Christmas Gifts

Bill Whittle is finally publishing his book, Silent America: Essays from a Democracy at War. I'm glad, because I'll be giving copies to everyone I have on my Christmas list this year.

This tidbit of information was put up last Thursday (while I was incommunicado) so I just found out about it from Bill's most recent post. In that post, Bill echoed sentiments I hold and have written about in this blog. As usual, Bill's artistry with words far exceeds my mere technical skills, so I'll quote him:

I worry about terrorism. I worry about Transnational Progressivism. I worry about the utter moral decline of large parts of Europe. I worry about China. I worry about all these things.

But the only thing I genuinely fear is the cyclical nature of civilization. I fear the consequences of abandoning personal responsibility. I fear the self-hatred and nihilism that grows among the pampered, the narcissistic and the uninformed. These are things to be feared greatly. They have brought down entire civilizations and led to dark ages that have cost this species very dearly. I think we stand at such a point today, and this election -- win or lose -- will not determine the outcome...although it might give us some indication of how sick or healthy we are at this pivotal moment in history.

So prepare yourselves. There is a big fight ahead of us, regardless of who is crowing loud in a few weeks time. Other civilizations have fallen; this one may yet. But none have been armed as we are, and our wonder weapon is not the Carrier Battle Group, the Smart Bomb, or the M1 Abrams. This Civilization is armed with information, with real-time communication, with self-organizing expert systems. And for the first time in history, it has in its quiver the chance to hear from great minds otherwise buried in obscurity, to harness the power of billions of opinions and ideas and little, well-made boxes of competence and expertise; brilliant and commanding voices thrown away with the chaff in preceeding generations. This is a force multiplier to cheer even the most pessimistic.

And civilization will rise or fall on the ability to use these weapons under the shield of our shared values of freedom, opportunity, and just plain courage.

Watch this space.

You can bet your ass I will.

Remember the three legs of the tripod of freedom: The ability to reason, the free exchange of ideas, and the capability and the will to defend that which is yours. Never in our history has the second leg of the tripod been stronger. Let's hope that strength also strengthens the other two, and can help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

Because "the worst thing about living in the declining era of a great civilization - is knowing that you are." - R.A. Heinlein

Let's make Silent America a runaway best seller.