The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
The November 21 New Yorker had an excellent book review of the only biography written about J. Edgar Hoover in the last fifteen years. During those years much has been learned about Hoover. The book is G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by historian Beverly Gage, and the review was written by staff writer Margaret Talbot.
Hoover became the director of the FBI at an early age, in 1924, and managed to stay there until his death, in 1972. He served under four Democratic and four Republican presidents. Talbot wrote, “Gage makes clear, most were either beholden to him or scared of him, or both.”
By upbringing, inclination, and education, Hoover was a racist and an anti-liberal. He ran the agency with an iron fist without a velvet glove. Talbot said of him, “(H)e established a habit that he would retain for the rest of his life, of turning critics into enemies – and investigating them as such.” In that regard he was like Richard Nixon, with whom he had a close friendship for decades.
As I perused this review, I compared Hoover and other political rightists to some of the leftists whom Hoover detested. Rightists often accuse leftists of being armed revolutionaries, but liberals are generally too disorganized ever to launch violent revolts against the government. Rightists, on the other hand, have done that on several notable occasions. Examples are the aborted attempt of Aaron Burr literally to split the nation in two, another was the firing on Fort Sumpter to begin the Civil War, and another was the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Rightists fear that the nation is always making too many concessions to the wrong kinds of people, while leftists think not enough concessions are being made. The difference between the two sides is that conservatives are far more inclined to take up arms to challenge government, while liberals only yammer incessantly, trying verbally to convince government to change its policies.
The Red Scare of the 1920s and 30s was not very scary, because genuine Reds were few and far between. Nonetheless, rightists made it seem scary. Joseph McCarthy, George Wallace, Orville Faubus and other such individuals created major unrest because of their views. FDR, JFK, and George McGovern also made many waves in their time, but none of them incited riots.
When referring to the political left, rightists often capitalize it as “the Left,” thus demonizing it all the more. The left can be moronic, but they are not cohesive enough to become demonic.
Curiously, rightists are often puritanical in their personal morality. Currently this may be observed in their fierce opposition to what they consider naughty books in school libraries or the teaching of CRT. Leftists, on the other hand, tend to sin boldly, without being bothered by sin.
For such a small group, the ultra-liberal Squad make big noise, but they are not dangerous. However, as long as there are people who have an Oath Keeper or Proud Boy mentality, other January Sixths are always a clear and present danger.
Nothing advanced the true purposes of the FBI more than the death of its first and by far longest-serving director. Both conservatives and liberals can subvert justice, but nobody perverts justice like zealous rightists, and they are always with us. Rightists are apt to take up arms, and are therefore potentially dangerous. Leftists may be exasperating, but they do not take up arms, and are therefore not dangerous.
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.