Rational Nation USA

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Libe rty -vs- Tyra nny Everywhere in today's liberal, or progressive lexicon we hear of the evils inherent in Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Indeed the general consensus, or so it seems to this individual, is that Ayn Rand herself was an evil person. So, perhaps some object liberal, or progressive can explain the evil in the following... Thank You...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny The nation is indeed in serious trouble. The right and the left are so enmeshed in their own ideological perspective neither can differentiate between day and night. It's okay they keep reassuring themselves...  after all  those we elected are working hard at ensuring our well being. A sentiment that   will, in the long run, amount to exactly NOTHING. Yep, the nation's electorate, which is of course us, are happy believing those we elect are going to address the problems we face and ultimately resolve them in our best interests. However, given the present realities I guess it depends on whether or not one really understand what your interests are. At this juncture in history my bet rests on most don't have a clue what there own rational self interests are, let alone how to preserve them. Okay... whether you agree or not I'm here to tell you that 99.9% of the politicians you elect are out to accompli...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny I Having forever been one who values freedom and individual liberty I cannot help but question if my grandchildren will enjoy the same freedoms an individual liberties I, as well as millions of others have enjoyed. Considering the ever expanding and more intrusive role government plays in our lives it is both reasonable to question the likelihood and be very doubtful at the same time. It has always been clear, at least to this writer, for freedom and liberty to survive and flourish they must be based on ethical and moral principles that are understood and accepted by a vast majority of any given society. When thinking about freedom and liberty it seems only natural that one consider and reflect on the views of John Stewart Mill , one of the 19th century's preeminent philosophers. The following is an excerpt from John Stuart Mill and the Three Dangers to Liberty by Richard M. Ebeling, June 2001. JOHN STUART M...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Sometimes ya have one of those days when it's plainly best to relax and take it easy for a bit. Take the time to recharge the batteries. Peruse the You Tube archives just for the fun of it. Occasionally you come across something worth bring to the surface again. Something that totally speaks for itself... And is no work for the weary.

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny It has been said that the basic difference between the republican party and the democratic party is this... the democratic party wants to control your wallets and or pocketbooks, the republican party your personal life, particularly your sex life. The party professing the moral high ground also just happens to be a party of hypocrites. Frankly the truth is... well, there is truth in the foregoing observation if it is modified just a bit. Both parties want into the wallets and pocketbooks of the citizenry, They both will willing spend money we don't have, the difference is in the detail. Democrats want to expand social legislation and programs and pay for it by increased taxation. Republicans want the greatest world police force and military and will pay for it through borrowing. Neither are averse to deficit Keynesian spending when it fits their agenda. Either way the country continues its reckless descent towards...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism Liberty -vs- Tyranny "Sounds like you have a problem with democracy." The preceding statement was of course directed at me. It was made by a progressive, one who obviously believes democracy is the ideal. The utopia. The remark was made in response to this comment by me, There you go again. I am for individualism and liberty. Remember, the constitution was framed with this in mind... ...to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority... Hence a nation of laws. What progressives advocate is increasing influence and control by the state. Connect the dots and eventually you have an obvious picture. The exchange got me thinking once again about democracy as opposed to our representative {republic} form of government. As is usually the case I referred to that book of concept definitions, the dictionary. democracy a) government by the people; esp : rule of the majority republ...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism Liberty -vs- Tyranny Politics are, and have always been, a dirty business. Philosophy is the search for truth and greater knowledge. Unfortunately, few politician have a consistent non contradictory philosophy by which they are guided. Equally as unfortunate is no philosopher with a non contradictory philosophy has ever ran for office. Well, on second thought, there were a few in the 18th and early 19th century. Politics and government, at least in my mind, ought to be about maximizing individual liberty and minimizing government control and regulation. In short, politicians, and by extension our government, should be properly engaged in preserving individual rights as expressly defined in our Constitution. And they should be focused on how to minimize government control over our business and personal affairs. There is much that has been written {and said}on the subject of liberty and limited govern...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Charles Jarvis, 1820 Jefferson's words, so true in 1820, continue to carry even greater truth today. Further, the third President of our nation correctly identified that education is the proper remedy in "informing their discretion.". Sadly, as our federal government has grown ever more statist and controlling {think department of education) it has turned not to actual education based on reason and reality, but rather indoctrination and fear based on Leviathans need to retain power. Perhaps, through the effor...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism We are one nation, with common values and principles that set us apart from the rest of the world. Or so I have chosen to believe for over 50 years. Call me the old fashioned reactionary village idiot if you like. Go ahead, I am used to it from the progressive collectivists. The fact is I am damn proud of being given that moniker by them. Truth be known {and I don't mean Truth 101 } I really don't care what progressive collectivists think of my values and principles, or the political views I hold. I'm good with them and that is all that matters. Frankly I don't care because I,  just like each and every one of the progressive/statists know I am right. Since any rational value system must be based on objectivity, rather than emotionalism, the left always loses on purely logical and rational grounds. However, don't bother to attempt a rational discussion with them on this point becaus...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism The question I ask today my fellow independent conservative is this... Does the image to your right really represent the truth? Or does it represent an illusion created by the political forces, both progressive and conservative, that want nothing more than to control your life based on a particular political ideology. Such ideology would be, as we have grown accustomed to seeing, based on their own political interests. Such interests as viewed through the lenses of their political prognosticators and or beneficiaries. As politicians and the courts continue to scrutinize ObamaCare, perhaps one of,  if not the most ill advised pieces of legislation since FDR's New Deal, answering the hypothetical questions asked above is of the utmost importance to our nations understanding of freedom. liberty, individual responsibility, the right to individu...

by  Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA America is a changing nation. It is changing today just as it has been changing gradually over the past 234 years. While change is necessary not all change is advisable or good. Modern realities are not exactly the same as the agrarian realities of 1776. Life has changed and while the basic needs of human survival has remained essentially the same the avenue to achieve the satisfaction of those basic needs has evolved. As we moved from an agrarian society to a modern industrial society the requirements to effectively sustain our life and provide for the welfare of our families changed. Skill sets and knowledge had to continually evolve to keep pace with advancing technologies. Forward progress was essential to remain competitive and successful in an evolving and advancing global environment and economic reality. In as much as we are experiencing rapid, almost instantaneous change today our founding fathers, the product of the Enlighten...

