Lest I leave you with the mistaken thought that I believe it is the Liberal Left who is the cause of all of America’s troubles, let me be quick to say that I firmly believe it is the Rabid Right - the Ridiculous Right - who continually paves the way for the Loony left and even makes them necessary.If Communism suddenly seems to be attractive to the “masses” of despairing people who see no future anymore for either themselves or their children, it is because the policies of the Right drive them to that despair.
“... the Right prepares the way for the Left — in both the United States and Russia. The Right gives the motivation and creates the sense of desperation and moral outrage that leads people to embrace utterly implausible solutions like socialism and communism.” —Jeffrey A. Tucker
Without wars, unemployment, inflation, there is no need for revolution. Without those things, there is no specter of evil capitalism with which the Loony Left can strike fear into the hearts of the desperate.
For all of Obama’s socialism and semi-brainless economic strategies, the Right have only themselves to blame. Those of us who take neither side suffer the the futility that goes on around us. We are left with the attacks and counterattacks, Left against Right, Right against left, on and on and on - when all we really want and need is progress through greater liberty.
Agreed on both counts. One problem with politics is that the sides, instead of reacting, repeatedly both sides overreact.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I characterize all the current activities the same as you do, but I appreciate your point.
I do have two comments, though on your last point. You talked about greater liberty. One reason I support the policies I do is that I want freedom from fear, including economic policies that leave people at the mercy of organizations motivated solely by profit (as can be the case today). Having said that, there are sufficient examples of the state taking over wholesale and oppressing to the nth degree that I can appreciate your concerns. Hwever, I feel that there are plenty of examples of the opposite as well.
The second thing is that greater liberty is all well and good as long as we don't free ourselves from responsibility. Of all the tendencies in this country that I think are destructive, this tendency to feel we're entitled to do whatever we want (freedom) without having to suffer the consequences (responsibility) is a substantial part of our problem. I think it's a factor in crime (which is one of the highest in the industrialized world), debt level, obesity, heck, name your problem. I think it even applies to political civility.
What a great post! And I liked Stephanie's comments, too. It's too bad the two big sides are so extreme...
ReplyDeleteOf course, to Europe, both parties are conservative. Weird.
America. It's a whole other country. (No, really.)
email follow-ups
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you had a new blog Max! I wish I would have known sooner... I'm not getting any new updates on the Pub RSS so I thought you had given up the blogging game.
ReplyDelete@Stephanie B - I have always understood our fundamental difference in philosophy. You believe in a stronger central government than I do. I don't believe in freedom without responsibility. I do, as you already know, believe that individual liberty is diminished in proportion the the increase in the size of government. I think "political civility" - if there is such a thing - will only happen when both sides stop fighting each other and band together to throw off the oppressiveness of the common enemy: our federal government. Actually ALL levels of government, come to think of it: I can't think of ANY level, including local, which is user-friendly.
ReplyDeleteI believe the our federal government has done some helpful things in those cases where the states all saw the need for something, all benefited, and came up with a plan for the federal government to follow. An example is the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. What I do NOT believe is good, and which I absolutely HATE, is for the federal government, driven by the executive branch, to take it upon itself to ORIGINATE list of things it thinks would be "good for America". It is their job, constitutionally I mean, to carry out the wishes of the states and NOT to tell the states what the states want.
Sigh. I will not convince you with this line of constitutional reasoning. You are much like the Europeans who think of the 50 states as 50 counties under one big brother happy government. You think my idea (and Thomas Jefferson's idea) of republicanism, with the power rising from the bottom and the top being the employee of the people at the bottom is illogical.
I still hope to someday convince you of the validity and desirability of the common American citizens telling their city counsils what to do, and having them do it. Of having the people tell the township boards, the county commissions and, finally their states what to do, and have them all do it. In the end, if we regain our sanity, we will have our states, through our representation, tell the feds what to do and they damn well better do it.
The opposite is tyranny. Some folks long ago fought a revolution over this point.
@Shakespeare - Thank you for your comment. It is too bad both sides seem to have lined up against each other instead of fighting for a better country. I realize there will always be different views on how to get things done, and therefore always be more than one political party, but the foolish rancor from both sides is recent. Whatever happened to consensus and working together for a better life for all of us? It's almost as if we are two competing countries. No one seems willing or able to put aside ideology for the sake of the common good. Always battle lines are drawn.
ReplyDeleteI thought Stephanie's points were pretty good, too. Don't tell her I said that.
@Readbeard76 - Hello! I thought I had lost you! I don't know about the RSS feed. Please subscribe to the email thing if you will. (I am pretty sure that is working.) With baseball season winding down (and my pathetic Tigers perhaps being in the playoffs) I need you here to beat on. :)
ReplyDeleteAh, Tigers fan huh? They're not so bad, you could do worse... I was a semi-serious Tigers fan when I was younger, in the Cecil Fielder era. Better that than a damn Yankees fan. ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, I was raised in Michigan and was sort of a captive fan. Very few things to cheer about over the years. Back when they were in the eastern div we used to hate the Yankees too and the hatred remained. Mostly it was a hatred of George Steinbrenner though. Heh.
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