To be conservative IS to be liberal
I am not talking about the right-wing sociopathic theocrats who want to rule this country with a philosophy composed of the vicious raving filth people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell try to pass off as Christianity. Those con artists get themselves a frontman who is a smiling dim bulb like George W Bush, one who actually believes the Prince of Peace preached the path of revenge, retribution, vindictiveness, death, and destruction. They don't believe it themselves. Their idea of conservatism is "Me and my friends own it all and you can go fuck yourself."
Once I realized that I was Conservative and had been for many years, I also realized, to my dismay, that for all intents and purposes, that brand had been discontinued.
To be Conservative is to have a great desire to conserve. The government is limited to things only the government can do, i.e., protect persons and natural resources from predation by profiteers -- humans, forests, minerals, wildlife, etcetera belong to the nation not to whatever particular family killed off enough of its competitors to be able to sink pipes and cut down forests.
That means the government does not interfere with people who are not harming others -- does not presume to determine what books, films, internet sites, broadcasts, etcetera, individuals may choose. The government does not intrude itself into personal lives whether that is an issue of who marries whom, who decides to reproduce, what medication a person wants to use to relieve pain, boredom, and/or disease symptoms. The government does not intrude on individuals deciding in what ways they will amuse each other and/or give pleasure to each other. (It is not the government's business whether or not an individual or an elected official gives or receives oral sex, unless, unless it is, to use a hypothetical example, Tony Scalia and Dick Cheney are doing it to each other at government expense.)
The means the government limits itself to protect the people from individuals, nations, or corporations, who would rob, poison, kill or cripple them for their own benefit. In other words, thieves, con men, hustlers, and murderers, whatever form or organizational structure they take. That means the government performs the function for which it was created -- to institute a better society than anarchy. In other words, to quote from an obscure document written early in American history (one which the current administration either never read:
And when the putative humans who occupy the positions of power are con men, hustlers, and thieves, then it is the duty of the Conservative to protest. That assumes courage and integrity. Charley Reese, among others, is such a person.
John Kerry may not be THE man everyone was waiting for, but he has one of the essential attributes of a real man, the same as Charley Reese, the courage to stand up and admit a mistake. Dubya does not.
Link
Once I realized that I was Conservative and had been for many years, I also realized, to my dismay, that for all intents and purposes, that brand had been discontinued.
To be Conservative is to have a great desire to conserve. The government is limited to things only the government can do, i.e., protect persons and natural resources from predation by profiteers -- humans, forests, minerals, wildlife, etcetera belong to the nation not to whatever particular family killed off enough of its competitors to be able to sink pipes and cut down forests.
To be Conservative is to be liberal in the most literal sense of that word, i.e., live your own life and let others live theirs.
That means the government does not interfere with people who are not harming others -- does not presume to determine what books, films, internet sites, broadcasts, etcetera, individuals may choose. The government does not intrude itself into personal lives whether that is an issue of who marries whom, who decides to reproduce, what medication a person wants to use to relieve pain, boredom, and/or disease symptoms. The government does not intrude on individuals deciding in what ways they will amuse each other and/or give pleasure to each other. (It is not the government's business whether or not an individual or an elected official gives or receives oral sex, unless, unless it is, to use a hypothetical example, Tony Scalia and Dick Cheney are doing it to each other at government expense.)
The means the government limits itself to protect the people from individuals, nations, or corporations, who would rob, poison, kill or cripple them for their own benefit. In other words, thieves, con men, hustlers, and murderers, whatever form or organizational structure they take. That means the government performs the function for which it was created -- to institute a better society than anarchy. In other words, to quote from an obscure document written early in American history (one which the current administration either never read:
...to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty...
And when the putative humans who occupy the positions of power are con men, hustlers, and thieves, then it is the duty of the Conservative to protest. That assumes courage and integrity. Charley Reese, among others, is such a person.
Americans should realize that if they vote for President Bush's re-election, they are really voting for the architects of war Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and the rest of that cabal of neoconservative ideologues and their corporate backers.
I have sadly come to the conclusion that President Bush is merely a frontman, an empty suit, who is manipulated by the people in his administration. Bush has the most dangerously simplistic view of the world of any president in my memory...
People who think of themselves as conservatives will really display their stupidity, as I did in the last election, by voting for Bush. Bush is as far from being a conservative as you can get. Well, he fooled me once, but he won't fool me twice...
I will swallow a lot of petty policy differences with Kerry to get a man in the White House with brains enough not to blow up the world and us with it. Go to Kerry's Web site and read some of the magazine profiles on him. You'll find that there is a great deal more to Kerry than the GOP attack dogs would have you believe.
Besides, it would be fun to have a president who plays hockey, windsurfs, ride motorcycles, plays the guitar, writes poetry and speaks French. It would be good to have a man in the White House who has killed people face to face. Killing people has a sobering effect on a man and dispels all illusions about war.
John Kerry may not be THE man everyone was waiting for, but he has one of the essential attributes of a real man, the same as Charley Reese, the courage to stand up and admit a mistake. Dubya does not.
Link
posted by Saintperle at
10:07 AM
