Alexander Hamilton Was What?
Written Two Years Ago Today-- (unedited)
Alexander Hamilton Was What?
So, this article in the New York Post (July 8, 2020) caught my attention, since I have been studying the life and work of Hamilton for 38 years. I've read most of the published biographies, researched historical archives, read his Report on Manufacturing, Report on the National Bank, and Report on the Mint. I've taught a class series on his life, work, and political murder at the hands of traitor Aaron Burr. The Federalist Papers of which he is co-author are a constant source of reference for me in fighting to defend the Constitution.
There is some debate now about his stance on slavery, in light of the still raw emotions and ongoing reaction to the racist murder of George Floyd, the protests led by BLM, and others. Hamilton was anti-slavery, and put himself at risk to oppose it. The economic system he designed for the US was designed to wipe it out. Period. If anyone wants to debate me on this, bring it on.
That said, this article in the Murdoch owned New York Post is a microcosm of what is wrong with the way people today think, and what is wrong with the internet generation of mainstream academia and media pundits. They have access to unlimited information, but actually "know" proportionally little.
Whatever one's ideological stance, most people are conditioned to avoid thinking about weighty issues in any serious depth, and instead, short circuit themselves by reaching for a category or label to stick on people, more in order to occupy a personal comfort zone which they would call "my position".
Far too many people, when it comes to politics, have been programmed to assign themselves the identity of a coordinate on a Cartesian plane. Stuck in flat space, moving only laterally, a linear, non-dynamic, incremental blob of fixed opinions, until, something comes along to blow up their personal space in Cartesian purgatory.
So, here we have a perfect example. One of the most dynamic intellectual geniuses in history, who most people know from his picture on their money, and now a Broadway musical, a profoundly complex individual, in a constant state of personal transformation and self-discovery, himself as differentiated as the very nation he helped bring into existence, and today, thanks to the brilliant insight of the New York Post, we learn that "according to historians," whoever TF they are, Hamilton was a "right leaning Democrat". What?
You mean, not a "left leaning Republican"? A "foward looking centrist"? A backward facing leftist"? An outward looking middle-of-the-roader? "Progressive conservative"? "A mainstream right liberal"? How about "pro-immigration conservative?" Liberal white power advocate"? "An extreme moderate"?
Or, how about what he actually was? A "Federalist" whose principles and life's work were diametrically opposite to today's fascist Judges who have hijacked that name.
Ok. Enough. I'm drained. I'm finished making my point, which is that a good part of political discussion in the United States, up until the last four months, has been pure ideological and position-taking gobbledygook, gibberish, and nominalistic inane foppery. American's political positioning tends to emulate Cats pissing on the carpet to mark territory, not a serious discussion of concepts.
Too many people consciously avoid serious dialogue by shoving people and their ideas into a category, assigning it a label, putting it into a box sealed with packing tape,, and shoving that into their mental closet, to then shut and lock the door to their Brain. Ths is a bad habit which we need to break.
This nonsense is how we got Donald Trump, with a little help from Russia and the incompetent DNC. Alright, rant is over, I'm warmed up. Good Morning!
