Defeat Of The Will, Redux

I submitted my post about the Million Veteran march to an Objectivist mailing list. In return I received this message:

This is too much about you and not enough about . . . whatever it is about.

Regards,
HB

Okay. I'll try again:

Leni Riefenstahl in her most infamous film, Triumph of the Will, provided an accurate view of what was at the time the embodiment of the socialist ideal, the mass of uniform drones robotically marching in blind obedience to a single will as embodied in the leader. In the film Liefenstahl gave us an hours long display of soulless conformity. The purpose of which was to demonstrate the power of the National Socialist state

To demonstrate his power over the people of our nation Barack Obama ordered the closure of open air monuments in the City of Washington. Physical barricades were erected to block off the citizens from open public property.

On Sunday October 13, 2013, veterans of conflicts from the Second World War to the present War On Terror, along with other citizens, demonstrated their will and authority. They dismantled the barricades and deposited them at the gates of the White House.

This demonstration was the open display of disobedience to the leader. It was the defeat of the will of Barack Obama.

To address the grounds given for the action, does the President of the United States have the authority to shut the public out of public spaces?

An argument in favor of doing so on the basis of public safety falls a bit flat when the cost of doing it is greater than the cost of properly manning the sites.

That should work.

Defeat Of The Will

Twenty five years ago when I was but a naive libertarian a friend of mine stole (Yes, he committed an actual act of theft) a VHS copy of the film Triumph Of The Will from a local neo-Nazi. It was a display of soulless conformity to the will of the leader. It was a display of the power of Adolf Hitler.

There was no other message and It literally put me to sleep.

On Sunday it was a clear and sunny morning when I went down to the Veterans Memorial in Saint Paul. There were about a hundred people gathered in support of the Million Veteran March in Washington. An unmarked camera crew from a local TV station was briefly present. There was a general invitation for participants in the rally to speak. And I made a mental note to bring a prepared speech next time.

It was upon returning to my home I was astounded by the images and videos from the veterans march in Washington. This demonstration was the open display of disobedience to the will of Barack Obama.

It was the defeat of the will and the power of Barack Obama.

Now, does the President of the United States have the authority to shut the public out of public spaces?

I don't know at the moment but an argument in favor of doing so on the basis of public safety falls a bit flat when the cost of doing so is greater that the cost of properly manning the sites.