A disturbing development in contemporary political debate is the stratagem of condemning our adversaries as “haters,” individuals whose depravity places their opinions beyond the pale of civilized discourse. Demonizing our rivals is an enormously convenient ploy, one much favoured by totalitarian regimes. It proclaims our superior moral virtue while sparing us the tedious requirement of providing reasons and evidence in support of our views. Theodore Dalrymple, writing in Taki Mag, reminds us that hate is a universal emotion and fulfills a primary human need. Attempts to censor hate speech may arise from noble intentions, but they can only proceed by defining what constitutes an expression of hatred, an almost impossible task.
Toppling a Communist Empire for $2.7 Million
Though widely thought of as focused on waterboarding terrorists or poisoning foreign potentates, it was by smuggling paper that the CIA achieved its most monumental triumph. R.M. Gerecht in a book review for The Washington Free Beacon charts how the late Cold War-era operation to flood Poland with Western books, magazines, printing supplies and audio recordings fatally weakened the country’s Communist dictatorship, setting the stage for the downfall of the entire Soviet empire. Total cost: US$2.7 million.
