Some Ideas are Toxic… The Constitution is the Antidote

Ideas are ubiquitous; even those afflicted with dullness of mind still experience the soaring joy of a "light-bulb" moment every now and then. What is also true of ideas, is that not all are equal.

Some are true breakthroughs while others are blind alleys, or worse...deadly traps.

The American experiment found great success due to its treatment of ideas, whether new, or imported through waves of immigration; all ideas passed through the winnowing filter of individual, Constitutional liberty.

Ideas that contravened this precept were summarily rejected. Ideas that passed were then given scrutiny by the people themselves, who determined, through tens of millions of independent, daily decisions, whether or not the idea would ultimately be woven into our national fabric, or dismissed as "sounding good in principle, but failing in practice."

In this fashion the United States accomplished what no other nation in history had ever done; they assimilated new populations; adopted the best of their cultures and mores while also disabusing the newly arrived of the wrong-headed notions that had ruined the nations from which they emigrated.

The overarching rubric of individual liberty (as recognized in our Constitution as inherent in human existence, not granted by government) provided a bulwark against the toxic ideas many immigrants held closely, having been steeped in and raised with such in their home countries.

New immigrants were quarantined to protect the US population against physical diseases, many for which we had little natural immunity. But more importantly, our Constitution did the same, inoculating our national intellect and identity against ideas poisonous to individual rights and freedom.

Monarchy, Anarchy, Socialism, Communism, Feudal systems, Caste systems, Class systems... all rejected, despite being deeply held precepts among the newly arrived populations.

In the first century and a half following the revolutionary War, advocating for these toxicities of human order was forbidden. We knew the truth of these error-ridden ideologies, (in most cases firsthand, having fled from them) and fully knew the inevitable outcome should we permit them to gain traction here. Once you know the properties of a poison, you no longer need to test its potency or measure its effects. Lesson learned. Don’t take the poison.

However, the Left found this socio-political construct precluded effective organizing, making for a difficult slog for those who wished to import/implant their collectivist wet dreams into our wealthy and free nation.

"Who are we to judge?" became their mantra.

A direct outgrowth of this strategy is what became the multi-cultural movement, where the central tenet holds that ALL aspects of a foreign culture are equally valid to our own; after all, "who are we to judge?"

Discernment displaced by permissiveness. Wisdom supplanted by nonsense, in the name of equality.

Well, all ideas are not equal. Indeed some are just plain shit. While there are elements of Islamic culture worthy of emulation, on balance, the entirety is just another tired excuse for subjugation. Its adherents are held to an impossible standard of conduct, then punished for failing.

And, as is the hallmark of all totalitarian constructs, the punishments inflicted conveniently further the aims of the punishers, while offering nothing to the victim aside from a cessation of punishment - for the time being.

Caste systems, Class systems - both have functional benefit within a corporate or military structure but create unimaginable suffering and suffocate innovation when used to organize society or government.

Collectivism, while useful as an organizing principle for voluntary service organizations, is a prescription for unrelenting oppression when employed as a governing principle, but, who are we to judge?

We are Americans, who have created the highest standard of living for the greatest number of people, ever seen on this earth.

We are Americans, who have rescued the planet from totalitarian oppression again and again.

We are Americans, who have elevated the personal existence of more individuals around the globe than any other influence, save God Himself.

We've earned the right to judge what is grain and what is chaff.

I will not apologize for knowing a better way, nor will I pretend inferior ideas deserve equal respect.

It’s time we left the poison alone.