And the Rage Within me Spoke
The Last Crusade, which, as of the time of this writing consists of myself and eight others, has already received criticism for being insufficiently pacifist.
I assume such criticism is not meant to be taken seriously. It came from the Left, of course. Leftists do not remain silent when they have nothing to say. If a Leftist stoops and finds no stone to throw at a nun or a cripple, he will throw a handful of grass.
By no coincidence, I received this letter from a reader named Don Cicchetti , which perhaps can explain whence some of us discover in ourselves a warlike spirit, even if the current phase of the war is spiritual, not physical.
I found it moving, and I trust you will as well.
Read your piece “Point Deer, Make Horse” and really enjoyed it. A level of lucidity not often seen in our world.
Let me tell you a story.
Went to the Holocaust Museum here in Los Angeles. Have you seen it? You are given a picture card of a Jew from that era, but you would not know if they lived or died until you got through the exhibit. The exhibit consisted of dioramas of pre-war Jewish neighborhoods with period music playing, as they told the story of these lost places. As you would advance through the exhibit, things got grimmer, and then you ended up in a camp. And then in a gas chamber, where they locked you in and played the sound of gas being pumped in. But by the time I got out of the “gas chamber”, I did not feel sorrow, nor sympathy, but a black rage that almost cannot be described.
Just then a wizened little old man with a number on his forearm came out to speak to us. He asked several us about our experience and then asked the following:
“Do you think this could happen again?”
Yes, said almost everyone.
“Do you think it could happen in America?”
Yes, answered almost everyone. I was shaking my head “no” and I noticed another man was too.
The old Jew pointed at me and asked me “Why do you think this could not happen here?”
And the rage within me spoke:
Because I will rise up with my rifle and take the life of anyone who tries such a thing here…
I was expecting a stern lecture on non-violence, “love” and such, and instead, appearing to lose 40 years, standing on his tiptoes, he shouted:
“If this does not happen here, THAT IS THE REASON WHY!” While pointing at me…
It was a transformative moment for me. I am certainly not the reason a holocaust does not happen here, but the collective spirit of the Minutemen certainly is.
I think I lost the last of my sympathy for the Left that day.
Thanks for what you do.
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A note to holocaust deniers: resist the temptation to mock the dead on my blog, please. You are subject to deletion and banning without warning.
Those of you who express weariness hearing of the suffering of the Jews, or who wish they would suffer more, or suffer in silence, keep your bile to yourself. Having a dead conscience is nothing to brag about.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
