Other than paying lip-service to such high-falutin' concepts as individual
liberty and (aw shucks) just plain ole common sense, I am at a loss to understand
why a speech by Heston could be important to extropians. As is typical of
right-wing pundits, he is once more engaging in the type of empty (but, by gosh,
emotionally stirring) rhetoric and most-extreme-example finger-pointing that is
so typical of the status quo keepers. Sure, I'm for individual liberty like old
Chuck. Sure, I think some people on the left sometimes react in extreme and
ridiculous ways to imagined (or at least exaggerated) slights (as do people of
all political persuasions). But do I really need to dissect his speech
point-by-point in order to show where sincere concern ends and (rather lame)
propagandizing begins? (Because I will.)
C'mon, Max. I'm all for individual liberty and an end to ridiculousness, but
Chuck Heston? Rush Limbaugh? They're reactionary gatekeepers in libertarian (I'm
using the term generically here) clothing, exemplars of the old order who have
appropriated tricks from their (sometimes imagined) opponents and turned them
back on them (often badly). Just because Heston's speech is a good speech (and it
is) doesn't make it important. (I mean, Clinton delivered some damn fine speeches
and look where that ended up.)
just my 2 cents,
Neal Blaikie
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