Topic: Economics
C*O*D*E*W*O*R*D: Naive A glimpse into some of the fun we're planning for The Alphaville Decoder.by Jahfre Fire Eater
(Libertarian)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Mrs. Fire Eater is away for the week visiting family in Maine while I learn how to install slate tile and heated subflooring in our bathroom. So we are communicating primarily via email and other online comments since our priorities, schedules and time zones are so skewed.
Yesterday she wrote:
"..this holiday for example, I was blessed to have a conversation with a die hard Democrat who thinks our national debt is "just accounting" and they "will fix it" and that my "opinions" (that's the funniest part) about monetary policy are "interesting, but naive". Naive - okay, maybe that's the funny part. I offered her a plane ticket to China or Saudi Arabia to explain that to those who are far more invested in our "accounting" than she is. Didn't get the joke. At all."
This prompted me to describe my core views on the difference between people who are mostly liberal and those who are mostly conservative. It does get confusing very few people are purely one or the other but that is a topic for another day because I must keep this short.
When in conversation with liberals, from any party, 'naive' is a code word that means: "Since I have no ability to understand basic economics or the inclination to learn from history or to relate past events to their present equivalent, I can only assume you are naive for thinking you CAN understand it and even extrapolate your awareness into a probabilistic view that something similar may happen again."
Or this...
Naive is code for:" I do understand what you are saying because I do understand history and basic economics. However, since heeding that perspective involves dealing with consequences that fall outside my illusion of what is acceptable, I believe those historical and economic indicators must be wrong and anyone who espouses them must be naive because they are advocating undesirable consequences. You are pessimistic and naïve for promoting gloom and doom. You are arrogant to assert that you can make sense of complex systems, learn from the past and audaciously attempt to predict the future. You should be ashamed of yourself you Hypocrite"
Of course, you and I know those undesirable consequences are an inevitable part of the evolution of our civilization. We're about to learn the same lessons our ancestors have learned over and over again...as Arlo Guthrie would say, "…this time with feeling."
Democrats can only be Democrats because they are willing to overlook the consequences of their behavior. It is a necessary criteria for making their world view seem rational to them. Of course one who has defined inevitable consequences as inconsequential and impossible, despite eons of proof to the contrary, would have no choice but to assume naive the other who thinks consequences are inevitable events of real consequence as shown by history and present reality.
We’ve all heard the joke about a conservative being a liberal who was just mugged. Well, that is a humorous way of phrasing my point. One who proactively decides to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions and beliefs is a conservative…regardless of whether or not they used to be a liberal or if their paradigm shift happened as a result of a traumatic event or a lifetime of analysis of cause and effect in political and economic cycles.
Next time someone applies the "Naïve" label to you or your beliefs you can chalk them up as a lost cause. Getting someone else to suddenly abandon their entire illusion of reality due to your words of clarity in a casual conversation has no chance of success. By the time they pull out the "N" word they have dismissed you because you represent a threat to their comfortable, haughty grand illusion; they need to avoid reality at all costs.
Jahfre Fire Eater
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 6 thumbs so far
2007 Jahfre Fire Eater, all rights reserved.
Published: Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Last modified: Sunday, January 20, 2008
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Posted By: Mrs. Fire Eater
Date: 2007-12-26 13:46:04
I think a C*O*D*E*W*O*R*D page is necessary, since you bring it up. These words put an end to meaningful conversation - and "naive" is one of the biggies. It usually means, as you say, "I can't win this, so I'm just going to write off anything you say." Boring boring boring!!!! I forgot to mention the real winner in that debate - "Debasement of a currency is not necessarily a bad thing." I just stared at her. I was going to ask how she came to that delightful conclusion but thought better of it and just got myself another whiskey instead. I prefer not to beat dead horses, or slop around in dead brains, either.
I like it better the way my old friend Josh used to put it. I always knew when I'd won an argument when he sighed and said, "Well, you're just an a**hole anyway." It was so much more honest. :)
Luckily, the rest of my time is filled with really balsy, intelligent women. Phew. Keep on typing, babe. You are the FE!!!
Good article. The low thumb count is likely because there is no "Ron Paul" or "poll" in the title, and as a result it's not being widely perused. I'll be surprised if the site doesn't wither away after the campaign.
It would be a better gauge of the readership pulse if a "thumbs down" feature was included. At least then you'd know if you're being read and not liked, or not being read.
The article demonstrates the validity of my own personal view: What you know is important, more so is that you are willing to learn.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2007-12-27 06:54:45
I don't care about thumbs. The free market of ideas should not be a competition. When I started writing here I didn't know it was going to turn into just another Ron Paul Message Board even though I should have known. There are ten thousand of those on the Internet, none of them are worth wading through the drivel to find something of value, in my opinion. I don't read a single one anymore and I quit letting my inbox be filled with them. There about 6 people writing at nolanchart.com whose next article I anxiously await, the rest are all repetitive or just bad. I certainly have not sampled every author or article but I am more likely to read something if it isn't just a repeat of recent headlines with Dr. Paul's name included.
Thanks for your comment.
Jahfre Fire Eater
I hope this site turns into something more valuable after the election, a forum for exchanging diverse perspectives and rationale. Right now, this site isn't of much value at all compared to my expectations.
Recall Remnants Using The Tool - Call To Action, and consider this: It was one of a very, very few useful, helpful articles that the enthusiastic newly converted libertarian/conservative voter may run across while browsing through all the Ron Paul redundancy.
Had that article been entitled; Ron Pauls Mother is a Purple Transvestite, it would probably have been read by ten thousand times more people than it was, and the furtherance of our common libertarian/conservative objectives would likely have been enhanced.
The "competition" factor is irrelevant to my position, and I apologize for being inadequately articulate. It is individuals like yourself who now have within reach the opportunity to help nurture unprecedented growth of Jeffersonian Liberalism. If if requires a little harmless bait and switch to help keep liberty alive, the end would surely justify the means.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2007-12-27 22:49:29
You make a good case. I've always written as a tool for clarifying my own positions, not because I cared if anyone else read what I had to say. Times have changed. I've been living, breathing and writing about this stuff since the early 1990's. My wife and I have been full-time Ron Paul grass roots activists since the day he announced his candidacy. Before that we were spreading the word about the movie America: Freedom to Fascism. We have devoted all our spare time and money running weekend booths, attending GOP meetings, helping meetup groups get started in canvassing activities, etc. Since May we have devoted all but 4 weekends to activism on behalf of Ron Paul. Maybe I'm just tired of his name but certainly not his message. :-)
Next time I'm ready to publish an article I'll think about your comments when its time to give it a title. The trouble being that so much junk out there has Ron Paul in the title...anyway, I will consider your point of view.
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2007 Jahfre Fire Eater, all rights reserved.