By Dieuwe de Boer
Right Minds 18/1/20 - republished with permission

To save being asked in the comments, I may as well start this post with an update on my own situation. As my story travelled the globe, I turned my phone off on Saturday evening and took my family to church on Sunday. This week I've focused on my work and have spent my spare time in the ongoing quest for answers. I'd like to thank everyone for their universal messages of support.

Next to my bed lies a stack of books, the one on top right now is The Meaning of Conservatism by the late Sir Roger Scruton. It's my dad's copy, the first book on conservatism he ever read. For Sir Scruton, conservatism was not merely about politics. He was a philosopher and intellectual whose interests were in love and beauty; in the transcendent and the cosmic.

He changed the way I look at the world. Everything from the classics, traditions, faith, culture, music, literature, and architecture are now windows into humanity's reach for transcendence.

Sir Roger Scruton will be remembered as one of the greatest conservative thinkers of our time. Not because he crafted his own ideology, but because he demonstrated the joy of the conservative worldview and a life in harmony with the natural order. A life based on the recognition of the other, rather than gratification of the self.

He brought the word oikophobia—"the repudiation of inheritance and home"—into the political discourse. He saw something very dangerous in a society that could not hold itself together, ripped apart by those who reject the privileges gifted from those who have gone before us.

My own introduction to Sir Roger Scruton was a documentary he made in 2008, "Why Beauty Matters." The BBC has attempted to purge this work, but it's been kept alive by his Brazillian fans, the very ones who I suspect put Jair Bolsonaro in power:

This documentary is a brief hour of your life you will neither forget nor regret. It's inspired me on many an occasion to pause and fully appreciate beauty and to study and feel the meaning of great works.

As much as I love Lady Thatcher, Sir Scruton was instrumental in preventing the reduction of conservatism to mere market economics (known formally as neo-liberalism). It's not that conservatism is incompatible with the free market, but at its heart, conservatism deals with things that are sacred and should be held back from the market. So Scruton became a defender of the idyllic countryside, an opponent of concrete sprawl and modern design, a defender of love as something that should not be bought or sold, and an opponent of the ugliness of postmodernism.

Sir Roger Scruton understood the role of beauty as indispensable for human flourishing, inextricably linked to the formation of our loves. He taught that beauty is objective, and that its lack of utility is precisely what makes it important when it comes to understanding the divine.

Of course, the woke mob inevitably came for him too, and likely played a role in his demise as he struggled through illness over the last year of his life.

"Once identified as right-wing you are beyond the pale of argument; your views are irrelevant, your character discredited, your presence in the world a mistake. You are not an opponent to be argued with, but a disease to be shunned. This has been my experience."
— Sir Roger Scruton
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 Sir Roger Scruton wrote a large number of books, composed music, and leaves us numerous insights, articles, and interviews. What he does not leave behind is a British conservative intellectual who can match him.
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If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer"

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By Olivia Pierson
First published on Insight@theBFD 6/01/20

In November when Supreme Leader Khamenei learned that protesters had burned pictures of his image, along with destroying a statue of the Iranian Republic’s late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he ordered his senior cabinet officials:

“Do whatever it takes to end it. The Islamic Republic is in danger. You have my order.”

The Revolutionary Guard, ultimately overseen by arch-terrorist General Qassem Soleimani, quickly went to work and the protests were quelled.
 
The greatest threat to Iran’s medieval, theocratic regime still lies with Iranian citizens.  

Regime leaders know this and it’s precisely why they brutally cracked-down on the recent protests which resulted in the deaths of over 1500 Iranian citizens and saw many more “disappeared” and imprisoned. 

Now that Soleimani has been killed by a U.S drone strike in Baghdad, the regime shows itself to be even more fragile. 

Commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was also killed along with three other members of his militia – altogether representing a heavy loss for Iran’s military.  But no spontaneous outpouring of grief has been sighted in the streets of Iraq or Iran, in fact after Soleimani’s death was announced, we saw Iraqi citizens dancing out in the open.  Iran allows for only the usual stiffly, state-crafted images of forced mourners at the massive funeral to be shown. Iranians are commanded to solemnly grieve.  Soleimani was admired by the regime’s supporters, but despised by the Iranian masses, who also hate the terrorist regime he loyally served. 

Iran now faces a quandary. They long for a return to the American leadership of something which is closer to the Obama/Kerry style of appeasement, which afforded Iran billions of dollars that they used to foment terrorism and proxy wars.  Iranian citizens didn’t see a dime of this money used to improve their daily lives, but instead felt the brunt of harsh sanctions implemented by the U.S as soon as President Trump was elected. 

To save face, Iran needs to retaliate over the death of their top general – but if they hit any U.S citizens, diplomats or military personnel they know they will face an even harder hit back by the U.S. 

Their economy is in tatters, their oil is not traded on the world market, their military strength is dwindling and their regime is internally hated by their own citizens.  Even their state religion of Islam is dying in the hearts and minds of Iranians.  A documentary titled Sheep Among Wolves lays claim to a sweeping underground movement which is converting Iranians to Christianity in their droves. The biggest factor in this religious transformation is the Islamic regime itself that has made citizens deeply hate Islam. The documentary claims that inside Iran the mosques are actually empty. 

The Trump/Pompeo foreign policy doctrine of principled realism does not allow for the U.S to become embroiled in another “endless war” in the Middle East. So if and when Iran decides to retaliate, the U.S response may be heavily disproportionate – as Trump’s tweet to Democrats yesterday somewhat threatened:
 
“These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!”

The “endlessness” of recent wars in the Middle East has been caused by a commitment to altruism and nation building.  Trump has no designs on the American military being used in this way. His only objective is to force bad actors into thinking again before acting to harm U.S personnel or interests. That’s all. 

Iran grossly miscalculated since President Trump showed much restraint towards their frequent acts of aggression all throughout the year of 2019.

When Soleimani recently allowed for pro-Iranian militia to attack the U.S Embassy in Baghdad (as he also did in Benghazi 2012), Trump tweeted: 
 
“Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!”

Amusingly, Khamenei responded with this foolish tweet:

“That guy has tweeted that we see Iran responsible for the events in Baghdad & we will respond to Iran. 
1st: You can’t do anything. 
2nd: If you were logical —which you’re not— you’d see that your crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan… have made nations hate you.”

Then reality bit hard in the form of a sky robot sending Soleimani to the same hell that bin Laden and al-Baghdadi now occupy.  

Despite the long list of Khamenei’s recent cock-ups, he remains correct on one important point –  his Islamic Republic is in danger from within. When Iranian citizens do make a serious attempt to throw off their oppressive tyrants, they will have the support of both Israel and the United States, whatever that may look like.  But neither of these two nations will do the overthrowing for them. The days of U.S-backed regime change and nation building are over. 


Edit: Since this article was written, Iran hit back with cruise missiles fired into two Iraqi military bases but no casualties were recorded.  One commercial Ukrainian airliner was downed however, killing 176 civilians.
Many Iranian people are currently out in the streets protesting the regime.  They are being murdered by their police.


If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer"
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