On the nonsense of neo-Confederate romanticism on the right

Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit has a good post on the weirdness of some libertarians embracing the neo-Confederate movement. I have to say that I completely agree with Reynolds on this. I just don't understood how anyone on the right-ward side of the political spectrum -- either conservatives or libertarians -- could defend or pine for the Confederacy.

My thinking on this is due, in no small part, to historian William Davis's book Look Away: A History of the Confederate States of America. As Davis demonstrates, the CSA was dominated by aristocacy, hostile to democracy, committed to chattel slavery & the repugnant doctrine of white supremacy, intolerant of dissent -- in other words, committed to oligarichal rule. It is beyond me how anyone attached to a political perspective like conservatism, with its commitment to natural law and tradition, or libertarianism, with its commitment to individual liberty and personal choice, could be considered compatible with the statist, revolutionary, unlawful slavocracy that the Confederacy sought to defend.

While it has become distressingly fashionable in some libertarian circles to castigate Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln stands not only as the first Republican president in our nation's history, he is one of the great conservative leaders of the Anglo-American political tradition. It is Lincoln's cause -- the cause of equal liberty under the law within the Union -- that is the conservative cause in our nation's history. It was the cause of Washington, of John Adams, and of the Republican Party of Lincoln's day and of our own day. It was Lincoln who understood the imperative of freedom, of the rule of law, of the simple justice of treating each human being as precisely that: a human being.  It is unfathomable that a conservative or libertarian would want to attack Lincoln. Here are just a few quotes from Lincoln that demonstrate his essentially conservative and freedom-oriented political philosophy:

• "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
• "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
• "I hope to stand firm enough to not go backward, and yet not go forward fast enough to wreck the country's cause."
• "Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."
• "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."
• "Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors."
• "You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."

What's not to like?

Today is Constitution Day

September 17 is recognized as Constitution Day in the United States, in commemoration of the day in 1789 when the framers of the Constitution signed the document and sent it off to be ratified by the States. A fairly recent commemoration, the law recognizing Constitution Day was enacted in 2004, supplementing an earlier holiday known as "Citizenship Day." A great way to commemorate today's holiday would be to sit down and read a copy of the United States Constitution. And a copy of your applicable state constitution. A copy of the Washington State constitution is available here, and for my Idaho readers, a copy of the Idaho constitution is available here. Note the preambles to each state constitution. On what does our liberty rely? We live in a country, which for all its faults, is blessed with a magnificent constitutional order. The endurence of the principle of the rule of law -- one of the signal acheivements of western civilization -- in our nation is due in large part to our federal Constitution and attached Bill of Rights. The Constitution is something to be celebrated. And there is no better way for our people to celebrate it than to read it and understand its principles.

Catholic liturgical patriotism in the early Republic

I've posted an entry on this subject over at the American Creation blog.

Quote of the day by James Madison

"Keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics - that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe.” -- James Madison (1751-1836), American Founding Father and 4th President of the United States.

Should Americans revere the Founders?

David Lindsey over at the American Conservative says no. Read it all for a very interesting take on how modern Christian conservatives should approach our nation's Founders.

Quote of the day on proper government

My political beliefs lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs) – or to 'unconstitutional' Monarchy ... Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).