FROM WHENCE THE FANATIC RIGHT?

QUOTE: from The True Believer : Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (1951) (Eric Hoffer 1902-83)

Free men are aware of the imperfection inherent in human affairs, and they are willing to fight and die for that which is not perfect. They know that basic human problems can have no final solutions, that our freedom, justice, equality, etc. are far from absolute, and that the good life is compounded of half measures, compromises, lesser evils, and gropings toward the perfect.  The rejection of approximations and the insistence on absolutes are the manifestation of a nihilism that loathes freedom, tolerance, and equity.

Quite the best book ever written on fanaticism and so rich in aphorisms you want to quote every sentence. This passage is apropos those on the Right who'd rather destroy the GOP than allow George W. Bush to differ with them. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 17, 2003 10:15 AM