialism, where between Russia, Germany, and all their satellites we had displayed for us the poverty and slaughter that a government unleashed from the constraint of law and vested with arbitrary power will inevitably bring down. Yet, like a love struck, obstinate girl John Kerry hears the pretty words of seduction that socialism whispers in his ear while steadfastly ignoring the strange pair of panties on the rear dashboard. He has fallen head over heels for what our Founders warned against, "the deceitful dream of a golden era".

I could write pages about his Big Plan for this and that federal program, all of which will of course "save" money and "create jobs". All his brainless socialist schemes for our economy have been refuted by history; too much so for me to waste what precious little space I have herein on so settled a subject. In this vein, I thought it proper to look instead at what Mr. Kerry thinks of himself, his view of what the purpose of government is, and his political philosophy.

Kerry the Wise

Our freedom is threatened in many fields because of the fact we are much too ready to leave the decision to the expert

-F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom

Where once our political leaders fought a war for independence over the simple principle of living free of arbitrary government, today's versions blithely disregard even the consideration of a government limited in its powers. We assume because we are at this moment relatively free compared to most others on this ball of floating mud that we shall always be so. We have replaced careful deliberation and humble acknowledgement of our flawed nature and lack of knowledge with a childlike, blind assurance in the pure intentions of our political leaders and the omniscience of Ph.D. addled "experts". Mr. Kerry most certainly figures himself to be amongst the expert category. You, unwashed heathen, are not. After all, do you have a Yale degree?

Right from the get go, by page four, Mr. Kerry has to brag that (and I am not making this up) "I've had a chance to master a range of issues" and he goes on with a helpful listing for the reader. Ready? Sing along now.veteran's issues, crime, economic development, foreign policy, health care, intelligence, national defense, drug trafficking, technology, and education.

Surely, the Lord has blessed us with Kerry the Wise.

In a barely concealed swipe at President Bush, Mr. Kerry states that he doesn't need anyone to help him through any issue, either. "I was bought up.to think for myself, not hire others to do the thinking for me." (p.4) (The book is full of blunt swipes at the Bush Administration, which according to Kerry the Wise has done little more than cut taxes for "the rich" and play golf.)

I was barely through making a laughing spectacle of myself on the N train, had just gotten under control, when page five hit me with "I've benefited from a pretty remarkable family.(who have) helped keep me humble". Truly, they need more help.

Mr. Kerry believes that all Democrats -- the party whose members have a history of either violating their interns with cigars, murdering them, or drowning them -- as having "superior virtue" (p.18) over others. Again, it's a laugh out loud moment. Anointing yourself as morally superior and virtuous is characteristic of a scoundrel; and a trait common to socialists. Does not the Bible say in Matthew 6:2, "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do"? And since it is not his money that he proposes to give away, but other peoples', does that not make Mr. Kerry doubly so?

Most of the time I was not laughing at this book, I was shaking my head in sad wonder at how someone so reactionary could rise so far in our political landscape. This is a man of boundless vanity, a noted trait in all socialists. As Eric Hoffer pointed out in The True Believer, "there is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless.is boundless". John Kerry claims to live for "service" to others. Between his vanity, his out-sized ego, and his complete lack of knowledge of political science (his statement that "the possibilities of the human spirit (was) the divine inspiration of our Founders" (p.32) is a complete misunderstanding of their works), this man is that most dangerous of public figures - an ego bloated, shallow mind with a Big Plan.

Could someone dig up Thomas Jefferson, please?

John Kerry's 47,958 Purposes of Good Government

Americans expect their elected officials to have a constructive solution to every national problem

-John Kerry, A Call To Service

John Kerry, a complete and unrepentant reactionary, believes that there is nothing, no problem under the sun, on which the force of government should not be bought to bear. Hence, his government's purposes are limitless, any restrictions on government power unwanted brakes on "progress".

Mr. Kerry falls into the camp of those I call "economorons", and unfortunately he has many Congressional buddies at camp he can play badminton with. The average politician has the same level of knowledge about economics as a fourth grader has about nuclear physics. Despite Mr. Kerry's repeated (and repeated) assurances that he's mastered everything and anything, his statements and proposals concerning economic matters lead me to believe he's either a liar or a complete moron. To be generous, I'll pick the latter option.

Mr. Kerry envisions government as an all-pervasive mechanism that helps the common man "find real opportunities and better life styles" (p.94) and gives them "a better way of life in which jobs pay well and satisfy the mind and spirit". (p.90) He calls on us to bring about an economic order "in which our country's leaders know where to cut and where to invest to create economic growth while handling taxpayers' dollars fairly and efficiently". (p.94) And to do this, he's going to use government, the same organization which wrecked Amtrak, ran OTB (a legalized bookie ring) into the ground, and routinely buys toilet seats for $450 each.

