THE DARK SIDE OF KNOWLEDGE, REDUX

The Dark Side of Knowledge, Redux

I hope that you have had a chance to read my previous offering entitled “The Dark Side of Knowledge”, posted on 3/13/20009, where the misuse of knowledge for nefarious, and often times destructive purposes, was examined in detail. Upon much reflection, I believe that this subject deserves even greater examination because it’s importance in the affairs of civilized mankind cannot be overstated. In particular, it has occurred to me that throughout the history of civilization the most egregious harm done to man and country alike has most likely occurred whenever the intelligentsia has obtained the reins of political power. Of course, when we speak of the “Intelligentsia” in the political arena, we mean those intellectuals who have come together as an elite group for political or ideological purposes. You have a textbook example of an intelligentsia coming into political power today within the current administration of Barack Hussein Obama. Now just as it is incorrect to say that all Italians are great tenor singers just because most of the greatest tenors are Italians, it is also incorrect to say that all political intellectuals are autocrats just because throughout history most of the worst despots were intellectuals. To prove the point, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill and William F. Buckley were all worthy intellectuals who never used their obtained knowledge for tyrannical purposes. Why some intellectuals become part of a political intelligentsia that uses their superior knowledge to rule over their fellow man has always been a phenomenon worthy of serious investigation. I say that because you would think that those who have been privileged by their intellect to obtain far more knowledge than their fellow man would by the strength of their intellect be humbled, not emboldened, by the experience. So why do some intellectuals gather together into an elite group in order to impose their will upon others? I’m sure that the answer must lie somewhere between psychobabble and common sense but I’m also sure that if we knew the answer it would provide little practical benefit for us working stiffs trying to elect worthy leaders for our Republic. It certainly didn’t work out very well for the last election cycle, did it? But of course there is this old saw about “knowledge is power” and whether one is a dumb butt or an Einstein, power is a mistress all want to be intimate with. We all want power for many reasons and not all of the reasons for wanting power are for evil or selfish purposes. So I believe that the intelligentsia in charge today within our Government is not necessarily an evil or tyrannical group of intellectuals just because they are busy obtaining power in order to effect complete control over their fellow citizens. Rather, I believe that the cabal intellectuals are intoxicated with a shared abundance of knowledge that promotes an imperial benevolence towards their, less endowed with the benefit of superior knowledge, fellow man. The imperial benevolence I speak of is a result of a communal intellectual conviction that the less endowed citizens need guidance toward a more utopian society, for the good of all, of course. Therein lies the problem. Free American citizens really don’t guide very well, that is, free people are hard to herd so it takes a great deal of power to herd them towards a place they don’t want to go. The other problem for the intelligentsia is that the American form of Government accommodates the nature of man thereby enabling the very freedom that the intelligentsia must somehow overcome with the application of power. And now we come to the Voila moment. The intelligentsia must somehow change the American form of government that enables personal freedom into a form of government that promotes the application of power and restricts personal freedom in order that government will have necessary central control to direct society, as the intelligentsia requires. The changing of American government is now in full swing as the current intelligentsia is replacing free enterprise with central government control in all aspects of American society with regulations, executive directives, and the like, without bothering with Constitutional requirements. Voila, socialism. Socialist type of governance is the model for power politics because socialistic ideals must always try to change the nature of man by the application of power in order to accommodate the lofty ideals of utopian society that Socialism always promises. Because the nature of man is a free man, if you try to change the nature of man then you will not have a free man. This is why knowledge intoxicated intellectuals are always drawn to Socialism because Socialism is the tried and proven way to obtain and exercise the power necessary to impose their will upon their fellow citizens. Say goodbye to personal freedom. So whenever you head towards the election booth to mark your ballot, don’t forget that the American form of Government is a citizen government and not for the professional intellectuals that always make up a tyrannical Intelligentsia. I’m just saying.