There are those who assert that revolution has swept the United States. That is not true. But there are some who are trying to bring it about. At least they are following the vocal technique which has led elsewhere to the tragedy of Liberty. Their slogans; their promise of Utopia; their denunciation of individual wickednesses as if these were the wards of Liberty; their misrepresentation of deep-seated causes; their will to destruction of confidence and consequent disorganization in order to justify action; their stirring of class feeling and hatred; their will to clip and atrophy the legislative arm; their resentment of critic; their chatter of boycott, of threat and of force—all are typical enough of the methods of more violent action.
— Herbert Hoover, “The Challenge to Liberty”
In 1935, Herbert Hoover’s book was published with this prescient comment. I was unnerved to read how accurately it described the current state of our country as we watch the “tragedy of Liberty” unfold. Mostly I was disturbed at how little we seem to learn from the disruptions in our society — that is, the right hasn’t learned how fragile liberty is, how it needs to be tended to, defended, and celebrated, or doesn’t seem to care about the obvious lessons; the left has learned apparently that all it needs to do is persist, and except for occasional setbacks, it continues to “progress.”
With the election of President Joe Biden, however, the left may have overplayed its hand. One after another, disasters in policy, action (or lack of action), confusion, authoritarian mandates, and other missteps have ensured that the left may not be successful. But the right can’t be complacent, hoping present circumstances will fade away and a better future will appear. If we don’t take advantage of the disorganization and mistakes of the left, this time could be our last opportunity to resurrect liberty.
Hat tip to @philo for recommending this wise and educational book.
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