Politics (blarg!) redux!

[hafoc]

I've always thought of myself as conservative.

I suppose "frustrated anarchist" is more like it. If you want to know my political views in a nutshell, it's this: If it has "rights" in it somewhere, I'm most likely for it.

"In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." I don't know why we can't keep our evil sides down. In theory we should be able to do so. In practice, we can't.

Because we can't control ourselves, government, laws, and regulations are a necessary evil, with the emphasis on necessary. Vigilante justice isn't just, but people will have any kind of justice rather than none. Therefore it is necessary for government to maintain order and to simulate justice well enough to convince the majority that they're being protected, and don't need to act on their own.

For this purpose government uses coercion. It uses the threat of force; as Heinlein said, any law is ultimately enforced by the death penalty, because if you resist long enough and hard enough they will kill you. The government extorts money, calling it taxes. It kidnaps and calls it imprisonment. It commits arson and murder on a global scale and calls it war. It does our necessary evils for us.

It follows, since its actions are based on force and evil, that we should have as little of it as our contentious natures will allow. And we should allow The People as many kinds and flavors of freedom as we possibly can, since to take away freedom requires coercion, which is evil.

I always supported conservatism because it stood for less taxes, less regulation, more freedom. Or I thought it did. The good principles of conservatism still do.

So, athelind, here for your mockage and amusement are the "good conservative principles" I believe our current President has betrayed.

Conservatives used to call for fiscal responsibility. Squandering money requires more taxes, more taxes require more coercion. The budget should be balanced. GWB has run the budget defecit to record levels.

Conservatives used to call for rational and very limited use of armed force. We damned President Bubba, quite rightly, for sending US troops to rot and die in third world toilets on "peacekeeping" missions among people who hated us. And why? The interests of the US were in no way served. Apparently the only reason we went was because Bubba or his trainer Lady Macbeth didn't like "some third-world dictator in a funny hat." So we got rid of Bubba, and put in GWB, and he sent us on the biggest anti-funny-hat mission in history.

Well, that's what it's become. Where are the nukes? Where are the Al Quaeda training camps? All that's left as a reason for the invasion is that Saddam is not a nice man. And he wore funny hats.

And, as a side note, what really browned me off about it was how the deck was so transparently stacked even before things got rolling. GWB was actually saying that the fact the arms inspectors hadn't found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was that Saddam was hiding them, with intent to use them on us. So, here's the logic: If the inspectors had found weapons, GWB would have used that as an excuse to invade. If they didn't find weapons, he would claim that lack of weapons proved there were hidden weapons, and use THAT as an excuse to invade.

Conservatives used to call for less government interference in your life. Today GWB calls for less government interference if you're rich or operate a huge corporation. Otherwise, he wants to protect you from gay marriage-- which, I would think, is not something you're likely to be forced into against your will, so why do you need to be protected from it? He also wants to protect you from protesting, attending his rallies if you don't fawn on his every word, and other exercises of that evil old First Amendment. And if our government relief programs are all run by churches and you have to give up your faith and be baptized Catholic to get a bowl of soup when you're freezing to death on the street, that's just OK.

Conservatives used to call for the freedom to become wealthy. This is a good thing. If you're one of those poor souls who can't think of anything better to do with life than make money, you should be allowed to pursue whatever pale ghost of happines is within your reach. But now, GWB and his ilk have taken this beyond, to the idea of the government MAKING you wealthy. By cutting away your taxes, if you're rich. By ending corporate taxes. And above all, by government outsourcing contracts. Once a means of getting around bloated public payrolls, now contracts get awarded without competitive bids, whether or not the services can be provided at less cost that way, or in fact whether or not the services are even necessary.

It is all right for the government to get out of your way and let you make money. But the government should not be your cash cow. The government should not use its power to make you richer, or your corporation richer, at the public expense. The government should not use its power to force individuals out of their homes at cheap prices so that some private corporation can build an auto plant, an extra parking lot for a stadium, or a golf course-- all of which have happened. The government getting out of the way is righteous. But the government making individuals rich by direct action is CORRUPTION. Whether or not the politician who awards the contracts gets rich from them, or just gets "campaign contributions" or influence, it's all the same. It's corruption, it's corruption to the bone, and if it's not wrong, then nothing is wrong.

Conservatives used to be against government handouts to those who didn't need them. GWB is against government handouts to the poor, but if you're a corporation, spread your palm and watch the cash flow in.

Conservatives used to mock whacked-out liberals...

and that's right! The whacky should be laughed out of politics, regardless of their political orientation.

But you know what? Political insanity limits itself. If someone is an utter loon, s/he's never going to have a significant number of followers.

The quiet corruption, though. The "unholy alliance of government power and wealth," as the Progressives called it a century ago. That can always smash dissent with one hand while buying all the positive press it needs with the other. It's a real danger. I'm afraid of it, and it makes me mad as hell.

Comments

[silussa.livejournal.com]

You have just nicely outlined why I left the Republican Party a few years back and changed my affiliation to Libertarian.

Sure, there's a lot wrong with the Libertarian movement...but it's headed in the right direction generally, which is more then I can say for the GOP.

[chrissawyer.livejournal.com]

Whasssa matter? Don't like our corporate rulers? :)

[ounceofreason.livejournal.com]

We differ on several very basic assumptions, but seem to want more or less the same end result. There was a time when I'd try and argue out those basic assumptions, but that would be arrogant and counter-productive. Instead, I'm just going to re-iterate that you're cool.

Also, if I ever end up getting syndicated somewhere, can I use Mirath's "The strong must be kind" line? :)

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

"The strong should be kind. They have no excuse not to be."

Yeah, especially if you attribute it. It might help me find an agent or a publisher. :)

I'm willing to accept that you might operate from different assumptions than I. I took a strange philosophical path to arrive where I am now. And, after all, I could be wrong.

If there IS any absolute right and wrong when you're dealing with political philosophies.

[jirris-midvale.livejournal.com]

When I met you at FC, I thought you were pretty groovy. Reading this, I think you've firmly established yourself as a 'cool guy' in my head. Myself, I'm a libertarian. I'll fully admit I do have liberal tendancies because I used to think of myself as a democrat, but that faded as I stopped being so idealistic in the area of politics.

I learned to respect the right for what they stood for and thus shifted my political party. However, I do have to say this current president has done a bang up job at being an ass better than anything else. You've said it in a way that I lack the eloquence and wisdom to say. I probably would have cursed a lot. Thank you for this wonderful little essay.