There is in fact a shift in attitude taking place in America, and I think I have an idea of which way we are shifting. The last couple of weeks have given us a great deal to consider. But before we talk about that let’s see if we can find common ground.
Which of the following groups do you support, and which ones do you not support?
* Farmers * Senior Citizens * Teachers * Children * Veterans * Firefighters * Small Business * Unions * Nurses * Truckers * Middle Class * Minorities * Churches * Realtors * Artists * Sportsmen *
Consider the question rhetorical and put it aside for now.
Let’s try again. Which of the following end goals do you agree with/support?
· Full employment for all who want to work.
· A well educated population with quality education available at all levels.
· An absence of poverty, hunger, and crime.
· A healthy and fit population with affordable and appropriate health care available for all.
· Debt free governments, businesses, and individuals.
· No unwanted babies and no abortions.
· Affordable and appropriate housing for all.
· Peace in the world and security from violence and threats of violence. Freedom from tyranny and coercion.
· An absence of addictions to drugs and alcohol.
· A healthy natural planet with clean water land and air and thriving natural.
· A society where individuals are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin or any other factor beyond their control.
· A society where all individuals have an opportunity to succeed in their own pursuits through hard work and perseverance.
Again, please set this aside for a moment as we consider some news. We had another great actor die in a drug overdose. A middle aged man with money and friends and fans and lots to live for dies in his bathroom in his underwear surrounded by heroin.
Another Biggest Loser finale has come and gone with a whole crop of folks dropping weight and overcoming obstacles in their minds in order to free their bodies, and a very hot looking Rachel at the end of that journey reminding us it was not only a journey but a competition and one worth a quarter of a million dollars.
The Farm Bill was shoved through with its bloated subsidies and massive Food Stamp Program with the support of my congressman who is a supporter of farmers, they being important in the congressman’s district.
John Boehner just gave Obama and Reid a clean debt bill so he would not get beaten up in the press. Most of his conservative Republicans in the House got to vote against it while it was passed with mostly Democrat votes. Nobody wanted any sort of a fight about having to cut any spending. No need for that.
The president tried to get a conversation going about income inequality, and how we need to get to redistributing our income. He was also busy following up on the threat to use his pen and his phone to bypass Congress.
The Republicans were busy promising to look at Immigration Reform until they decided they could not trust the president to enforce any law passed as written. Nancy Pelosi was outraged and Barack Obama responded by extending the small business employer mandate out till after the 2016 election but randomly, not for political purposes.
I think we can find common ground on what our ultimate goals might be for our society. We want full employment and no crime or poverty or addictions. What we differ on is how best to achieve those things. The picture of an actor with everything to live for giving it all up for another buzz speaks volumes about the complexity of the problems facing us. If you have ever tried to deal with an unmotivated teenager or an elderly parent who should no longer be driving or a bipolar friend or family member who doesn’t want to take their meds you know there is no easy, simple, one size fits all solution to the real problems people have.
Even those people lucky enough to have been given a pretty good start in life can find themselves struggling, say with overeating. Rachel had been a world class swimmer but had gotten sidetracked and it took a lot of work to get back to where she belonged.
Some of us realize how wonderful and special life is but also that it can be a struggle for everyone and that everyone has to make choices and decide to make their way in life; nobody can live it for you. We need to help and encourage those around us; our friends and family need our support. But we each have a path to walk and we should be free to make our path and our decisions and also be responsible for the consequences of our actions.
Some folks feel that they know what the best path is. Some people would really like for us to do things their way; they feel they have it figured out and all we need to do is follow them. These are called authoritarians, and they exist on both the left and on the right.
When people are free to do as they please so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others they will experiment and succeed and fail and improve and learn. If everyone is left free to pursue and try and learn they will end up working things out in the most efficient manner naturally.
But some feel that man’s freedom must be curbed for his own security, for his own good. They feel that all of that freedom could be replaced with a little central planning and they can make things just a little better. There is nothing here that a little central planning will not fix. But central planning of things is difficult, as we are finding out with health care. And having democratic votes is unwieldy, so in the end it always comes down to executive mandates and orders, for expediency.
What is frustrating is that the right is just as eager to tinker as the left. They have their “favorite groups” and their “pet issues” and they also have an agenda. In a free market competitive capitalist system one competes in a marketplace on an even basis but in a big government authoritarian system it is different interest groups competing for a better place at the table.
There is a shift from authoritarian to libertarian, from big government to small government, from security to freedom and away from planning going on at the grassroots in this country and if Republicans want to remain relevant they need to embrace it and stop supporting interest groups of ANY kind. Be the party of the individual, not the interest group. No, I am not pro farmer. I am anti crony, anti corporatist, anti bailout anti subsidy and anti kickback.
2014 is an election year, and the windup for the primaries is beginning now. As you begin to pay attention, please remember when “your guy” starts telling you he supports “your group” please tell him we don’t have groups. We are just individuals, trying to live our lives and asking no more than for you to stay out of our way.
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