To sum up John Kerry's economic program in a nutshell, his words, "I don't want to spend more on (insert program), I want to spend smarter." (p.170) pretty much says it all. (Plus, of course, he wants to spend more.) Mr. Kerry is firmly convinced that Russia, Cuba, Ethiopia, and every other socialist country collapsed economically only due to the fact that the people making all the decisions didn't spend the money "smart" enough. If only the Cuban communists would be more "efficient" with its peoples' resources everything would work out for the best. That there is any correlation between the history of economic disasters and government meddling in the same does not even cross his Ivy League mind.

Consequently, you can read this supposedly learned man write that government needs revenues to "pay for progress" (p.14), as if Microsoft, Ford Motor, and JP Morgan rose to economic prominence not through the dint of effort and intelligence, but because government checks came in the mail regular as clockwork. He writes of the last decade in which the economy boomed "despite partisan warfare and gridlock in Congress." (p.7) It never occurs to the silly bastard that maybe the reason people where able to produce was because they didn't have dim-bulb elitist busybodies half a continent away telling them how to run their lives.

Like all socialists, Mr. Kerry is absolutely obsessed with money but has no idea how it's earned or created - he only knows how to take it from "the rich" by force. The overriding purpose of government "is to guarantee material progress" (p.2), states Boy Genius, failing to recall that when he was sworn into office he swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, not guarantee a chicken in every pot. He is yet another politician that has Washington D.C. confused with Microsoft, failing utterly to recognize that government creates nothing.it consumes.and nothing more.

Why Mr. Kerry thinks it possible, as he repeatedly promises, to use government force to make anything "affordable, efficient, or fair" is not explained. If the mechanism of government could provide all of this, communist Russia would this very day be a flourishing paradise. Despite the economic collapse of socialism taking place right under his over-sized jawbone, this horse's ass hasn't learned a damn thing. Not only are his economic "plans" blatantly un-Constitutional and a fascist assault on private property rights, they are also the economic proposals of a half-wit. If government decrees can provide such economic plenty why aren't hordes of Americans crossing over the water to Cuba? Or even Canada, for that matter. Why are our hospitals that border on Canada, with her socialized medical system, stuffed with Canadians?

Mr. Kerry makes no attempt to explain any of this -- nor explain where in the Constitution he's found any authority to undertake the economic programs he wishes -- for the simple reason that he can't. He instead makes promise upon promise, that he'll take money from one set of Americans (the "rich") and give it away to others he deems more deserving. Despite the unbroken string of government run and/or regulated economic disasters, he insists all his proposals will "save" money and "improve" service. I believe that as much as I believe Britney Spears will be performing for His Holiness the Pope during her upcoming European tour.

As for America's sordid love affair with empire, Mr. Kerry, like any politician more concerned with getting elected than in protecting the people from our own folly, has shamelessly hopped onto the bandwagon. In his chapter "The Challenge of Protecting America and Promoting Its Values and Interests" Mr. Kerry does his best to play the warmonger. When it comes to foreign policy he is a "me, too" Democrat, sticking out his chest and promising that he'll also invade other countries and unleash our military on those who displease him. He calls himself a "progressive internationalist", as if this is in any way different from President Bush's `not so progressive' internationalism. With his long and well documented history of anti-military voting and pro-Communist appeasement, his sudden conversion to Rambo is about as believable as Demi Moore becoming a Navy SEAL in GI Jane. Remind me, but wasn't that him and Senator Harkin who flew down to Managua during the Reagan era to suck up to the communist pig oppressors of the Nicaraguan people?

His about face is a sad, unprincipled attempt to woo the Rambo segment of the voters, and he comes across about as fearsome and warlike as Jimmy Carter. He wants to conquer the world, too, since "our commitment to social justice, here and around the world.is a direct command from God" (p.24), so have doubt (as those at the recent anti-war rally I attended with the Vote for Kerry buttons do not) that your boy is about to bring our boys back home. "If I'm elected president, I won't make the mistake of having only intermittent involvement in the Middle East". (p.54) And the band will play on because "America has taken a rare step in human history in arguing that its interests and the world's are one". (p.20)

Not only does this show what an unprincipled oaf he is, it also shows how poorly thought out his excuses for meddling around the globe are. Every would be world conqueror has always, from the dawn of time, argued that its interests and those of whomever they wanted to conquer were one. The Imperial Japanese forces during World War II claimed to be fighting not for loot and glory but to set up the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere so as to bring freedom and democracy to.you get the point.

Unfortunately, in his shameless groping for any and every vote, Mr. Kerry does not.

Philosophy of Elitist Snobs

I can remember what brave plans visionary architects at Yale and Harvard still had for the `common man' in the early 1950s. They had bought the utopian socialist dream forward into the twentieth century. They had things figured out for the workingman down to the truly minute details.

