When a former U.S. president said, "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem," he trampled on the idea that government had the ability and the duty to be a source of some very profound solutions as well. Child Labor Laws, Food and Drug Standards, and on and on.
With that statement, Reagan elevated division and selfishness to new heights and, perhaps unknowingly, declared war on what the essence of America is.
To begin with, government can be as sound and as solid as the Constitution it is built upon. Until the time of Reagan, the United States was a nation that kept improving itself, and the lives of its citizens, as it went along.
When Governor Reagan left the state of California behind to seek national office, he left one of the best public school systems in the world, from kindergarten through graduate schools, on a path of diminished support that lead to a deeply diminished and deteriorating system. It is now below the national average in per-pupil expenditure. The National Education Association ranks California 29th in the nation in support of its students, and some estimates tell us that it is even lower than that. (Some legacy!)
By starving and shrinking government, as Reagan supporters like to proselytize, we are starving ourselves and the health of our nation.
We need a new transformation, where free citizens determine the policies and future of the nation, not representatives within government who are bought and paid for by lobbyists to do the bidding of business. There are sometimes as many as six to eight lobbyists for every member of Congress.
Government should NOT be run like a business! Business should be run like a business. Business is only concerned with maximizing market share and profits.
Government should be run with the view that it is the servant of the people and there to do good. These days, that almost sounds quaint, doesn't it?
Government isn't innately flawed as Mr. Reagan liked to infer when he made fun of it. Government is as honest and as effective as the people who inhabit it.
For starters, LIARS should be banned from all government jobs, elected and otherwise. How many representatives and senators do you think that would still leave in office? 30%? 40%? 50%? When you give up on government, you give up on yourself! It's not a complicated equation: Government is as good as the people in it!! Since when has honesty been "optional" for government work?
Ask yourself: Do you believe that most people are dishonest and incompetent? What kind of 'view of existence' is that? Sad and cynical, I'd say. I believe that it's just a projection of the person saying it, and I sure don't want those people in government, much less running it at the top!
The United States was born as a place of Hope and Opportunity. It started out giving that hope and opportunity only to white males with European background. But it/we have kept amending ourselves and improving this nation in an ongoing quest to provide "Liberty and Justice for All." Those are the key concepts: Liberty and Justice for All.
If you agree with that notion, I recommend you transform yourself into a Proud Progressive and carry these thoughts proudly. Government isn't "a beast that should be starved!" It is Our Resource and the basis of our "Commons" and it should be nourished and guided into being an instrument for good and for justice.
You probably know that the current disparity between the richest and poorest Americans is greater now than it has ever been in our history. Some economic observers call what our financial system has become "Casino Capitalism." The results of the policies of the last 30 years is that the American Middle Class is being drained dry. That is counter to Hope and Opportunity, and directly undermines Liberty and Justice for All.
So be a Proud Progressive! Take Part.
Speak Out. TRANSFORM OUR
GOVERNMENT. Transform our Nation and our
Future while we still can.
Edward Bear is a long-time progressive activist, radio personality and talk-show producer.
He currently produces the progressive radio show Hannah-Beth On-The-Air.
Your little "Progressive Hope" sermon is just that - fit for a speech about how God cares during Sunday morning worship, not the reality of politics. Whether or not "all people are dishonest and incompetent" is completely irrelevant to this topic, seeing as history proves without a single counter-example that ALL GOVERNMENT IS DISHONEST AND INCOMPETENT. People are driven by rational self-interest, this is how we endured 30 million years of evolution. With this in mind, the idea that people can be given jobs where they wield trillions of dollars of someone else's money with any sort of accountability problematic at best and still be motivated by the public good rather than personal gain is a fairy-tale that no one over the age of 5 ought to believe in. People who wouldn't be dishonest to benefit their self-interest in THAT position are few and far between, and they don't run for office. Interestingly enough, socialist ideologists and even Karl Marx (which most Progressives would do well to actually READ rather than just wear portraits of) recognized this and made it clear that collectivism would only become possible if/when people stopped being self-interested and saw the public good as their primary motivation. My opinion is that will never happen, but even if its possible, I don't think anyone will agree we're there now. I'm sorry to do away with Santa Claus, but your fairy-tale being appealing to emotions doesn't make it real.
REPLY TO ANONYMOUS COMMENT:
Ahh, the dark forces reach out of the shadows. Mr. Anonymous, and he has to be male – “People are driven by rational self-interest,” and... “your fairy-tale being appealing to emotions doesn't make it real,” are
typical, traditional, from-the-neck-up male talking (choking) points.
Mr. Anonymous is so blinded by his own dark visions that he makes the ultimate statement about what is and what isn’t true, which he accuses me of, but which I didn’t do.
He states: “....history proves without a single counter-example that ALL GOVERNMENT IS DISHONEST AND INCOMPETENT.” He’s absolutely sure about that. That’s both very sad and not correct.
To be accurate, one could offer a rational opinion that all governments are a combination of dishonest and honest people, incompetent and competent people, based on imperfect concepts. But that kind of thinking is probably too much in the “gray area” for Mr. A. No matter that it’s a more correct assessment. He’s more comfortable with absolutist “black and white” views of existence. As a result, he has forced himself into a black hole from that very attitude.
In fact, Mr. A provides the perfect example of one of the points I made in "A Thought" where I wrote: "Do you believe that most people are dishonest and incompetent? What kind of 'view of existence' is that? Sad and cynical, I'd say. I believe that it's just a projection of the person saying it.” He exactly makes my point.
And what he derisively refers to as my“...little ‘Progressive Hope’ sermon” could be called a “sermon,” or a “pep talk,” or, more accurately, just encouragement for people who consider themselves Progressives to carry on. The appropriate Winston Churchill quote here is: “Never, never, never give up.”
“A Thought for Progressives” was aimed at people who can at least conceive of a more generous and more caring world, and are willing to work toward creating it. Those who’ve assigned themselves to darkness by their beliefs should be looking for matches rather than reading and commenting on things they cannot understand or feel .
Edward Bear – 7-16-10
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