Really for as long as I can remember, I've been hearing that Democrats have no real ideas on what to do with the country while Republicans are stacked to the brim with unassailable beliefs on how this country should be governed. Here's my perspective on these beliefs.
Christian conservatives in power have some vision of a mommy, a daddy, two to seven aryan, (non-in-vitro) children, three SUVs in the driveway, and big box stores stretching to the horizon. Politicians who fall into this category take orders from the people who will bring them votes; those people claim to be taking orders from the Almighty Himself. Legislation follows that supports this vision, and where necessary, the visions of others with money, influence, and a total disregard for anything else. They like the Bible (King James, Protestant, please), those weird fuzzy channels that show bible cartoons and preachers, and the persistant radio broadcasts of preachers telling them what to do on a twenty-four hour loop.
Fiscal conservatives in power have a vision of bustling free markets, liberated from the yokes of taxation and regulation. They see business figuring out all of our nation's problems themselves, where social problems are meerly a matter of a lack of market saturation. Make the poor profitable and they can become customers too. If someone can't make it in this country then there is something basically wrong with them... their failure is competition weeding out the inferior products. This is really a vision of anarchy. The mantra of these believers is simple: they are not my problem, and therefore they should not be anyone else's either. They like Ayn Rand a lot, and ignore Hayek and Locke's mentionings of social responsibility in favor of the writings that support their belief in the market as the center of morality.
Libertarian conservatives share a lot of the beliefs of fiscal conservatives, but they rarely seek or achieve power since the center of their beliefs is a lack of involvment in government affairs, and a relative isolation from everyone not adjoining their acreage. They like leather and log cabins, like the idea of being off the grid and killing their own meat. When it comes to cities and other crowded areas, their emotions run from disdain to paranoia to a simple fear. These people are unlikely to have much consideration for others who may require some infrastructure to be productive; those people who have benefitted greatly from investment up front in health, education, sewers and electricity; the same people and resources that propelled our economy orders of magnetude ahead through the industrial revolution through today, and into the future. Libertarians have an 18th century vision of land and self-sufficiency... fine, even noble for an individual, not so good for a society. Personally, they are my most favorite conservative, though I'm glad they have the space to leave others alone, and to be left alone.
So you've heard my opinions of the Big Three Conservative Ideological Buckets (B3CIB). These opinions are a rough conglomeration of conversations I've had, books I've read, and TV I've watched. That's all. You're aware of the near-universal belief that Democrats (and liberals in general) lack any vision or direction. Well I say this is not a bad thing. The problem with the B3CIB that it's always someone is telling everyone else what to think. This is the essence of ideology. Evangelical Christians believe that anyone who hasn't taken Jesus Christ as their savior is going to hell. Fiscal conservatives see the choices out there as freedom or socialism. Libertarians get caught up in lengthy debates on what is the bare minimum role of the state. Ideological demagoguery comes in all flavors. Liberals must be careful to avoid it like the plague. Marx said that anyone who didn't believe they were being exploted in his terms was a victim of "false consciousness". This is equally (if not more) insulting to the power of individual reason. The end mission of all these beliefs is the complete control over all aspects of our lives. What about us? What about what you and I think?
Here's an alternative way of viewing things. Politics can be about our representatives thoroughly researching the top priorities of our nation and the pressing issues of their constituents. Then they can seek out past examples of solutions to those problems, propose some new ideas based on careful thought, and move ahead with legislation that seeks to address the issues that we care about. I thought this was how it was supposed to work. Since when did we need an ideology to guide this process? Political parties used to be about organizing people and resources to get things done. What changed?
Ideologies propose simple solutions to problems.
If only we could overthrow the owners of the means of production.
If only we could legislate according to our narrow beliefs on how God wants us to live.
If only we could just be left alone to fend for ourselves in the wilderness, or in the marketplace.
... then everything would be great. This sounds like a strategy for controlling people, rather than asking what they think. It's trading personal empowerment for a little faith.
It's not at all bad for our representatives in government to be pragmatists, to have a little humility and respect for the diverse beliefs of the people they serve. I won't vote for anyone who's made up their mind before hearing all the facts. I hope Democrats come up with a good legislative agenda. I hope they're big enough not to get mired down in investigations of the Bush adminstration (pick one and stick with it). I hope they show America that they're better than the guys who came before them.
I really hope they win the House and the Senate this November.
We don't need more competing ideologies out there. We need solutions to our problems. That's why we have a government.
No comments:
Post a Comment