The Tea Party alliance between libertarians and conservatives gives the misleading impression that conservatives care about individual freedom. In fact this is only an alliance of convenience. Conservatives care about communities, not individuals. They want to preserve a thick normative cohesive ethnic way of life. The reason they object to allowing individuals the freedom to behave unconventionally is that they fear it will undermine their way of life (a way of life firmly situated in a non-existent but deeply cherished recent past). That's why they objected to mixing races and women pursuing non-traditional work in the past. That's why they still object to recreational drugs, unconventional sexual behaviour, and 'foreign' religions. Conservatives (of whichever political party) have always seen the constitution and bill of rights first and foremost as tools for furthering their freedom to live their way of life, which includes using the constitution to protect that way of life from liberal attempts to give
individuals the rights and resources to decide for themselves how to
live.
In contrast both libertarians and liberals care about individual freedoms, though they interpret this differently. Liberals believe that freedom for individuals is best provided through society, in the form of institutions and resources, and also restrictions that enable more valuable choices for more people (like minimum wage or work safety laws). Libertarians take the more extreme view that individual freedom requires freedom from society as well, even if the results aren't as beneficial for what individuals are actually able to achieve.
So it is not surprising that the libertarians are out there objecting
to ObamaCare. What is surprising is that anyone would think that the
conservatives in the Tea Party care about the principle of freedom for
individuals enshrined in the US constitution. Conservatives are
generally uninterested in the structure of power and rights. Rather they are concerned with who is
in power. ObamaCare is structurally almost identical to a Republican
party plan from the 1990s. The problem conservatives have with it is not
its 'attacks' on individual freedoms and constitutional rights, but
that the person in charge isn't one of them.
I saw this recently on a friends post and just had to see it for myself. People are actually using your opinion as fact and promoting it. Oh, the power of the pen...or in this case, the computer.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real shame that you can't or don't realize that Conservatives or Libertairians are all about individual freedoms. Freedom to govern oneself, as opposed to having a few govern the many, which is what Washington has become under both political party's autocratic rule. Doesn't anyone on the left realize that American's have been played for generations? Party politics is just one of the methods used to separate and divide all Americans? It's been effective, I'll give the Washington power brokers that much. In fact, it's even more effective today than at any other time.
Our Constitution espouses individual freedom and it is what most of us on "the other side" are trying to ensure, while those on the left want to tear that down and allow a few to govern the many. Wake up already to what's really going on! Just who do you think is going to hold all that power your side is so intent on turning over to the few at the top of the Washington hierarchy? Because they've done such a ducky job of it, haven't they? Uh huh....You see exactly what they are going to do with it already and yet you and yours are just oh so ready to continue to give them more? Really???
As for the structurally, "almost" identical GOP plan from the 90's, comparing it to Obamacare is unrealistic. The GOP plan didn't make it into law, so why even bother with the comparison. It's worthless then and even more so now.
When gov'ts become so overarching, you end up with Communism, which is the direction liberals want this country to go in - as evidenced by a multitude of comments heard recently on the news (those both for and against either party). If you don't believe that, maybe you need to be doing some research on revolutionary history. I hear many of the same things coming from all ends of the liberal spectrum that were the beginning of revolution. Anyone left alive has nothing good to say about them, I assure you. Go ahead and talk to those who've lived and then tell me that is the life you envision for yourself and future generations in America.
I'm not condoning what's been done from both sides of the aisle, but that's largely because gov't has grown to the size and scope it has and is entirely out of control from what our founding fathers intended it to be, I'm also saying you need to start looking for the reasons why it's happening, who's responsible for it and how to stop it.
There are more holes in this blog than swiss cheese. If there's one thing I do guarantee is that you and a lot of others won't like the end result of the revolution yore so intent on getting and I hope you're prepared for the many who will die as a result of it. Was and revolution is an ugly business.
Who benefits from it BTW??? Politicians, banks, financiers, those who can afford to finance it. So who wins here? You and I? Nope! Don't kid yourself. Start thinking big picture, because your limited myopic view is going to get us all burned!!
Hey anon, if you say less and think more, other people than you might value your right to freedom of expression.
ReplyDelete"Who benefits from it BTW??? Politicians, banks, financiers, those who can afford to finance it."
ReplyDeleteThe RAND Corporation, of course!
In conjunction with... THE SAUCER PEOPLE.
Under the supervision of... THE REVERSE VAMPIRES!