By Guest Columnist, Michael Ceremello – December 18, 2019

I find it interesting how individuals lock into a certain viewpoint and give up their open minds not only to defend their stances but refuse to accept new information provisionally defeating their opinions.

I learned at least one important thing studying geology at the University of No Respect and that was even professors, learned men by most plebian standards, were proven wrong in their defense of the theories of their time.

How many of “common folk”, especially the “big fish in the small pond”, are also susceptible to this malady?  Considering elected officials or governmental bureaucrats, they all are just one more example of those “in the way” of those who could achieve far superior results.

“Do you know the hallmark of a second rater? It’s resentment of another man’s achievement. Those touchy mediocrities who sit trembling lest someone’s work prove greater than their own – they have no inkling of the loneliness that comes when you reach the top. The loneliness for an equal – for a mind to respect and an achievement to admire. They bare their teeth at you from out of their rat holes, thinking that you take pleasure in letting your brilliance dim them – while you’d give a year of your life to see a flicker of talent anywhere among them. They envy achievement, and their dream of greatness is a world where all men have become their acknowledged inferiors. They don’t know that that dream is the infallible proof of mediocrity, because that sort of world is what the man of achievement would not be able to bear. They have no way of knowing what he feels when surrounded by inferiors – hatred? no, not hatred, but boredom – the terrible, hopeless, draining, paralyzing boredom. Of what account are praise and adulation from men whom you don’t respect? Have you ever felt the longing for someone you could admire? For something, not to look down at, but up to?”

Now I know that quote goes far over the heads of most of you so let me spell it out in simpler terms.  The “second rater” is the incompetent inferior who blocks others from achieving because he or she is afraid of being exposed.  Rather than pushing others ahead to succeed, that person stands in the way of others, counting on regulations or rules to prevent stellar performance.

I acquired two movies with quite different ways of handling these types of people.  Law Abiding Citizen, starring Gerard Butler, gives the term “going postal” a whole new paradigm.  The trilogy, Atlas Shrugged, uses Ayn Rand’s tome as a basis to refute and reject peacefully the statist, Marxist philosophy now threatening this country as well as the world.

To add a little whipped cream topping to this, my friend Abraham comes into the gym wearing a hammer and sickle shirt, the symbol of Russian communism.  Totally rejecting capitalism, while at the same time admitting that it has created useful products he enjoys, Abe also vocalized his hate for Ayn Rand and her John Galt character.  Considering that Galt, or should I say Rand, hated socialism with passion equal and opposite to Abe’s, the reaction was totally reasonable.

Attempting to merge and meld all of this into a coherent moral philosophy is a mental and emotional draining exercise.  Without a comprehensive debate with my friend as to why he would accept an ideology of enslavement, both mental and physical, at this point I can only review facts.

The fact is everywhere true communism has been enforced by governments, the result is the death of their own citizenry.  Perhaps it isn’t communism itself.  Perhaps it is the tyrants at the top which poisons the well.  It may be simpler than that.

Communism’s key and core principle is that everyone works according to their abilities and the products which are produced are distributed on the basis of need.  Take the Pilgrims who first came to America as an example.  Their leader, William Bradford, had this to say, written in the language of his time (as taken from a PBS online site):

“Whille no supply was heard of, neither knew they when they might expecte any. So they begane to thinke how they might raise as much torne [corn] as they could, and obtaine a beter crope then they had done, that they might not still thus languish in miserie. At length, after much debate of things, the Govr (with the advise of the cheefest amongest them) gave way that they should set corve [crops from labor] every man for his owne perticuler, and in that regard trust to them selves; in all other things to goe on in the generall way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcell of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end, only for present use (but made no devission for inheritance), and ranged all boys and youth under some familie. This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more torne was planted then other waise would have bene by any means the Govr or any other could use, and saved him a great deall of trouble, and gave farr better contente. The women now wente willingly into the feild, and tooke their litle-ons with them to set torne, which before would aledg weaknes, and inabilitie; whom to have compelled would have bene thought great tiranie and oppression.

“The experience that was had in this commone course and condition, tried sundrie years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanitie of that conceite of Platos and other ancients, applauded by some of later times; -that the taking away of propertie, and bringing in communitie into a comone wealth, would make them happy and florishing; as if they were wiser then God. For this comunitie (so farr as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much imployment that would have been to their benefite and comforte. For the yong-men that were most able and fitte for labour and servise did repine that they should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens wives and children, with out any recompence. The strong, or man of parts, had no more in devission of victails and cloaths, then he that was weake and not able to doe a quarter the other could; this was thought injuestice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalised in labours, and victails, cloaths, etc., with the meaner and yonger sorte, thought it some indignite and disrespect unto them. And for mens wives to be commanded to doe servise for other men, as dresing their meate, washing their cloaths, etc., they deemd it a kind of slaverie, neither could many husbands well brooke it. Upon the poynte all being to have alike, and all to doe alike, they thought them selves in the like condition, and ove as good as another; and so, if it did not cut of those relations that God hath set amongest men, yet it did at least much diminish and take of the mutuall respects that should be preserved amongst them. And would have bene worse if they had been men of another condition. Let pone objecte this is mens corruption, and nothing to the course it selfe. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in his wisdome saw another course fiter for them.”

So communism, or communalism as a more euphemistic term, was attempted long before Marx and Engels.  “Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it.”  Evidently with far more deadly consequences.

Abe’s argument to the contrary was that the capitalist system also results in men’s death because those who fail to produce are left to die on their own.  The facts are starving your own people, such as in North Korea, to divert finances and resources to the military or just out and out assassination such as in Pol Pot’s Cambodia is quite different than man being left to make it on his own with diverse opportunities to succeed.

At this point in time our own country is flirting with the insane, namely Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and wannabes like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, representing the communist party and their anti-American philosophies such as removing your Second Amendment rights.  I just heard that the governor of Virginia is going to attempt to forcefully take away guns in his State.  Isn’t he the same idiot who justifies post birth abortion, “leaving it to the mother and her doctor”?

The response has been at the county level, where sheriffs are forming their own militias.  As creatures of the State, how can counties legally fight the governor?

Ever hear of that nasty old Constitution which you took a vow to defend and protect? …