Our Threatened Freedom

What Kind of Advice Do You Want

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Political Studies

Lesson: 56-169

Genre: Conversation

Track: 056

Dictation Name: Vol. E - Part 04 – What Kind of Advice Do You Want

Location/Venue: Unknown

Year: 1980’s – 1990’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] What kind of advice do you want? This is R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.

Do people really want advice when they ask for it? George Washington always refused to give advice, because he too commonly that people only wanted that counsel which would confirm their desires. Was he right?

When World War Two ended, the United States asked the German generals for their advice. Had the World War Two unified military command, worked better than the previous divided command? Would it be wise, in other words, to drop the separate departments of the Navy and of the Army, for a single command? All the German generals regarded the unified command as a disaster, and said so, except for one. That one, General {?}, for his own reasons, and partly his anti-Americanism, favored the single command for us. We adopted a unified command. The reason of course was that this was what we had wanted all along. All we wanted was an iota of confirmation.

To cite another example, a man sought advice from several friends. All gave him good advice, save one. He followed the advice of the one man, and the results were predictably bad. And he was soon in a mess. Quite illogically, he blamed the man whose advice he had followed. Now two things were very clear. First, he had done what he planned to do from the beginning. Some of his friends try to talk him out of it, but he persisted, until he found one friend who agreed with him. Second, he had obviously wanted someone to agree with him, to give him the advice he wanted, in order to have someone to blame.

In other words, people usually follow the advice they want, not the advice they need. We do this as individuals, and we do it as a nation. Politicians regularly tell us the people must be heard. But they follow after strange counsels.

Advice seeking can be a threat to freedom, if, in seeking advice, we merely want confirmation of our opinions and someone to use as a scapegoat if our way proves to be a disaster. Advice seeking then ceases to be a search for wisdom and counsel, but rather is an attempt to line up someone to take the blame. It is an exercise in irresponsibility, rather than a course of wisdom. Free men want to grow in understanding, and they take responsibility for their actions.

Just a few weeks ago, a broker friend told me of a bad experience with a client. He had called to ask that certain stocks be sold immediately, sold as soon as he hung up. The broker strongly advised against it, saying that the stock would soon rise sharply because of certain developments. The man refused. The holdings were sold at 9:30 am, and they rose dramatically at 1 pm and after. The man called back to blame his broker for selling as directed. Long ago, Solomon told us that a fool loves his folly, and goes back to it like a dog that returns to his vomit. Fools are the enemies of freedom, because they love foolishness and reject wisdom.

This has been R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.