From the Pen of David Horowitz: August 29, 2009
2009 August 29
From a response to a letter from one of his old leftist colleagues:
I’m glad you wrote this letter. It makes all the pain and all the wounds inflicted on me by you and your comrades since then seem worth it. Because it shows me what wretched human beings I was involved with when I was one of you — when I was a member of the progressive vanguard and at war with the “enemies of the people.”
Your letter shows me that in all these years you haven’t changed a bit. But I have, and it’s the only thing in this whole mess that I’m not sorry about.
– “Who Killed Betty Van Patter” from Salon, 12/13/1999
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In Defense Of – Me
The words national treasure are flung around alot mostly by the left in regard to someone like Teddy Kennedy. I believe David Horowitz is a true national treasure and a fount of knoledge and understanding. He has seen the real enemies of this nation and understands there designs. I purchase anything he writes we need more people like him that do not fear the monsters that face us nor does he back down.
Thanks for the “quote’ whoever selected it – It confirms my passion to stay on the right…had a few moments of uncertainty until Jimmy Carter became President…actually it wasn’t until Reagan challenged him that I knew who I really was…OMG – I’m getting old.
Just curious – does anyone know of anyone who like David H. has left the conservative ranks and now espouses liberalism? Please respond.
The best principled kiss-off I’ve seen since this, from the Tom Petty song “Echo.”– I don’t want to mean anything to you, I don’t want to tempt you to be true.
Julie: “Just curious – does anyone know of anyone who like David H. has left the conservative ranks and now espouses liberalism? Please respond.”
No names at present, but I’m thinking of some Republicans who pretty much do. Some like Spector actually switched Parties. Some think as long as the R is beside their name their deeds are kosher — though not conservative.
David Horowitz is a hero to me.
It takes real guts to ‘go against your own’.
If only there could be a million more like him.
It is quite interesting thread start about switching political views. I personally identify myself as an conservative. But come to conservatism from libertarian view (similar to David Friedman). However I seeing some problems with totally conservative point of view, namely:
1. Significant percentage of population cannot control themselves, this is related to taking nonsense debt, drugs or unhealthy life style. For past millenniums usurers was very good in exploiting this (Dostoevsky’s – “Crime and Punishment”) and still are. That’s partially a reason why we all in mess now. And that’s a reason why bible prohibit usury. How to protect these people
2. There is another bunch of cynical crooks that exploited weaker in society usually into selling garbage by talking in people (typically uneducated, elderly or sometimes just lonely) or aggressive TV campaigns. I know that it is against freedom but is it reasonable to limit level of brainwash by let say set administrative cap that spending on advertising and marketing cannot be higher then 5% of the final price of goods? Somebody has better proposal?
3. Third group of crooks try to exploit or invite public property (even if only implicitly declared as an public) and use to own benefit. This typically involved dumping garbage or polluting rivers or air. Argument that crook can be sick is irrelevant as he may benefit so much that he can pollute in one place and live himself in another (this is exactly game theory described by John Nash). Instead preparing nonsense cap trade system where factories are granted permits by some government clerks (what the beautiful place for bribery) shall we divide air pollution level in the country simply per capita and allow everybody to claim credit on tax form? Then polluters (individuals and companies) can buy on free market these credits as a commercial paper. And if someone would like to conserve air then s/he can destroy own credit.
4. On the beginning of century Supreme Court of USA declared that corporations have the same rights as individuals. These leads to typical exploit when Mr X establishing A Co. Ltd. then A establishing daughter B Co. Ltd. then C etc, after few iterations nobody knows what is whose property. Is it not better if Mr X in order to establish company B must simply capitalize some assets of A then from these clean assets establish new corporation? Is it another place for regulation?
I used these examples to show that pure conservatism has certain hole because basic assumptions are rational (and many people are not) and somehow straight. Instead John Nash proved that individual strategy to wealth are often not in line with society benefits (as postulated by Adam Smith). And bible explicitly ask to protects poor (widows and children).
otta
PS. Do you know how Islamic Bank works? Personally I support this economic idea. It explicitly preventing usury on weak.
After reading the article and the letter David wrote, I thought (and this is no insult): This is right out of a gangster or a Raymond Chandler story. Isn’t it the case, especially today (and how ironic!), that fiction still speaks a truth that most aren’t willing to speak, that most are unwilling to speak? David’s stories, of course, aren’t fiction, but they confirm an important job fiction writers (as I hope to be) have: to tell an untold history. Being a fiction writer is no brave task, like the task David is working at, but I hope it provides support and at least something, whatever that may be.
Sorry if my comment is a little off subject…
I’d love to see that movie!
Maybe ‘Hoodfellas’ would be a fitting title.
If you want to get authentic ‘mob flavor’ without the Italian aftertaste…just attend any union meeting.
Or it could be titled: “The Gangster No One Knew” or “The Mobster Family” or “Refusal of Offers”. I’m a sucker for thinking about titles.
I want David to know that his book “Radical Son” gave me my life back.
Did David Horowitz ever meet Eric Hoffer? He was a homegrown philospher who
wrote the book, “True Believers.” It was a book that focused on mass movements.
One of the requirements of a true believer is to demonize some group. Hitler of
course demonized the Jews. Someone interviewed him one time and asked him
if he would be happy if all the Jews were exterminated. He said, “no because then
we’d have to find another group to demonize.” The extreme left have a lot of the
characteristics mentioned in Hoffer’s book. Anyone want to weigh in?
Horowitz quote of the day:
A key to the mentality of the left is that it judges itself by its best intentions,
and judges its opponents-America chief among them- by their worst deeds.
I got it from Google: David Horowitz Quotes
Now here’s a great comment I can applaud, sir. Be sure and read David’s new book coming out this fall. It’s called “A Cracking of the Heart: A Requiem for My Daughter.” It’s about his daughter Sarah who recently passed away, you might recall his eulogy of her.
“A Cracking of the Heart” is one of the best books he’s ever written.
Good question Julie. There are indeed several prominent leftist politicos who were once conservatives. Perhaps the most high profile is Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2010
Second most prominent would be David Brock, founder of Media Matters (who I regularly critique for NewsReal) and author of “Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative”
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2039
Also see this Horowitz article about Michael Lind, another writer who claims to have had a right-to-left conversion, DH challenges this in his piece:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=24322
One of the points that Horowitz makes about genuine left-to-right conversions is that rarely is there ever a moment in which one realizes one is now a conservative. It’s usually a gradual process that takes months or years. This differs with right-to-left conversions when Leftist True Believers can usually pin point when they become a leftist and what caused to to go left.
I tend to agree with Horowitz’s point on this. It describes my own journey from left to right in addition to his.
No, Witt your comment isn’t off subject at all. Your comparison is very much on the money.
One of my ambitions is to some day write a screenplay of “Radical Son” and would you like to take a guess what the perfect movie is to model it on? “Goodfellas.”
And the Left gets so offended whenever anyone brings up this comparison:
http://newsrealblog.com/2009/08/26/the-humorless-left-cant-take-jokes-or-creativity-in-conservatives-criticism/
Wouldn’t you know it? I’ve only seen “Goodfellas” and haven’t seen “The Godfather”. It’s almost laughable, yet “Goodfellas” doesn’t get as much notice, which is odd because Joe Pesci is classic.
I was thinking of just keeping the title as “Radical Son.”
A similar vain is:
A key to the mentality of the right is that it judges itself by its results,
and judges it opponents-the left chief among them-by their results.
“The True Believer” is one of the texts that Jamie Glazov cites a lot in his book “United In Hate.”
http://frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34919