Peter & Helen Evans
"Olympians" not "elite"
By Peter & Helen Evans
Last Wednesday night at the Heritage Foundation, Judge Robert Bork was honored as the inaugural speaker of the Joseph Story Distinguished Lecture Series. Story was notable as the youngest man ever appointed to the Supreme Court, but famous for his philosophy of judicial restraint. Robert Bork said that, as much as it pains him to say it, we are not longer a republic. He explained that the pernicious influence of activist judges over the past 50 years has eroded our system of government and we're now only partially a republic. Judge Bork said that the Supreme Court and other judicial appointments during the next Presidential term will be crucial as to whether we keep sinking into the cozy womb of nanny-state tyranny or the tide might be turned back toward the Republic of free and vigilant citizens our Founding Fathers envisioned.
Judge Bork spoke with his usual knowledge and wit, even explaining to a questioner that "becoming a verb" is a form of immortality. The laugh that we all shared was a welcome relief after the dire predictions of losing more of our freedoms to activist judges, who with their allies in academia and the media have joined forces in the past half century to become the so-called "elite" of our country. Judge Bork thought that the word "elite" conveys a sense of aristocratic superiority that is in no way justified and does not well suit our democratic Republic. He suggested instead the term "Olympian" to describe the self-anointed vanguard of pagan progressivism. Perched in their own minds, high above the rest of us, they know what's best for us lowly creatures. They would lead us into a better world, if only we would stop thinking for ourselves. No need for the messiness and inefficiency of democracy. Olympian heaven forbid such nonsense. Olympian heaven knows Joe six-pack can't think for himself. He probably clings to his guns and still imagines that he's responsible for looking out for himself. He probably still believes in the superstition of old-time religion. How quaint!
In their religion, the State has deposed god. There is no longer a transcendent standard of good and evil, merely legal and illegal behavior. When in doubt, bring it to court and the State will decide. Those who violate their neighbor's person or property are no longer criminals but "victims" of dysfunctional families, under-funded schools, poverty or "social neglect." Their diversity must be embraced and celebrated, never punished. While it is conceivable that "mistakes have been made," the State is never wrong. So, when programs, policies and projects fail, the solution will always be more of the same. As long as we pay our taxes, like good little patriots, the State will coddle us from cradle to grave. In the name of liberation from suffering, responsibility and hard choices, we will be encouraged to surrender our liberty. If we aren't snuffed by a state-funded abortion, the Olympian State will tell us how and what food to eat, prolong our childhood through enforced "higher education," tell us what kind of car to drive and how fast, decide how much we should be paid at our government jobs, and indoctrinate us in the religion of the State and the Planet. When we reach an age when we need the State to support us in our declining years, the State will find us more of a cost than a benefit and the Olympians will encourage us to seek a State-sponsored "death with dignity."
"A Republic, if you can keep it." This quote from Ben Franklin was the title of Judge Bork's talk. The Founders recognized the State as a necessary evil. The Olympians recognize only its necessity.
© Peter & Helen Evans
Last Wednesday night at the Heritage Foundation, Judge Robert Bork was honored as the inaugural speaker of the Joseph Story Distinguished Lecture Series. Story was notable as the youngest man ever appointed to the Supreme Court, but famous for his philosophy of judicial restraint. Robert Bork said that, as much as it pains him to say it, we are not longer a republic. He explained that the pernicious influence of activist judges over the past 50 years has eroded our system of government and we're now only partially a republic. Judge Bork said that the Supreme Court and other judicial appointments during the next Presidential term will be crucial as to whether we keep sinking into the cozy womb of nanny-state tyranny or the tide might be turned back toward the Republic of free and vigilant citizens our Founding Fathers envisioned.
Judge Bork spoke with his usual knowledge and wit, even explaining to a questioner that "becoming a verb" is a form of immortality. The laugh that we all shared was a welcome relief after the dire predictions of losing more of our freedoms to activist judges, who with their allies in academia and the media have joined forces in the past half century to become the so-called "elite" of our country. Judge Bork thought that the word "elite" conveys a sense of aristocratic superiority that is in no way justified and does not well suit our democratic Republic. He suggested instead the term "Olympian" to describe the self-anointed vanguard of pagan progressivism. Perched in their own minds, high above the rest of us, they know what's best for us lowly creatures. They would lead us into a better world, if only we would stop thinking for ourselves. No need for the messiness and inefficiency of democracy. Olympian heaven forbid such nonsense. Olympian heaven knows Joe six-pack can't think for himself. He probably clings to his guns and still imagines that he's responsible for looking out for himself. He probably still believes in the superstition of old-time religion. How quaint!
In their religion, the State has deposed god. There is no longer a transcendent standard of good and evil, merely legal and illegal behavior. When in doubt, bring it to court and the State will decide. Those who violate their neighbor's person or property are no longer criminals but "victims" of dysfunctional families, under-funded schools, poverty or "social neglect." Their diversity must be embraced and celebrated, never punished. While it is conceivable that "mistakes have been made," the State is never wrong. So, when programs, policies and projects fail, the solution will always be more of the same. As long as we pay our taxes, like good little patriots, the State will coddle us from cradle to grave. In the name of liberation from suffering, responsibility and hard choices, we will be encouraged to surrender our liberty. If we aren't snuffed by a state-funded abortion, the Olympian State will tell us how and what food to eat, prolong our childhood through enforced "higher education," tell us what kind of car to drive and how fast, decide how much we should be paid at our government jobs, and indoctrinate us in the religion of the State and the Planet. When we reach an age when we need the State to support us in our declining years, the State will find us more of a cost than a benefit and the Olympians will encourage us to seek a State-sponsored "death with dignity."
"A Republic, if you can keep it." This quote from Ben Franklin was the title of Judge Bork's talk. The Founders recognized the State as a necessary evil. The Olympians recognize only its necessity.
© Peter & Helen Evans
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