In his book Persecution and the Art of Writing, Strauss outlines why secrecy is necessary. He argues that the wise must conceal their views for two reasons – to spare the people’s feelings and to protect the elite from possible reprisals.

So, they come to the conclusion that they have a moral justification to lie in order to avoid persecution. Strauss goes so far as to say that dissembling and deception – in effect, a culture of lies – is the peculiar justice of the wise.

they all thought that man’s humanity depended on his willingness to rush naked into battle and headlong to his death. Only perpetual war can overturn the modern project, with its emphasis on self-preservation and “creature comforts.”
This terrifying vision fits perfectly well with the desire for honour and glory that the neo-conservative gentlemen covet. It also fits very well with the religious sensibilities of gentlemen. The combination of religion and nationalism is the elixir that Strauss advocates as the way to turn natural, relaxed, hedonistic men into devout nationalists willing to fight and die for their God and country.

Strauss is a nihilist in the sense that he believes that there is no rational foundation for morality. He is an atheist, and he believes that in the absence of God, morality has no grounding. It’s all about benefiting others and oneself; there is no objective reason for doing so, only rewards and punishments in this life. But Strauss is not a nihilist if we mean by the term a denial that there is any truth, a belief that everything is interpretation. He does not deny that there is an independent reality.

mr ed - ok - so i agree with him in the first sense, but im undecided as to whether there is an independent reality.


Therefore an unspoken rule of the corporate-controlled media appears to be: "Never cover a 'real' controversy until it is too late to do anything about it."

Unlike other industries, corporate-controlled media do not fit comfortably into traditional capitalist theory. Under this theory, competition is believed to inspire initiative, which in turn inspires the urge to create better products or provide better services, subsequently resulting in greater consumer choice.
But many media moguls have learned that profits and ratings are not generated by better products or services, but by appeals (as I wrote in another PRAVDA.Ru article, LESSONS LEARNED, BUT FORGOTTEN, August 13, 2003) to people's basest instincts, such as greed, bigotry, arrogance, violence, hypocrisy, fear, and lust for power.