Are Some Haters Of Government Sensing The Looming Regeneracy?

[Eric the Green]

(03-16-2017, 10:44 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: I’m used to taking the label of ‘Whig’.  I have my arrow of progress.  I favor democracy, human rights and equality.  I see what advancing technology has done for us, but look to change society to adapt to the new environment technology gives us.  I look at the ‘make America great again’ slogan, and note that the time of America’s greatness was the peak of the New Deal and Borrow and Spend liberalism.  There is a pride in being an American, and a Whig.  America was indeed great, until about Nixon’s time when the optimism and energy that created the greatness burned out.

But in doing all that, we stepped on people, we and similar European cultures.  There were black slaves.  There were Native Americans taken from the woods and planted in the deserts.  There were Arabs living on top of a lot of oil, and the West grew rich and powerful on that oil, while the locals grew to hate us.

I find it awfully easy to understand any hatred and violence aimed in our direction.  We took so much.

I also hear slogans like ‘America First’.  We seized a prominent place in the world and are striving to keep it.  I see people waving Nazi and Confederate flags, expressing pride in the horrific past.  And those who were down, and make no mistake many of them are still down, should not be helped.  If one tries in any way to make amends for an unspeakable past, one is accused of betraying one’s race.  

I am not pleased with this.  As proud as I am of how Jefferson’s self evident truths brought something truly new out of the tyranny of the Agricultural Age, we got there walking all over people.  We are striving still to walk over them more.

Too many are excessively fond of our privileged place in the world, have become totally accustomed to this place, and will apply all sorts of upside down double think to excuse their efforts to maintain their privileged place.

I find it all to easy to understand the hate coming from the cultures exploited, still exploited.  It’s not harder to understand those wallowing in the wealth and the privilege.  They are so used to it.  Their arrogant belief in their exalted place in the world is deeply ingrained, unquestionable.  Yes, it’s values locked in.  Folks can look in their fancy gilt mirrors and not see themselves.

There’s a fuse burning.  My instinct is to throw water on it, not gasoline.  Being into turning theory, that’s probably the wrong answer.  There will likely need to be an explosion.

But there is that niggling arrow of progress.  Come the crisis, when the problems become too deep to be ignored, the solutions tend towards working for the common good, towards equality, towards democracy, towards inclusiveness.  I accuse others often enough of being values locked.  Me too.  I have that silly stubborn faith in Jefferson’s self evident truths.  When the crisis comes, I remain dubious that shutting the doors so one’s own cultural group can keep its privileged place in the world will be the answer.

I'm in agreement. I found myself wanting to quote Jefferson today in response to a "classical liberal." (not kinser btw). So I will. "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted....

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted...

http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/document/

Now, some of our neo-liberal, classical liberal friends want to say that we don't need governments to protect and secure our rights to life. It's OK to let big business bosses ruin our land, water and air. It's OK to "reduce the size of government" by shutting down the EPA; it doesn't matter if others' right to life and happiness are denied. This callous disregard for the rights of others is called "liberty," so we don't need government instituted to protect the rights of these others. They want the liberty to infringe on others' liberty, in the name of liberty.

They claim that "the common good" infringes on individual liberty; that they don't want to contribute to the common good of society, because this costs them some tax money. They are not interested in "equality," because they'd rather look upon others as less deserving of our priviledges than we are, and that offering opportunity for equality infringes on the rights of the powerful.

No, I am not pleased with this double-speak either. And I think an explosion is building.