I don't put much stock in what Van Jones says. Actually, that's not true. I don't put any stock in what Van Jones says. So it doesn't bother me at all that in a recent speech at a rally in Los Angeles, he said about libertarians:
“They say they’re Patriots but they hate everybody in America who looks like us. They say they love America but they hate the people, the brown folk, the gays, the lesbians, the people with piercings. Ya know: Ya’ll.”
Here's how much Van Jones knows about me: Nothing.
I know a lot about me, and I know this: I don't hate anyone.
The two people I come closest to hating are Eric Dove and my younger brother, John. That's because in the summer of 1979, in an American Legion baseball game, I was four outs away from pitching a perfect game when Dove muffed an easy play at first base. So much for the perfect game. Then, the opposing coach, his team trailing 4-0, called a hit-and-freakin'-run (which reminds me, I very nearly hate the opposing coach, too). My brother, who was playing second base for the first time in a long while, broke to cover the bag way too soon, and the batter rolled a lazy grounder right past where my brother should have been. So much for the no-hitter. Those would be the only two baserunners that day. Thanks, guys.
If I can refrain from hating Eric Dove and my brother, I can refrain from hating anyone.
But I seriously digress.
I have no idea what Van Jones is talking about. Then again, neither does he. I know a lot of people who consider themselves libertarians, and they are among the most caring, generous, honorable, charitable people I have ever known. I am pretty sure they don't hate anyone.
Collectivists like Jones do not understand that libertarians see individuals, not groups or classes. As libertarians say: Individuals are the ultimate minority.
Jones can't possibly know what is in my heart, yet he would presume to declare passionately that he does. Word to Jones: As the police captain says to Nick Nolte's character in 48 Hours, "Just because you say it with conviction, it don't mean $#!+ to me!"
But Jones is not alone, of course, in being tragically wrong about others. Probably all of us at one time or another have judged others on what they think, or worse, what we think they think, rather than what they do. I have definitely been guilty of that.
If someone is honorable and charitable, rescues homeless animals, escorts the elderly across the street, volunteers with kids, and generally plays well with others, who am I to judge that person for being a Keynesian, or a Commie, or whatever? And if I do those things, who is anyone to judge me for, say, being a libertarian?
Word to libertarians and conservatives: Some of the people I admire most are hard-core lefties. They think what they think. Fine. But they do some really good things, and for those good things, I admire them and applaud them.
I got an email a while ago from someone I haven't spoken to in thirty years. He had seen a posting of mine in which I said one of my favorite quotes is, "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it ..."
His bizarre response: "You scare me."
Really? I haven't committed an act of aggression since fourth grade (sorry about putting the tack on your chair in music class, Linda L.), but the president my long-lost friend supports has attacked several countries that did not attack us and pose no threat to us, killing untold numbers of innocent civilians. And I scare this guy? Give me a break.
If we are going to judge others on their political philosophies, or any philosophies for that matter, instead of on their actions, we may as well give up now and admit that those who have been dividing us all these years have indeed finally conquered us.
“They say they’re Patriots but they hate everybody in America who looks like us. They say they love America but they hate the people, the brown folk, the gays, the lesbians, the people with piercings. Ya know: Ya’ll.”
Here's how much Van Jones knows about me: Nothing.
I know a lot about me, and I know this: I don't hate anyone.
The two people I come closest to hating are Eric Dove and my younger brother, John. That's because in the summer of 1979, in an American Legion baseball game, I was four outs away from pitching a perfect game when Dove muffed an easy play at first base. So much for the perfect game. Then, the opposing coach, his team trailing 4-0, called a hit-and-freakin'-run (which reminds me, I very nearly hate the opposing coach, too). My brother, who was playing second base for the first time in a long while, broke to cover the bag way too soon, and the batter rolled a lazy grounder right past where my brother should have been. So much for the no-hitter. Those would be the only two baserunners that day. Thanks, guys.
If I can refrain from hating Eric Dove and my brother, I can refrain from hating anyone.
But I seriously digress.
I have no idea what Van Jones is talking about. Then again, neither does he. I know a lot of people who consider themselves libertarians, and they are among the most caring, generous, honorable, charitable people I have ever known. I am pretty sure they don't hate anyone.
Collectivists like Jones do not understand that libertarians see individuals, not groups or classes. As libertarians say: Individuals are the ultimate minority.
Jones can't possibly know what is in my heart, yet he would presume to declare passionately that he does. Word to Jones: As the police captain says to Nick Nolte's character in 48 Hours, "Just because you say it with conviction, it don't mean $#!+ to me!"
But Jones is not alone, of course, in being tragically wrong about others. Probably all of us at one time or another have judged others on what they think, or worse, what we think they think, rather than what they do. I have definitely been guilty of that.
If someone is honorable and charitable, rescues homeless animals, escorts the elderly across the street, volunteers with kids, and generally plays well with others, who am I to judge that person for being a Keynesian, or a Commie, or whatever? And if I do those things, who is anyone to judge me for, say, being a libertarian?
Word to libertarians and conservatives: Some of the people I admire most are hard-core lefties. They think what they think. Fine. But they do some really good things, and for those good things, I admire them and applaud them.
I got an email a while ago from someone I haven't spoken to in thirty years. He had seen a posting of mine in which I said one of my favorite quotes is, "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it ..."
His bizarre response: "You scare me."
Really? I haven't committed an act of aggression since fourth grade (sorry about putting the tack on your chair in music class, Linda L.), but the president my long-lost friend supports has attacked several countries that did not attack us and pose no threat to us, killing untold numbers of innocent civilians. And I scare this guy? Give me a break.
If we are going to judge others on their political philosophies, or any philosophies for that matter, instead of on their actions, we may as well give up now and admit that those who have been dividing us all these years have indeed finally conquered us.