Republic of Utica Answers a Silly Question
Austin Cline, self-proclaimed expert on Atheism and Secularism at About.com, feels that Atheism is neglected in our society. He wonders why he can't turn on the TV and see an Atheist politician strutting his stuff. The Republic of Utica's short answer is- you can Austin. Right now there is a powerful Atheist leader who is strongly fighting the good fight for the principles of Atheism and Secular government. His name? Kim Jong-il. His regime is the logical outcome of the so-called "Enlightenment." Don't the humanist achievements of North Korea make you swell with pride?
The truth is, there are two breeds of Republics. America and the UK emerged from the Puritan Revolution of 1644-1648. Oliver Cromwell's statue stands before Parliament in London as a testament. The Puritan Republic of England had several excesses (not nearly so many as the modern Liberal would have you believe, but they did nonetheless) and Oliver Cromwell became ever more like a monarch as "Lord Protector." Nevertheless the notion of Republicanism and Parliamentary Supremacy were birthed in England during this era. The fulfillment of the Puritan Revolution came during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Though not "Puritans," the 1688 Parliamentary forces were hard-core Calivinists who would, by any modern Liberal standard, be regarded as right-wing Christian extremists. The chief philosopher of the Glorious Revolution, one John Locke, was a Calvinist who justified every point he made in his treatises with Scripture. He was also one of the main inspirations of the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. If one could put Locke's writings in a nutshell it would be, "God makes men free, as is His will and other men make men slaves." That's where the line in the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" comes from. This is the sort of moral absolute that makes the skin of modern Leftists crawl. If there is no Creator, we have no Inalienable Rights. We only have whatever rights that the moral equivalence of Big Brother condescends to give us. And those will inevitably be little or nothing. Even in our society today, we can't even get out of the womb before the Left tries to tyrannize us, claiming right of life or death over us.
Speaking of Big Brother, that brings me to the other kind of "Republic." It doesn't really deserve the name. The Secularist "Republics" begin with a rush of populist collective democracy, but very quickly degenerate into corrupt oligarchies or dictatorships. The first such was Revolutionary France. The euphoria after Louis XVI's beheading quickly evaporated as the "Committee of Public Safety" began beaheding everyone. I am reminded of the musical "Pippin" where the idealistic young prince stabs his father Charlemagne, promising to change the "off with his head" style of ruling. It isn't long before Pippin himself is saying, "off with his head!" He then went to his father, lying there with Pippin's dagger in his back. He said, "can I have my knife back, please?" Charlemagne then rises, pulls out the blade, gives it to him and says, "don't let it happen again, son." I know there were many Frenchmen in the 1790s who were wishing they could give Louis XVI his head back, empty as it was. Instead the "Great Republic" soon had a new absolute monarch in Napoleon and embarked on a bloody world war.
Twenty-eight years after the heady days of storming the Bastile, the Russian Tsar's troops marched triumphantly through the ruins of France. Did the madness end there? By no means. A groups of Russian officers who would come to be known as the "Southern Society" brought the Secular Leftist ideals of the French Revolution home. From their humble beginnings the USSR would be birthed 102 years later.
The USA and the USSR were really the culmination of the true Calvinist Republic and the Secular "Republic" respectively. The Secular Left really needs to stop clinging to old, outdated notions. They need to realize that the Cold War is over. And their side lost.
The truth is, there are two breeds of Republics. America and the UK emerged from the Puritan Revolution of 1644-1648. Oliver Cromwell's statue stands before Parliament in London as a testament. The Puritan Republic of England had several excesses (not nearly so many as the modern Liberal would have you believe, but they did nonetheless) and Oliver Cromwell became ever more like a monarch as "Lord Protector." Nevertheless the notion of Republicanism and Parliamentary Supremacy were birthed in England during this era. The fulfillment of the Puritan Revolution came during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Though not "Puritans," the 1688 Parliamentary forces were hard-core Calivinists who would, by any modern Liberal standard, be regarded as right-wing Christian extremists. The chief philosopher of the Glorious Revolution, one John Locke, was a Calvinist who justified every point he made in his treatises with Scripture. He was also one of the main inspirations of the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. If one could put Locke's writings in a nutshell it would be, "God makes men free, as is His will and other men make men slaves." That's where the line in the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" comes from. This is the sort of moral absolute that makes the skin of modern Leftists crawl. If there is no Creator, we have no Inalienable Rights. We only have whatever rights that the moral equivalence of Big Brother condescends to give us. And those will inevitably be little or nothing. Even in our society today, we can't even get out of the womb before the Left tries to tyrannize us, claiming right of life or death over us.
Speaking of Big Brother, that brings me to the other kind of "Republic." It doesn't really deserve the name. The Secularist "Republics" begin with a rush of populist collective democracy, but very quickly degenerate into corrupt oligarchies or dictatorships. The first such was Revolutionary France. The euphoria after Louis XVI's beheading quickly evaporated as the "Committee of Public Safety" began beaheding everyone. I am reminded of the musical "Pippin" where the idealistic young prince stabs his father Charlemagne, promising to change the "off with his head" style of ruling. It isn't long before Pippin himself is saying, "off with his head!" He then went to his father, lying there with Pippin's dagger in his back. He said, "can I have my knife back, please?" Charlemagne then rises, pulls out the blade, gives it to him and says, "don't let it happen again, son." I know there were many Frenchmen in the 1790s who were wishing they could give Louis XVI his head back, empty as it was. Instead the "Great Republic" soon had a new absolute monarch in Napoleon and embarked on a bloody world war.
Twenty-eight years after the heady days of storming the Bastile, the Russian Tsar's troops marched triumphantly through the ruins of France. Did the madness end there? By no means. A groups of Russian officers who would come to be known as the "Southern Society" brought the Secular Leftist ideals of the French Revolution home. From their humble beginnings the USSR would be birthed 102 years later.
The USA and the USSR were really the culmination of the true Calvinist Republic and the Secular "Republic" respectively. The Secular Left really needs to stop clinging to old, outdated notions. They need to realize that the Cold War is over. And their side lost.
posted by Cato Uticensis at 5:48 PM
2 Comments:
Come see my tribute to the Gauls.
Semper!
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