The Rally in West Hollywood

By Zach Foster

People from various points across the political spectrum have much more in common than they know.  This weekend the author had the opportunity to attend a rally and march in West Hollywood.  Ordinarily, this is the last place in Southern California the author would ever go, but this event was different.  The author had been invited by friends to attend Slutwalk 2011.  This particular rally protested the mindset that enables sexual assault and blames the victims rather than the attackers.  After all, it’s much easier to advocate “preventative measures” than it is to catch and prosecute attackers.

I disagreed with the name of the event and the way many people there were citing their mission not only to spread awareness and prevent sexual assault, but also to reclaim the word “slut” and restore it to its place of dignity.  The problem is that the word never had a place of dignity.  The dictionary definition[1] of the word slut: noun – 1) a dirty, slovenly woman. 2) an immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute.

There is nothing honorable about it.  I think the event would have been better off if the word “slut” had at least been used only ironically, given many people’s backward attitudes toward rape victims, rather than embraced as a form of identity.  Still, it’s a free country…  Many thanks to the L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies at the event for protecting our First Amendment rights of free speech, association, and assembly.

I got the wonderful opportunity to talk to different people during the rally and exchange ideas and viewpoints with them.  Many people attending the rally were leftists and openly embracive of Marxist ideology.  This is fallacious at best, and what many observers can agree with is that the successes proclaimed by many socialist groups are highly overinflated.  Many will either proclaim support for a cause or event, or maybe even send two or three members to take part.  Then the socialists take credit for the success of the event, claiming that “the workers of the world were organizing just like Marx said they were” or, if more modest, that they vanguarded workers in this cause.[2][3]  What liars!  Thankfully, the socialists at this event were in the minority and weren’t claiming to be vanguards.  Especially since a good portion of the rally attendees were business owners and entrepreneurs, not mere “proletarians.”

What most impressed me was the way in which many people there were receptive to my own ideas and purposes for being there.  I had two ideological foundations for protesting sexual assault.  First, as an American patriot who believes in the core principles of the Constitution, I strongly believe in everyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Sexual assault endangers all three.  Rapists put their victims’ life in danger, they violate their victims’ freedom of association, and the psychological trauma greatly impedes victims’ pursuit of happiness.  Second, as a believer in God, I firmly believe that our bodies are a gift from God and no one has the right to invade or desecrate them.  An individual is the only owner of his or her body.[4]

The people I talked to were incredibly receptive of these ideas, and several outright agreed with me.  This is pleasing to me, knowing that Americans are finally taking Constitutional law into consideration, as well as equating the Supreme Being with human dignity rather than oppression.  This was where many of us came to the conclusion that we have much in common.  In our society there are far too many fringe elements on the far left and on the far right who will either completely hijack or completely eject God and the Constitution as it is convenient to their radical cause.  The fringe elements say that they fight for liberty and individual rights and dignity, but the truth is that they really seek to impose their utopian values and agenda on the rest of society.[5][6]  They cause division among the elements of society, hoping to divide and conquer.  The best remedy against this is for people to know their rights.

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[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slut

[2] Socialists Hijack Mubarak Revolution For Their Cause: ‘A Revolution From Below.’ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/socialists-hijack-mubarak-resignation-for-their-cause-a-revolution-from-below/

[3] Sassoon, Donald.  One Hundred Years of Socialism.  Chapter 1.  The New Press. 1996.

[4] Who Owns Your Body? Constitutional Rights vs. Privileges. http://joanneunleashed.com/1279/who-owns-your-body-constitutional-rights-vs-privileges/

[5] Niose, Dave.  Hot to slap Thomas Jefferson in the face. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-humanity-naturally/201105/how-slap-thomas-jefferson-in-the-face

[6] Chodorov, Frank. About Socialism and Socialists. http://mises.org/daily/4932

Mitchum Lights Up Hollywood Again

By Zach Foster

Veteran actor Christopher Mitchum spoke Wednesday night during the Hollywood Congress of Republicans meeting at the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood.  The son of legendary actor Robert Mitchum, Christopher co-starred with John Wayne in the westerns Chisum, Rio Lobo, and Big Jake.  He also starred in action films like Striking Point, Lethal Cowboy, and Summertime Killer.

In his narrative speech, “The Politics of Glamour,” Mitchum delivered many delightful anecdotes of life with his father, working with John Wayne, and getting involved in politics.  One of the most fascinating points in his speech was his coverage of the “SAG Wars,” a series of power struggles within the Screen Actors Guild to control who would hold what positions, as well as the ability to uphold or change the rules restricting SAG actors from working non-union films.

He made an excellent point about how the film industry has seemingly made a complete turnaround from the early Cold-War era of the Hollywood Blacklist, where nowadays it is dangerous to be openly Republican in Hollywood.  Mitchum was able to tell many stories and instances of Republicans stating their politics or even being “outed,” and being guaranteed no work.

He also spoke on the decline of the true western film for political purposes.  He told about how westerns were basically morality plays founded on traditional Republican values, where one man (a good citizen) would stand up against the establishment (big government) and defend the rights of oppressed individuals (Constitutional rights).  The good guy always won.  The end of the western began with films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch—excellent films but terrible westerns—where the bad guys are the heroes and are presented in a positive light while breaking laws and turning order into chaos in the West (similar to social anarchy).

There is hope, however, in a few modern films.  Films like The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, and The Hurt Locker are among the few war films these days that show the bravery of America’s wartime soldiers rather than the popularized leftist image of American soldiers slaughtering civilians on a regular basis (Fahrenheit 9/11, Green Zone, Casualties of War).  There are also films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Star Wars saga which show the underdog prevailing against evil to restore good, and then retiring back to living a simple life after evil is defeated.  Perhaps Frodo Baggins is the new Shane?  There is also the Twilight Saga which encourages young people to look deep inside themselves to decide whether or not they want to make the lifelong commitment to marriage.

His speech was followed by a Q&A segment.  Mitchum plans to run for Congress in 2012 to represent California’s 35^th District.  Also present at the meeting was talk radio host Mark Isler of The Mark Isler Show, speaking about his bid as a write in candidate for the LA College Board of Trustees.  Isler supports higher standards for quality education.

Photo courtesy of the Hollywood Congress of Republicans