'The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because He loves what is behind him.' -G. K. Chesterton

19 April 2010

The Totalitarian and the Donut

(bumped per the Six's request)
When I was in high school my social studies teachers taught the political spectrum thusly:
They followed this up with the idea that, though the spectrum was right in a philosophical way, both extremes tended towards violence and totalitarianism. Which meant that, though hard left and hard right were "opposites" they almost met at the extremes by the actions they were willing to take to gain their power. Like this:
That was all fine and dandy for me for a while. But I started to question this idea when the Nazi party came to topic. Cause, you know, Nazis are hard right. Right? I had been taught that in school for years. But the more I learned, the more I thought, the more I began to see the truth: if the Nazis were hard right then I was bright purple. Communists, you see, want Socialism to gain control over the whole world, whereas the Nazis and the Fascists wanted socialist control of just one nation at a time. International versus National.

Sigh.

But lets move on, shall we?

My problems progressed from there when I tried to figure out how one got from the idea of smaller government and personal responsibility to a totalitarian government bent on the subjugation of a nation. What my teachers were talking about didn't fit the entirety of the spectrum, because they were really only talking about the center, "normal", folks that fell on one side or the other of center.
On day it hit me, it wasn't a line at all!! It was a circle, but instead of the center being on the circle the center was in the middle!

Er... Let me explain.

A donut:

The "normal" folks are the donut hole:
We all know that donuts are bad for us. White flour, white sugar, transfats, it's enough to make you fat, give you diabetes, lead to a heart attack and kill you!

Oh, but it tastes so good! Only will power and the desire to do the right thing keeps us from eating our body weight in donuts. Or, maybe that's just me.

*Sniff*

This donut hole is the visual representation of those that fall into what we mean when we talk about "right" and "left".

So, what happens when you start to move out of the donut hole?
(I don't know what Turtleism is, but I'm working on it. I'm thinking it'll be federal mandates that since speed is dangerous you can only move at 1/5th your normal speed and you can eat nothing but lettuce. Cause, you know, everything else is bad for you.)

All jesting aside, the point is that when you leave the center it doesn't matter which side of the donut hole you started on, you are heading towards the Totalitarian edge. Imagine eating the donut from the center out. A few bites at a time alarms a few, but not everyone. Soon the donut hole is simply bigger and no one can remember it being it's original size. As the next generation takes a few more bites from the center, again, a few are concerned but not everyone. Eventually the people themselves will allow a government to eat the entire donut, plunging their world into a totalitarian government one sweet bite at a time.

But how do we know where the original center is? If people can change it isn't it then an arbitrary line? For a government to work well, no, it must be a steady and well understood line. A line, where if someone takes a bite, there is an entire nation at the ready to call that person to task. We need some sort of written document to define the line...


The Constitution is our brick wall, it defines what is normal and what is not. The Constitution allows us to see those that are stealing our donut from us, one bite at a time. The Constitution is not a "living document", changeable at a whim, but a document of well defined limits and rules. Break them and suffer. The last 100 years has seen a redefining of the Constitution, a complete lack of willingness to abide by and protect it.

Shame on us.

Those currently in power believe that so long as they dole out bits of the donut to the people that they will be content. So long as they get their bit they will allow the lines to be redrawn.

We can no longer allow the donut to be eaten on our watch.

We can no longer allow others to change the game in blatant disregard to the law of our land, defined by our Constitution.

We must defend the Constitution.

We must defend the Donut!

-The DO

11 comments:

Six said...

Mmmmmm. Donuts.
Brilliant as always DO.

Six said...

Hey, can you bump this back to the top of the page? I want it to be ahead of Sunday Kipling but I don't know how to do that.

Cond0010 said...

I remember being taught the same thing, Sew Bee. I was never able to reconcile the whole model and i was constantly trying to work the model that was given so that it would be a clear and concise foundation where I could get a clear picture of the political spectrum.

I like your donut. It takes the given rules that you (and I) were given and trys to hammer it into something that is comprehensible.

Last summer, I came across a model that cleared things up entirely with merely one small modification. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODJfwa9XKZQ

It is amazing how one Big Lie (to make the Right-wingers look like Fascists) carefully placed during our educationally tender years can distort your world view.

When I first saw that video, I was astonished. Then I felt betrayed - betrayed by the very educational system that taught me.

I hope you liked the video.

Six said...

Cond that's a great video. Thanks for the input and the link.

Cond0010 said...

Sew Bee,

this video is better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4r0VUybeXY

It is also 3 minutes longer and fits the political crisis we are facing today.

Cond0010 said...

Thanks Six.

nanc said...

okay - so I just got sick looking at the sprinkles - where does that place me in the spectrum of things?

The DO said...

Condoo1o, that's a great video. Have to remember that one. And it's the reason I went with a circular image as there truly is no spectrum. There is the middle and there is the total control, the all controlling government. You are either in the middle or you are heading to the edge!

And nanc, honestly I'd line on nothing but donuts if I could. Just call me Homerette!

Cond0011 said...

mmmm... Donuts....

Thanks Sew Bee it. :)

Sarge said...

That is a wonderful explaination, Sew Bee It. See even an old sheep dog can learn. Though the donut is a good teaching tool, it does make me, also to want to eat my body weight in them. Thank you for teaching this old sheep dog new tricks. Please please keep it up you are spot on.

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The DO said...

Thanks for the encouragement Gramps:) Love you!