I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say
it.
~ Voltaire
First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus
Aurelius. Of each particular thing ask: What is it in itself? What is its
nature? What does he do, this man you seek?
~ Hannibal Lecter
The enduring words of French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire – I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it – have stood as a salient sentinel of free speech for over two centuries, yet why do I hear these crickets ringing in my ears? Why aren't the so-called conservative media coming to the rescue of their fellow ideological colleague, radio host and conservative intellectual Dr. Michael Savage?
It is the Savage silence of the lambs.
In the 1991 movie "Silence of the Lambs," based on a novel by Thomas Harris, Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant but evil psychiatrist, begins a game of quid pro quo with Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a young FBI trainee seeking the advice of the imprisoned Lecter on capturing a serial murder with the alias, "Buffalo Bill." In one telling scene Starling tells of how she was orphaned, relocated to an uncle's farm, discovered the horror of the lambs going to the slaughterhouse and unsuccessfully tried to save one of the little lambs.
That horrific, indelible scene that haunted her all those years was the lambs' seeming indifference and silence in the face of utter slaughter.
How does the silence of the lambs apply to Michael Savage? On May 5, Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary, published a list of 16 individuals banned from entering the United Kingdom. Savage was justifiably outraged that his name was placed on the list along with the names of radical Muslims who call for the overthrow of the British government, Hamas murderers, neo-Nazi skinheads and Russian mobsters.
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Where is the outrage from all the big-named conservative media giants like Fox News, Rush, Hannity, Mike Gallagher, Scarborough, Laura Ingraham, Monica Crowley, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, O'Reilly, Cavuto, Glenn Beck, Greta, National Review, Weekly Standard, Human Events, American Enterprise Institute and The Hoover Institute? Other than one unremarkable short TV segment by O'Reilly and two excellent short stories by Bret Baier at Fox News, there is only the vexing sound of crickets chirping. With the exception of Joseph Farah's WorldNetDaily, I cannot cite a single media entity, think tank or radio host in America that has dedicated themselves to preserving this vital story and keeping it alive with rigorous and trenchant analysis.
It is the Savage silence of the lambs.
Jacqui Smith's naked assault on free speech has sparked universal public outrage in England where Savage enjoys 80/20 favorable ratings, but the deafening silence by those conservative voices in America who have built their own careers lamenting and complaining about Clinton, Obama, the "liberal media" and the Democratic Party treating them badly seems akin to crocodile tears or even worse, to the duplicitous treachery of a Benedict Arnold or a Judas … but why?
Savage answered this question on his radio show last week. quoting the words of Martin Niemoller, the great German protestant minister who for years suffered in Nazi concentration camps for his outspoken Christian beliefs in the face of Hitler's genocidal mania. Niemoller wrote these poignant lines:
When the Nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;I was not a
social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists,I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,I did not speak
out;I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,there was no one left to speak
out for me.
Niemoller was very self-critical and prophetic. In modern times Democrats, through their majorities in Congress, have once again attempted to resurrect the unconstitutional assault on free speech called, the "Fairness Doctrine." Obama and his fascist legions will undoubtedly come after Rush, Hannity, Scarborough, O'Reilly, Ingraham, Cavuto and Fox News in the near future. Who, then, will fight for them? Who will be their advocate? … The GOP? Themselves?
Why have virtually the entire conservative and liberal media so hardened their hearts and closed their bowels of compassion against this magnificent conservative intellectual? Michael Savage, in my opinion, is a singular genius, the rival in his genre to other famous iconoclasts in world history, including Jeremiah, Elijah, Socrates, Montesquieu, Beethoven, van Gogh, Einstein, Hanna Arendt, Churchill, Gen. Patton and Reagan – yet why is he ignored at home and vilified in Great Britain for dedicating his entire life to Veritas (truth)?
It is the Savage silence of the lambs.
The galling irony of Britain's home secretary's libelous and slanderous attacks on Savage is that this is the land where the Magna Charta was born, where the right to freedom of expression protected by international law and treaties so essential to democracies originated. For years I wondered why the GOP, the Republican National Committee, Hannity, O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough and others in the conservative politics and media regularly invite the most reactionary, radical liberal Democrats and socialists on their programs (to be "fair and balanced") while for 15 years disregarding the comprehensive genius of Michael Savage by rarely or never inviting him on their shows or ignoring him summarily.
Intellectuals, conservative talk radio, the GOP and the RNC must understand that Savage's oeuvre and worldview transcends mere men, personality, politics, philosophy or emotion, but is in the Parthenon of godliness, principle, ideas, righteousness and Veritas. It is my prayer that conservative talk radio set aside their fears, jealousies and silent acquiescence to the fascist blacklisting tactics of Britain and unite with Savage's righteous cause, defending freedom of speech and freedom of expression in England, in America and throughout the world.
For to do otherwise is the Savage silence of the lambs.
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