François-René Rideau (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} fare) wrote,@ 2005-02-13 14:44:00 |
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| Current mood: | Libertarian |
| Current music: | Brook Benton - The Same One |
| Entry tags: | a posteriori, blogs, dynamism, en, iraq, libertarian, statism |
This is the slightly edited message I sent to Riverbend,
author of the blog Baghdad Burning.
I already knew this collectivist-leaning blog by a young iraqi woman,
but hadn't read it for a long time.
However, it was recently featured by
blogger editors
in a list of recently selected interesting blogs
,
so I decided to have another glance.
Note that this blog was selected in contrast with
many quite different Iraqi blogs such as
Healing Iraq,
or the many Iraqi blogs of all leanings included in its blogroll.
To each his bias.
I just despise people who claim being normal
or moderate
while displaying their bias, just because
they righteously drone with a surrounding mass of same-thinking people,
or they are ready to
compromise on any principle.
I'm not sure if that's the case with the blogger team;
I just hope they realize where their own bias leans,
and I wish they'd put a disclaimer that would advertise this bias more clearly
when announcing so prominently a selection of blogs
on a place meant to be read by such a wide public.
As for me, I know I'm biased when my preferred Iraqi blogs are
Healing Iraq,
The Mesopotamian or
Iraq the Model.
At the end of the post And Life Goes On... in your blog Baghdad Burning you write:
It's about needing someone who wants peace, prosperity, independence and above and beyond all, unity.
Can't you see the contradiction between unity and all the former things? Unity means that everyone is to do the same. This directly contradicts independence. Unity and hence no independence means that everyone will be fighting to know whose opinion will prevail upon all others. This directly contradicts peace. Unity, hence no independence and no peace means that everyone will have to fight or submit to fighters, and won't be able to do the things they know could improve the lives of those they care for. This directly contradicts prosperity.
As long as you put unity before all the former, you're actually supporting the oppression you're suffering from, be it from dictators like Saddam and Khomeini, or from demagogues like those you have in Iraq currently.
[artificial] Unity is based upon the principle of contempt for the human species, and its instrument is despotism. Robespierre was promoting Unity when he was saying:
I made the Republic; I am going to make republicans.Napoleon was promoting Unity when he was saying:I love war, and I will turn all Frenchmen into warriors.Frayssinous was promoting Unity when he was saying:I have a faith, and through Education, I will impose this faith to every mind.Procrustes was promoting Unity when he was saying:Here is a bed: I will cut down or stretch up anyone who doesn't fit its dimensions.
Oh, you'll tell me that you want natural unity,
the kind that results from ultimate consensus of voluntary opinions on truth,
rather than artificial unity,
based on a priori consensus on a particular opinion
imposed by forceful coercion.
Well, natural unity cannot be advanced by force,
either aggressive or defensive.
It cannot be advanced either by imitating other people
or by requesting that they imitate you.
It cannot be achieved by requesting or seeking unity.
It can only be achieved by seeking truth.
And putting unity
forward instead of truth
,
is precisely the opposite of seeking it.
Putting unity
anywhere but in the last position
is justifying violence, and putting it above and beyond all
as you do is justifying totalitarianism.
I wish you peace, prosperity and independence.
And that's why I wish you disunity,
and leaders
who don't care too much for unity.
