restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Neocons Versus States Rights
Many Americans who consider themselves conservatives are actually anti-constitutional neoconservatives. Heres what I mean.
Neocons not only enjoy attacking the left, they fear paleoconservatives and, in particular, all things Southern. Like their arch-hero Lincoln, they believe in an American Empire and in unquestioned allegiance to the imperial presidency. The empire they envision cannot tolerate any thought of States Rights or regional cultural identity, that is to say anything that might question the legitimacy of a central government that tends to snub its collective nose at traditional cultural values. Civis Americanus Sum (and you will become one, too, even if I have to use a bayonet on you) is the proud boast of these neo-imperialists.
Referring to the neocons hang-up over regionalism (especially their love-hate relationship with Southerners), Jimmy Cantrell recently noted, Neocons love the fact that Southerners are naturally opposed to leftist economic claims. They also love the patriotism of Southerners as it expresses itself in military service (ditto for English Imperial Conservatives regarding the Scots and Welsh and Irish Protestants). But neocons are fierce to whip Southerners away from recognizing that their Southern cultural affinities and needs are rarely served, and often warred against, by the Imperial USA (ditto for English Imperial Conservatives regarding Scotland, Wales, and even Protestant Northern Ireland, which is nothing but a creation of empire for empire).
A fair warning, if you ask me.
Neocons embrace multiculturalism and therefore tend to support affirmative action (i.e., racial discrimination) and mass immigrationwitness Bushs compassionate policy toward illegal immigration from Mexico. Paleocons, on the other hand, argue that it is impossible to have a Republic (as originally envisioned by our Founders) and also have an Empire at the same time. They are outspoken in their opposition to an Iraqi invasion because they do not believe you can export democracy at gunpoint. They have this radical notion that the U.S. can hold the torch of liberty high without becoming involved in every military skirmish.
Paleocons believe that in order to restore the Republic, Lincoln must be dethroned (witness the myriad essays published on LewRockwell.com by Tom DiLorenzo, author of The Real Lincoln). They tend to think little of big government with all of its attendant horrors, including an abysmal government education system. They feel that the only hope for a rebirth of freedom in America is to get the federal government completely out of every area where it has made such a mess: health care, education, law enforcement, foreign aid, corporate welfare, farm subsidies, etc. Like Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, they want smaller government, an end to the welfare state, and an end to government intrusions into their lives and businesses. They are insulted by a government that says to the country: You are too immature to care for yourselves, so we in Washington will take care of you. And think for you, too, if need be.
The paleocon movement has a whiff of revolution about it. Paleocons believe that politicians of both parties have sold out the American people. They want to replace Americas arrogant ruling class with citizen legislators. In support of their views, they tend to quote Americans like George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Stonewall Jackson. In short, paleocons dont care much for the bloated, deified federal government. This doesnt make them anarchists. They believe in legitimate authority. What they dont like is having their lives consumed by the state.
Paleocons are quick to point out that all of the great twentieth-century multinational empires have fallen apart (see the excellent essay by Ron Holland). They also note that the Constitution of the United States obligates the federal government to protect the states from foreign invasion, and that our government has failed miserably in this constitutional duty. They ask: If we can send our military halfway around the world to defend the borders of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, why cant we defend the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas?
For paleocons, the neocon movement is the legacy of an anti-democratic revolution the American people endure only because their elected leaders lack the courage to follow the Constitution, whose defense and implementation should be the first order of business of a democratic republic. Paleocons realize that men and women will die for freedom, not for some New World Order created for the greedy global mandarins who endlessly lust after power. Only by a return to States Rights and responsible local government can America be restored to her former greatness.
And saying otherwise will never make it so.
March 3, 2003
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.