Perigo: The Conspiracy of Blandness

I have joined the ranks of the conspiracy theorists. Evidence of the conspiracy of which I speak is incontrovertible & irresistible. It is the conspiracy of the bland, the touchy-feely & the shades of gray. It is a conspiracy that germinated in what Ayn Rand called "the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all." It is George W. Bush saying, "You're either with us or with the terrorists" - & then ordering Ariel Sharon to desist from HIS anti-terrorism. It is the same George W. Bush saying free trade is good - & then imposing tariffs on steel imports. It is the nudge, the wink, the subliminal cackle that says, "Hey, we're men of the world, aren't we? You don't imagine for a second that I mean this stuff, do you?"

What brought this on? In New Zealand this week the leading opposition party in Parliament, the National Party, released its economic policy. In terminology & presentation it is a steal from Tony Bland-Blair. It is platitudes & piffle. It is, tragically, a huge opportunity lost. New Zealand has never had a more bossy-booted, intrusive, thieving bunch of thugs in government than the hoods currently on the treasury benches; the whole world itself has never seen gangsters so skilled at disguising their thuggery behind such beguiling smiles & such a facade of benevolence. That's why Tony Bland-Blair is now studying Helen Clark. It's the conspiracy at work - sweet-talk your victims into feeling a warm glow that mutes their moral sensibilities ... as you suck their blood.

Well, the National Party had an opportunity to unmask the monsters today ... & it quailed. Will National stop the plunder? No, it will "ensure that Government investment contributes to economic growth." It will tax a few people a little less, so that not all the blood-sucked will die & more leeches may live by sucking more ... gently. It's part of the conspiracy. Don't mean anything - & if you inadvertently, marginally do, don't say it.

I recently added a new bullet-point "categorical imperative" to the Credo of my new Objectivist organisation, SOLO: "Say what you mean, & mean what you say." It's a long time since such a principle was routine. Ours IS the age of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.

Civilisation cannot long survive such moral ambiguity & cowardice. George W. Bush & the New Zealand National Party should take note.

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