Monday, May 27, 2013

Is There a Vast Liberal Conspiracy in America?

Recently, proponents of Conservative philosophy have argued that the media, institutions of higher learning, and many think tanks are dominated by "liberal thinking" due to a process of "indoctrination" that individuals must go through to join the ranks of these institutions.

Elements of the indoctrination include study and discipline, application of the scientific method, logic with conclusions supported by documentable facts, and the truth. I guess these guys are right and their theory has merit.

Two of the most influential people in my life taught me that a meaningful life includes a process of continually learning and teaching. As elements of life change, some truths change. Some actions that were viable prior to the technological revolution, no longer produce results. A man would be a darn fool to produce buggy whips and expect to make a living today. Due to technology, demographics, et al, some realities change.

However, some realities don't. Science and the law of physics, and yes, as Bill Clinton so succinctly pointed out, arithmetic, remain true regardless of the changes in the structure of human life. One plus one equals two and always will.

So people that gain access to the institutions through study, discipline, logic, and a quest for truth may merely be exhibiting a sane and rational approach to what they are doing.

The GOP/Tea Party through their mission of obstruction and attrition, merely exhibit very assertive incompetence, and appear to have absolutely no understanding, and appear to be incapable of fathoming the outcomes of their behaviors. Liberal conspiracy? I don't think so. How could any sane, rational person behave otherwise. 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

"Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothin' Left to Lose." Kristofferson/Foster

The latest battle cry of the Republican Party is freedom. They claim that the Obama administration is taking away freedoms from Americans. The Tea Party/GOP prescription for living in America is threefold:

(1) Amass as many arms and as much weaponry, as humanly possible, and be prepared to use it. This decree assumes that we are all headed for some wild and crazy times. And by preparing for, and in anticipation of Thunder Dome, we are in effect adding to its creation.

(2) Don't pay taxes and do everything to disable all government save the Department of Defense. This notion is looney tunes. Nobody likes to pay taxes. Nobody likes to pay their rent or utility bill, either. But we do it to keep the lights on and a roof over our heads.  Same goes for the government.

I believe that virtually everyone in America will agree that freedom is linked inextricably to economic opportunity. The American Dream is realized when preparation meets opportunity. By deconstructing government, we are actually ending the ability to prepare; by ending support for education, research and development, subsidies for small businesses and industry, and ancillary equality. At the same time, we are destroying opportunity by deconstructing laws and regulations, and programs that protect and help the middle class and working poor, the consumers that spend money, and essentially support and create existing and new markets. The hypocrisy and dishonesty of the GOP is illustrated by the "absolving" of a portion of the sequester regulating air traffic controllers, thus ceasing the disruption of the economy at a certain level.

I will not spend time on this, but imagine if an individual state, free from any pesky Federal interference, became financially strapped and/or controlled by a deranged government and decided to allow a foreign power to position nuclear weapons.

(3)So we arm ourselves, deconstruct our government, and we trust and rely on Our Lord Jesus Christ to take care of everything else. In essence, we let crackpots as well as shrewd opportunists structure our lives. We equate this to freedom. And because we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, regardless of how we act or what we do, our actions are divine, and beyond human scrutiny, judgement, and reprise.

I am a baptized Christian. As a small boy in Sunday school, I was taught a different prescription for living. My lessons included such suggestions as: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."And," Love thy neighbor." And, "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

Newsmax- one of the biggest proponents of the GOP doomsday philosophy likens Obama to Hitler, and the failure to overturn Roe v. Wade, the same as the holocaust. The court decision was in 1973. If Newsmax told me W. Bush was similar to Hitler, I would applaud their scholarly analysis. It must be noted that Newsmax regularly runs ads advising its readers on how to recognize dementia.

I'll leave you with a very sobering quote.

"It's hard to get people to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it."

Upton Sinclair