Advance Individualism in the New Year!

On this, the final day of 2007, it is good to reflect on the year that has passed. Learn from the mistakes and savor the accomplishments. I think it is better to “lean forward in the foxhole” and project what needs to be done in the coming year. This is a good opportunity to hit the metaphorical reset button, regain ideological foundations and focus on goals and milestones for 2008.

This will be a big year, not only because of the Presidential Elections but because we are at a critical point in our Long War against the Islamic Jihadists. We have seen how not taking this war seriously can create large setbacks. We saw the effects of a less than full effort in Iraq juxtaposed with what happens when determined leadership and adequate force is applied to defeat Islamic Jihadists in Iraq. I hope the same mistakes are not allowed to create setbacks in Afghanistan and now Pakistan before we take appropriate action with appropriate force. As my Brigade Commander used to say, “Hope is not a method.” Only consistent action and force will defeat an enemy.

Let us be clear, this IS a world war. I have said since 2001 that we need to fight this war “World War 2 Style”, which means fighting a total war to defeat Jihadist forces world wide with all the brutal kinetic efficiency the United States can muster. Fighting brutally and aggressively will continue the deterrence that we have enjoyed since World War 2 but are now losing. By fighting from the beginning in a somewhat “half-assed” manner we have put our troops and even our homeland at greater risk.

So called Progressives are fond of looking for “root causes” to social and global problems. In the case of most challenges we face in the world and at home today, the root cause is Collectivism. Collectivism is the ideology that the rights of the group or the state supersede the rights of the Individual. Even though Collectivism should have been relegated to the dustbin of history after its demonstrable historical failure culminating in the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is making a resurgence in countries like the United States which were founded on individual rights.

Islamic Jihadists, Communists, Fascists, Socialists and Progressives are all Collectivists in that they all want to subordinate individual liberty to advance the power and influence of The Group or The State. All of the Collectivists listed above want to limit or eliminate freedom of choice for individuals and replace it by what they bill as freedom from choice. As demonstrated by past performance, Collectivists do not think that individuals can be trusted with their own property. Virtually every case of oppression or corruption can be seen at its root to be groups or governments inflicting Collectivism upon individuals through force or threatened force.

As a resolution for the New Year I will re-double my efforts to advance Individualism by criticizing, cajoling and lampooning Collectivism in all its forms. I don’t think it a stretch to be confident that my fellow Conservabloggers will commit to the same.