Your weekly guide to British politics (number six)

Dear Friend,

      I think we can all agree it would be rather silly of me to provide you with update of the week’s news from Blighty given that I am presently located in the Washington, DC.  In fact I am writing this letter from my room in the Omni Shoreham; the location of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference.  Instead I shall regale you with tales of Brits Abroad (perhaps I should trademark that!?), and offer more general thoughts flowing from my experiences at CPAC. 

      A few minutes ago I returned from the CPAC Presidential Banquet.  A fantastic event all round.  The keynote speaker was of course the Vice President Dick Cheney.  His speech was both well drafted and delivered, sending out a powerful message on the war on terror (among other things).  However the big speech of the evening, in my humble opinion, came from John Bolton; a man who is the very embodiment of what conservative foreign policy should be – tough and sensible.  He reminded the audience that the assessed contributions to the United Nations are in every sense a tax.  A tax affecting certain countries to a much larger degree than others.  As a result he therefore called for a radical change in the way the UN is funded.  His suggestion… voluntary contributions. 

      Why am I telling you this?  Well you may ask.  The answer is quite simple.  I believe Bolton’s comments reflect a much wider conservative message; one deserving of our constant attention.  His call for voluntary contributions pays homage to that most sacrosanct of conservative values – the belief in the individuals’ ability to be the master of their own destiny.  This is a message which of course juxtaposes nicely with my letters over the previous weeks. 

      More and more in the UK, a nation that traditionally values individual liberty, we have seen moves towards collectivisation.  We have seen moves that stand in stark contrast to the values which traditionally made my nation strong.  These moves are, I am sure will agree, extremely alarming.  They are alarming of course because they offend our basic sense of justice, our basic sense of the individuals’ ability to act responsibly and in his own interests – interests which lead to a strong, powerful, and free society.

      So what’s the general point I wish to make from all this?  It’s quite simple.  Whilst Leftists (one thinks of the mainstream media in this regard) may wish to restrict the freedom of the individual.  And whilst they may have a certain degree of success in promulgating such limitations.  They will ultimately be unsuccessful in the realisation of their ultimate ambitions.  Why?  Because when you, you, think of the aforementioned affronts to personal liberty you are immediately offended.  You are disturbed to your core by the thought of losing the power to determine your own destiny. 

      For as long as we are retain our capacity to be offended, for as long as we value individual liberty, our freedom should be guaranteed.  We should only start to worry when affronts to our liberty pass us by with little emotional reaction on our part.

      Moving on to something a little lighter the response to 18 Doughty Street’s ‘A World Without America’ has been phenomenal at CPAC.  Nearly everyone I have spoken to (and I have spoken to a lot) have already seen the ad.  More importantly though these same people went out of their way to tell how much they valued the friendship of the United Kingdom, and how much the ad reinforced their already warm feelings towards those of us across the pond.  All I could say in response was that those warm feelings are felt by us in return, despite what the Leftist media would have you believe. 

      Finally many of our friends over here asked me about my colleague Tim Montgomerie whom they had seen on Fox news.  Suffice to say they were delighted to hear that he was busy fighting the good fight back in Blighty. 

      Let us never forget how important that fight is. 

      Cheers,

     Shane

Comments

[Kevin Sampson]

I'm not surprised it's popular on this side of the Atlantic, but the real question is, how is it doing in Europe?

[LC Mamapajamas]

Yup... that's My Man Bolton! :D

God, I love that guy! :D

[malcolm]

I don't. I think he loses America friends every time he opens his mouth. A complete disaster in any international role.

[Andrew Smith]

By the sound of it John Bolton is simply wanting to destroy the UN by pulling its funding to reduce it to even more of a talking shop than it is now. He should have the honesty to come out and say this.

The international system and individuals are two very different spheres and should be treated as such. Like it or not states are part of an international system and one Country exercising its liberty will have a direct affect on many others.

We need to be careful, the UN is the one institution that states can come together in. Without it many small states would feel vulnerable and the world could become a more dangerous place.

I do not take the liberal position of wishing for a stronger UN but a weaker UN is equally as worrying. The US does not have the hegemonic ability to impose security across the world. As this is the case, the UN as an outlet for mediation is a more welcome part of the international system than some would let on.