[Tenth Amendment Center] "Nothing is more dangerous to the cause of truth and liberty than a party-spirit."
Noah Webster didn’t mince words.
Over 200 years ago, he saw the warning signs we still ignore today — the danger of trading truth and principle for party loyalty.
This isn’t just some abstract warning. It’s a direct hit on the rot that dominates American politics today. When people stop thinking and start following, liberty doesn’t stand a chance.
Let’s walk through Webster’s message. Piece by piece and step by step.
Step One: Independence Is Surrendered.
"When men become members of a political club, they lose their individual independence of mind;"
Once someone attaches to a political tribe, the mind no longer operates freely. Every issue is filtered through "the cause," which really means the people pulling the strings.
"They lose their impartiality of thinking and acting; and become the dupes of other men."
Step 2: Fair judgment disappears.
Honest thinking vanishes. No longer guided by principle, the party faithful become pawns — moved by the loudest and most powerful voices, manipulated by those in control.
"The moment a man is attached to a club, his mind is not free:"
This is the foundation of the warning. If the mind isn’t free, the person isn’t either. Obedience replaces curiosity. Conformity replaces conviction.
Step 3: Tribalism replaces reason.
"He receives a bias from the opinions of the party:"
Suddenly, positions change. What was once wrong becomes right — because the party line says so.
"A question indifferent to him, is no longer indifferent, when it materially effects a brother of the society."
Tribal politics hijack priorities. Issues that were once irrelevant become flashpoints — not because of principle, but because the party has something to gain.
"He is not left to act for himself; he is bound in honor to take part with the society — "
The language of "honor" masks the reality of pressure. Dissent is disloyalty. Acting from conscience is frowned upon. Silence becomes complicity.
"his pride and his prejudices, if at war with his opinion, will commonly obtain the victory;"
Even when there’s inner conflict — when something feels off — pride usually wins. Staying in good standing outweighs standing for what’s right.
"and rather than incur the ridicule or censure of his associates, he will countenance their measures, at all hazards;"
Avoiding shame becomes the goal. To keep status and favor, people go along — supporting policies and actions they’d never accept from the other side.
"and thus an independant freeman is converted into a mere walking machine, a convenient engine of party leaders."
Step 4: A Once-Free Mind Becomes An Obedient Tool.
No different from a campaign sign or a soundbite. Reliable, predictable — and utterly controlled.
That’s what party loyalty creates: blind obedience packaged as virtue.
Webster didn’t stop there.
"Nothing is more dangerous to the cause of truth and liberty than a party-spirit."
Not foreign enemies. Not economic collapse. Not even war.
It’s hot, it’s summer, the kids are home, you want to enjoy the break and not wade through hundreds of articles, mostly about ephemera or written by the ill-informed, so I’m going to do it for you. This week I highlight a few reports which I find sound. Because of space constraints and copyright issues, I can’t post them in their entirety but urge you to do so at your leisure. I found these articles which focus on the war, on President Trump’s foreign policy, the pushback from COVID tyranny and the Supreme Court’s ruling on deference to experts, the most significant matters of the week.
Iran and Israel
Spencer Guard accurately described the initial Israel response to aggression against it by Iran:
Imagine if Operation Overlord in World War II began with the elimination of Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the German High Command; Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS; Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; numerous other senior generals; and the destruction of all of Germany’s air defenses, before a single Allied soldier landed on the beaches of Normandy. That’s not an exaggerated hypothetical. It’s a near-parallel to what Israel just did to Iran.Israel’s war against Iran is still ongoing. But what has already unfolded will be studied for decades.
Israel's current military operation against Iran is officially called Operation Rising Lion, launched on June 13, 2025, with a sweeping and precise preemptive strike. The operation was not just historic. It was transformational. It redefined what shock and awe can look like in the 21st century.
This was not merely a strike. It was a campaign -- a layered, synchronized demonstration of modern operational art, built on deep intelligence, strategic deception, and the innovative fusion of old and new tools of war.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
