Hoffer was a true conservative for six reasons: first he loved America. Second, he supported the free market system. Third, he promoted law and order against criminals, rioters, anarchists, and violent protesters. Fourth, he believed that human nature was evil. Fifth, he adopted the tragic view of life, that we are born sinful, and that malice and suffering exist, but we can find hope, meaning and salvation in self-improvement but the struggle is life-long and hard, hard work. Sixth, and implicitly suggested, the sovereign individual is a primary contribution that the West gave to humanity.
Let me quote biographer Tom Schactman from his book on Hoffer, American Iconoclast, Page 199 : "Hoffer's real prescription for countering the decline in morals had little to do with parental toughness and fiscal rigor. To insure a more mature view of life, he wrote, required making 'the tragic sense . . . a permanent part of our inner landscape.' He argued that only by doing so it was possible for people to be more compassionate towards their fellow human beings. Having compassion was more important to society now than it ever had been, Hoffer believed; but it was an achievable goal because compassion was rooted in what happened naturally in a family . . . "
Hoffer is spot on in declaring that compassion or love is crucial for human well-being. I would define love as primarily loving God and then oneself, and then one's family and the rest of humanity, up close and as an abstraction.
Love makes all morals substantial and impactful.
No comments:
Post a Comment