Aram Bakshian, Jr. made my day. It’s always a treat for me when I come across someone praising Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983). Having read and greatly admired Eric Hoffer since before he appeared in:
it’s especially satisfying to see Hoffer reaching America’s young thinkers in Tom Bethell’s book.
Eric Hoffer’s insights are unsurpassed among twentieth century philosophers and political thinkers. Years ago these two resonated with me because of my view of the MSM’s role in society and socialism’s True Believers:
The Ultimate Self-Made Man
By Aram Bakshian, Jr. from the July - Aug 2012 issue
Eric Hoffer: The Longshoreman Philosopher
By Tom Bethell
(Hoover Institution Press, 304 PAGES, $29.95)
The American Spectator : The Ultimate Self-Made Man
This excerpt comes from a message I posted on another board back in 2006:
Newspeak, media bias, and omission, are the tools propagandists use to help people deceive themselves. Basically, thinking for yourself is the only way to defeat propagandists and totalitarians of every stripe. In the quotation following my signature Hoffer offers advice that requires physical courage and the intelligence needed to defeat collectivism in general; specifically socialism in today’s America.
Finally, Eric Hoffer’s books are important in what they say, but the greatest gift in his writing is teaching individuals how to think for themselves. That is the exact opposite of the education industry’s goal. Bottom line: There would have been no Eric Hoffer had he attended public schools.
. . . a pair of riveting interviews of the "Longshoreman Philosopher" conducted by Eric Sevareid and broadcast on CBS television in June 1967 and November 1968.
it’s especially satisfying to see Hoffer reaching America’s young thinkers in Tom Bethell’s book.
Eric Hoffer’s insights are unsurpassed among twentieth century philosophers and political thinkers. Years ago these two resonated with me because of my view of the MSM’s role in society and socialism’s True Believers:
. . . "Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves," and "An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head,"—capture the essence of what makes fanatical True Believers so invincibly ignorant.
The Ultimate Self-Made Man
By Aram Bakshian, Jr. from the July - Aug 2012 issue
Eric Hoffer: The Longshoreman Philosopher
By Tom Bethell
(Hoover Institution Press, 304 PAGES, $29.95)
The American Spectator : The Ultimate Self-Made Man
This excerpt comes from a message I posted on another board back in 2006:
I have heard that individuals only use about fifteen percent of their brains. I never did believe that. I maintain that whatever an adult uses it amounts to one hundred percent. It's just that in most folks too many gray cells are given over to accommodating junk.
Intelligent people are not using more brain cells than the average person uses, they simply have less trivia trash smothering real thinking. True geniuses have less junk in their noggins than does the average bumpkin. That's the concentrate that animates brilliance.
The percentage of debris in the average brain can range from 85 to 99.999 percent of total capacity. I'll take a big chance here and say that most people know their own names; so I'll record that as a sign of aptitude rather than imply that some people are without intelligence altogether.
Socialists represent the perfect example of what I am talking about. Socialism/communism has provided far too many people with an excess of political hogwash that leaves very little room for the discernment that is necessary to shatter the false promise of a communist utopia.
I don't know if Socialists/Communists invented newspeak, but they have certainly mastered its use. Newspeak has even become a form of politically correct speech. The percentage of available grey cells it takes to see through it varies with the individual. Even if education could increase the number of grey cells an individual uses, that won’t change newspeak’s effectiveness with boobs. A boob is a boob is a boob no matter how many grey cells are working. A rocket scientist can easily be a halfwit outside his own field. Movie stars who dabble in politics are good examples of dim bulbs who should stick to what they know best. Their major problem today is that they are trying to cash in on Ronald Reagan’s political depth. Not every actor is Ronald Reagan any more than every mathematician is Albert Einstein.
Newspeak, media bias, and omission, are the tools propagandists use to help people deceive themselves. Basically, thinking for yourself is the only way to defeat propagandists and totalitarians of every stripe. In the quotation following my signature Hoffer offers advice that requires physical courage and the intelligence needed to defeat collectivism in general; specifically socialism in today’s America.
Finally, Eric Hoffer’s books are important in what they say, but the greatest gift in his writing is teaching individuals how to think for themselves. That is the exact opposite of the education industry’s goal. Bottom line: There would have been no Eric Hoffer had he attended public schools.
Last edited: