The Smallest Minority

So...next time someone brings up American misdeeds, perhaps we should ask about the American eugenics program.

Right?

I mean, is it a good thing to engage in involuntary sterilization of people deemed unfit for reproduction?

If not, why not?

And whose big idea was it, anyway?

As with most questions like that, the number one thing is the question: who will decide?

No one likes hate speech. Banning seems like a good idea in the abstract. The problem is that someone gets to decide what hate speech is. That nameless bureaucrat at the brand new "Civility Enforcement Bureau" will be the one writing the regulations. Which is why the idea is doomed to fail, because sooner or later some jerk with an inferiority complex gets his hands on power and shuts down free speech in the name of suppressing hate speech.

That's the message of the book to me. The same theme over and over again is that the Left, from Wilson to FDR to Mussolini and yes, to Hitler, all think that their actions will make the world a better place. The goal of all of these people is to make a better world. The way to the most horrific examples of cruelty and slaughter in human history began with the highest and most noble intentions. The intention, first and foremost, of equality, of the "brotherhood of man". The difference between fascism and Marxism is simply the scope. Lenin saw "humanity" as the proletariat, and everyone else as the eggs with which to make his omelet. Hitler's definition of "humanity" is of course the Aryan German, and everyone else as an obstacle to be crushed.

Call me a cynic, but the more history a read the more I question the whole goal of equality. Now, it should be noted here then when I say equality I mean it in the Marxist definition of the redistribution of wealth. This economic equality is in fact the common goal of all the great evils of the 20th century. Plain old greed and ambition, whether its the Persians at Thermopylae, or the British at Assaye or the Americans at Manila Bay is nothing compared to the bodies heaped by those seeking "social justice".

The same theme over and over again is that the Left, from Wilson to FDR to Mussolini and yes, to Hitler, all think that their actions will make the world a better place. The goal of all of these people is to make a better world. The way to the most horrific examples of cruelty and slaughter in human history began with the highest and most noble intentions.

So, have you seen the film Serenity?

I aim to misbehave.

Deadcenter -- good quote. :)

Kevin -- Hows about making a page of official progressive misdeeds? You know, for handy reference when making just this argument? You have a start. Let's add:

(Okay, these are "Democrat" misdeeds, not definitively "progressive"...)

* Segregation (and defense thereof)

* Racist Gun laws

* "Mainstreaming" American Indian children by taking them away from there families to foster them with white families "for their own good"

I think that last one is my favorite unsung progressive crime. If it had been conservatives it would be as well known as McCarthyism.

(By the way, Kevin -- if you are going to require that commenters give an email address, please don't publish it publicly!)

Stephen:

Nothing is required. If you don't want to publish your email, don't.

FYI -- The software didn't accept my quote until I put in an email address.

...and interestingly... I didn't _enter one for that last comment (or this one). What the hell???

OK, that's bizarre.