Stay focused on the big picture

[nobody@soda.berkeley.edu]

There has been hostility expressed on this list towards
Limbaugh, 700 Club, UWSA, NRA, etc., and the 10's of millions of
politically active supporters who could be allies in the 
anti-Clipper fight. 

In the interest of focusing attention on the big picture, I 
offer the following eloquent letter:

>          Mr. [Recipient]:
>
>                I'm writing to express my agreement with you
>          concerning the dangerous, and in fact, tyrannous nature of
>          the Clipper chip.  However, I find your reasoning
>          anachronistic - more typical of Cold War rhetoric than the
>          new "paradigm" we find ourselves in now.  In particular,
>          I find it fascinating that many people, like yourself, are
>          now beginning to see Liberalism for what it really is - an
>          effort to cram government down our throats in order to
>          protect us from ourselves.  Thus the arrogant "if you knew
>          what I know" attitude you mention in your article.
>
>          And simultaneously, those of you who were most hostile to
>          conservatism are belatedly understanding what it is about -
>          the virtue of LIMITED GOVERNMENT and INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY.
>
>          It seems, since the end of the Cold War, that new
>          "battle-lines" have been drawn, and that you have discovered
>          that those who you considered enemies are now in your camp,
>          and that several old friends are now opponents.
>
>          Even now, you refuse to recognize the logical conclusion of
>          Liberalism - government dominance of all facets of life,
>          eclipsing individual rights.  Instead, you remarkably tell
>          yourself that BILL & AL are being hoodwinked by "spooks" in
>          the NSA, but that they are really on your side.  I have
>          news for you, they are not.
>
>          After all, who is most likely to agree with you?  Reagan,
>          who says that "government is the problem" or Bill & AL who
>          believe that government is the answer to all our problems -
>          from the health care "crisis" to the dangers of vitamins.
>          Clearly you can see now who is the champion of individual
>          rights and who is the champion of bureaucracies that
>          claim to know what we don't.
>
>          I invite you to the real new paradigm, in which old concepts
>          of liberal and conservative are increasingly meaningless.
>          It is a new world in which I - a conservative - find common
>          cause with you - a liberal - in our fight for individual
>          freedom.  It is really debilitating and self-deceptive to
>          cling to the old definitions.
>
>          I offer this in the spirit of cooperation, since I believe
>          that if we hope to win the war, we should at least know who
>          we are fighting!
>
>                                         Sincerely,
>
>                                         Robert J. Bork
>
>