-Tom Wolfe, The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening

John Kerry, like the man he is running against, is an ideological child of the reactionary, fascist Sixties. The thought that mankind left alone to its own devices can do anything but descend into chaos without their educated, highly intelligent, dedicated betters making all the decisions and running the show for them is the political belief nearest and dearest to his heart. Despite overwhelming and recent historical example, the thought that government in any way should be limited, the thought that government can in any way pose a danger to the people does not even enter his big Ivy League brain.

Like every other ego bloated son of Ivy League, Mr. Kerry has a Big Plan he intends to shove down our throats by force. Right from the get go, he states that, "It's time for a new call to service." (p.XVI) He feels such a pressing need to serve because "Americans expect their elected officials to have a constructive solution to every national problem." (p.21) Such as? Say your "neighborhood is surrounded by strip malls.the time it takes to commute suddenly tripled.public authorities should respond accordingly." (p.161) So much for limited government.

This "new" call to service is just what the American people need, according to Mr. Kerry. "I believe most Americans are ready to hear it as well and to respond to it." (p.13) Like all socialists before him, eyes ablaze at the thought of regulating society to his will, this silly twit can't get it through his skull that most people just want to be left alone. At base, John Kerry is just another egomaniac with a Big Plan, a walking embodiment of the phrase "hell is other people".

Believing that freedom is a gift from the powerful to the unwashed masses, he writes about "what we expect American citizens to give back in exchange for the blessings of freedom and justice" (p.176) Freedom and justice are the only purpose of government, but not according to Mr. Kerry, who feels it is a special gift from the elite to the workers. So in addition to missing what government is all about, he wishes for the American people to kowtow to the government for providing it.

A self proclaimed "progressive" who, eyes on the horizon, "always look(s) forward and embrace(s) change" (p.7), Mr. Kerry's writings prove this claim to be completely opposite the truth. This man is terrified of change, any independent action on the part of the unwashed masses must be regulated, taxed if "too profitable", and watched over by an overbearing Nanny State. For John Kerry, like all socialists, it is the urge to make the world stand still and "behave" as he deems proper that motivates him. Is it no coincidence that all socialist societies have inevitably wound down into highly regulated, dull stupor? When was the last time you ever heard anyone express the urge to flee to dynamic, exciting North Korea?

Mr. Kerry has not picked up on this; instead he posits that "collective action through government" is essential to building a "true commonwealth". (p.24) Sounding eerily like Hitler's Mein Kampf, Herr Von Kerry stresses the "ideal of shared sacrifice and purpose, devotion to the common good, and responsibility to future generations". And who gets to outline what "sacrifices" we are to "share", what our "purpose" will be, what defines the "common good", and what "responsibility" we have to future generations? Not you, of course, don't be silly; you don't have an Ivy League degree.

John Kerry is the embodiment of the worst that the fascist, reactionary Sixties can produce. After reading A Call to Service, all I can say in the man's defense is that at least he's honest about it. Mr. Kerry cannot fathom the benefits of freedom, freedom to him is chaos, a horrible world where people can make their own choices, suffer from their own mistakes, and reap the benefits of their own labor. As he states himself, he hates the thought of "go-it-alone economics and politics" (i.e. individual action) and wants America to "become a testament to what free human beings can accomplish by acting in unity."

That is where he -- and all the socialists of good intention -- fails to follow his political train of thought to the end of the line. If human beings are free, they will very rarely act in unity. We Americans are a quarter billion in number, to reduce us all to a few well defined purposes, as if we were worker ants, would require a totalitarian control over our lives that nobody (well.maybe Hillary Clinton) truly desires. Once we get away from the shared principle of a limited government which allows men to run their own lives, we open up a Pandora's Box of faction, of multitudes of different groups, with different purposes, all fighting for control of the mechanism of government force to make sure that their purpose is deemed the proper one.

Men such as John Kerry, with their Big Plans and egos to match, are a danger because they desire more power than is allowed by our Constitution, they desire a degree of power to be concentrated in their hands as to make government a tangible danger to our liberty and happiness. That's why, like all "activist" politicians, Mr. Kerry considers the Constitution -- which protects us from attack by severely limiting government power -- as an inconvenience, something to occasionally say nice things about then otherwise ignore. John Kerry, with his Big Plan, out-sized ego, and the tyranny of good intentions, would take America that much further down the road to serfdom.

The only moral purpose of government, as our Constitution outlines, is to protect life, liberty, and property - nothing more. Each of us, as befits free men, should be allowed to pursue our own individual Big Plan, and nobody else's. Nothing could be further from Mr. Kerry's intentions. Hence, his program is not a call to service; it is a call to servitude. We vote for this man at our peril.

Cuz this is nothing like we'd ever dreamt,
Tell Sir Thomas More we've got another failed attempt

-The Shins, "So Says I"



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