By: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA After spending some time away I find myself getting quite anxious to get back to work at the keyboard and add my voice again to the cause. Having spent some time over these past several months in the "belly of the progressive collectivist beast" (aka progressive blogs) as it were, I realize the grave danger this nation is confronting. Our very liberties and right to self determination is being threatened on a daily basis all across this land of ours. Progressive collectivists are mobilizing as they believe they smell final victory with the most progressive president the nation has perhaps ever had. Indeed...

By: Les Carpenter III Rational Nation USA Today's post has been taking shape for some time. Perhaps for the better part of my adult life. Having went from a believer in the ideology of the left as a young man hoping to improve American society in his teens and early twenties, to a conservative with a strong Republican party allegiance for two decades, to the independent conservative with strong Libertarian leanings as I write this, I have given the broad scope of politics a fair shake. What has become glaringly obvious to me is the modern liberal, or progressive as they love to be called are in reality progressive collectivists. The terminology I attach to their movement, and a movement it is indeed, is as concise and accurate a description as I can find. It simply says modern era liberalism is progressing toward collectivism and complete state control of our economy and lives. Their belief in...

By: Les Carpenter III Rational Nation USA The United States of America must remain strong. Our defenses should be second to none in the world and we must stand prepared to engage in military actions in defense of our freedom and liberties "against all threats both foreign and domestic."  The operative words being... in defense of our freedom and liberties. The United States, which began it's interventionist foreign policy in earnest during the early twentieth century,  has never looked back. I shall exclude World War Two  from this discussion because I personally believe the fight to liberate Europe from a despotic dictator was justified. Both on an ethical basis as well as it was in our national self interest to stop Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan before we had to fight them on our shores. I shall also exclude the Cuban Missile Crisis as the decisions made by President Kennedy at the time were essentially in our national security interest and in k...

This short (38 minute) video on Ludwig von Mises is a must for anyone interested in Austrian Economics, liberty, free markets, and who has a strong and rational disdain for any form of socialism and statism. American leaders today (and us too) would be well served in understanding the principals Mises lived his life by and fought so valiantly to preserve.

This video should concern us all. Frankly it is a glimpse into the "evils" inherent in all government, even our own. In 1776 a declaration was written that gave men ownership of their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Today the very government that was spawned by the words of that declaration is slowly attempting to obliterate it's very meaning and purpose.

By: Les Carpenter III Rational Nation USA One hears a lot of talk about liberty, and our rights as a supposedly free people. Most often it is heard within the framework of combating the gradual yet certain advance of socialism, statism, totalitarianism, and a host of other ism's. The government's increasing involvement in out lives, and the growing limits placed on our ability to chose, fuel the current tea party and liberty movement in America. It is not only understandable, but indeed patriotic that these movements have gained force and strength. Everyone who has achieved the age where the concept of liberty can be reasonably understood should wish for the ultimate success of the liberty movement. However, only by understanding the meaning of liberty, and practicing the exercise of it's principal in our daily  lives will this nation regain the footing it once proudly stood on. To illustrate the concept of liberty I looked for some time before locating the foll...

By: Les Carpenter III Rational Nation USA As this site continues to experience some technical difficulties, posts will continue to be brief, and fewer in volume until difficulties are fully resolved. This morning while thinking about liberty, and everything the concept implies I ran across the following brief video. It struck me how we are discussing the same issues today that were being discussed quite some time ago. The rational thinker speaking in the video was correct then, and though no longer with us remains correct today. The independent conservative and libertarian movement would do well to study and fully understand the principals and discipline that guided the thinking and philosophy of Ayn Rand. Rand was truly a liberty minded individual who proclaimed herself more closely aligned with classical liberal thinking than consecrative. Hoverer, she defined herself as a radical for capitalism, true governmen...

Many might feel this video divisive. However, when one listens to the words, it is most difficult to mount a rational argument against the majority of their premises. In todays environment of altruistic socialism, multiculturalism and diversity, and the falacious argument that big brother government knows best, it is criical that all who love liberty, individualism, self reliance, and personal responsibility unite to hold back, and beat the charge of socialistic statism.

I spent some time on liberal leaning political blogs the past few days and it was not surprising to see there are many on the other side of the political spectrum that love the concept of liberty just as conservatives and libertarians do. It also struck me that there is as much rancor, no strike that, more of the rancor and name calling going on at liberal blogs than I typically see on conservative political blogs. One only has to visit a few to believe it representative of most liberal political blogs. It seems almost as though while some liberals love the concept of liberty, they are locked in the thought that liberty means believing precisely as they do on all issues. There are certainly some conservatives that are guilty of this, there simply seems to be more liberals that are guilty of it. Thinking about this had me jotting down some thoughts on liberty, what it means, and how best to preserve it. For the most part it has been a constant thread through most of my posts since...