A nice surprise.
I have heard many names over the years that are familiar to me now but about whom I’ve had little knowledge. It was a treat to learn more about the author of The Creature from Jekyll Island.
A Fellow Traveller.
Wise words of G. Edward Griffin were spoken at last night’s Civis4Reform Zoom meeting through the voice of Guido, a recent newcomer. Those words resonate with the thoughts and feelings of the growing number of Canadians. Like many of the ~45 people who attended that meeting, citizens across our nation are finding their voices to speak out against unwanted forces which they had blissfully ignored until only recently.
Wikipedia: “George Edward Griffin (born November 7, 1931) is an American author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. Griffin's writings promote a number of right-wing views and conspiracy theories regarding political, defense and health care.” Whoever wrote that entry was certainly no fellow traveller of his subject where ideology is concerned.
I don’t know who influenced Griffin, but I suspect that Libertarian thinkers and writers such as Ayn Rand may have been among them, given the nature of his expressed views below.
In the words of G. Edward Griffin.
“PROPER ROLE OF THE STATE
I believe that the proper role of the state is negative, not positive; defensive, not aggressive. It is to protect, not to provide; for if the state is granted the power to provide for some, it must also be able to take from others, and that always leads to legalized plunder and loss of freedom. If the state can give us everything we want, it also must be powerful enough to take from us everything we have. Therefore, the proper function of the state is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens, nothing more. That state is best which governs least.”
“To oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism.”
“Collectivism and freedom are mortal enemies. Only one will survive”
“Error is better than apathy. Error can be corrected in time to change the outcome. Apathy is seldom corrected until it is too late.”
FROM: The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
“Knowledge by itself is not power, but it holds the potential for power if we use it as a guide for action. Truth will always be defeated by tyranny unless the people are willing to step forward and put their lives into the battle. The future belongs, not to ideas, but to people who act on those ideas.”
“The new business model for America is clearly recognizable. Its dominant feature is the merger of government, real estate, and commerce into a single structure, tightly controlled at the top. It is the same model used in Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Communist China.”
“This, of course, is a classic example of the failure of liberal economics. When evaluating a policy, it focuses only on one beneficial consequence for one group of people and ignores the multitude of harmful effects which befall all other groups.”
“People who will not turn a shovel full of dirt on the project nor contribute a pound of materials will collect more money...than will the people who will supply all the materials and do all the work.”
“So they demonstrate in the streets in protest, they riot in the commercial sections of town so they can steal goods from stores, and they throng to the banner of politicians who promise to restore or increase their benefits.”,
Sound Familiar?
Griffin, now in his 90s, has lived long enough to shape a Life Lens of great wisdom and value. My mother-in-law, Dorothy, who lives with my wife and I, is also approaching 92.
Dorothy holds a perspective on the years since the Great Depression that is very different than Griffen’s.
As a man, he was expected to provide for and protect his family; her’s was to feed, care for and comfort her family.
Fortunately, Dorothy has written a book about her life which adds much to my appreciation of the time-swept tapestry of the past 91 years. Her book has many photos and focuses on her relationships, family and her love of music and nature.
The two documented perspectives of Edward and Dorothy, in combination, offer a rich snapshot of the cultural and economic circumstances that also shaped the Life Lens of hundreds of millions of people over several generations.
My own mom and dad would be 98 and 97 respectively today if they were still alive. As I look at the pictures of their past (dad was a WW2 veteran and mom a lover of music in the Big Band era; both from parents with five children), the words of Edward and Dorothy inspire new thoughts and feelings about my own roots too.