The black hole of evil at the center of the liberal universe
Liberalism has given itself many different names over the years. The American Left and its political vehicle, the Democrat Party, are most accurately described as collectivists. The belief that unites the various factions within the party is their determination to accumulate power in the central government, which they believe is morally and intellectually superior to individual citizens and free enterprise. To accommodate this philosophy, they must break faith with the Founders’ devout belief in individual rights, which are not merely granted by the State, but which transcend it…rights every citizen is born with, which the State must respect.
The meme floated by the Left over the past few days, that Kopechne’s death was a reasonable price to pay for Ted Kennedy’s wonderful political career, is a brutally candid expression of the principle that even an individual’s right to live is negotiable – a commodity to be measured against the “needs of the many,” which the Left believes were far better served by Kennedy’s politics than Kopechne’s insignificant little life. The striking thing about the two most infamous expressions of this opinion, by Melissa Lafsky and Joyce Carol Oates, is how breezy they are. They don’t caution the reader to brace himself for an outrageous, controversial assertion, which the author plans to defend. Both Lafsky and Oates are rather wistful in tone. They don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t think Kopechne’s life for Kennedy’s legislative agenda was a sweet trade, the deal of the century for America. As Mark Steyn puts it, the Left doesn’t see why we should dwell on the bit players in the epic saga of Ted Kennedy’s life.
The attempt to dismiss Kopechne’s death as a down payment on Kennedy’s mountain of legislation is not merely an act of political convenience, a smokescreen blown by Democrats eager to paint Kennedy into the “Last Supper” of liberal apostles, with oils of their choosing. The Left is speaking from the dark heart of collectivism, a belief system that will collapse if it acknowledges any area in which the rights of an individual absolutely trump the needs of the State.
A truly wise society should work forward, from the inherent rights of the individual, to fair and just laws that respect those rights. Collectivism works backward, from a desired outcome to the elaborate political theories necessary to justify it…and like any other massive vehicle being driven in reverse, it sometimes runs people down.
Or drives them off bridges and leaves them to suffocate.
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What I'm trying to say is, what if Mary Jo Kopechne hadn't been there that night? What if it was some other woman who died in the same manner?
Do you think Kopechne would have been filled with outrage upon hearing the news? Or do you think she would side with all the other leftists?