Left Rigged Game With Strawman Labels
By John Haenn
Does anyone even know what conservatism is anymore? It’s this little idea that’s been grossly and probably purposely undersold to the American public since the days of Reagan.
Conservatism is the idea that given a strong country, strong economy and freedom, that people can fend for themselves. This gets countered as conservatives wanting people to be poor and starve to death. Thank goodness that we have all of these government programs to keep these people barely alive, barely eating, barely having shelter.
Conservatism is the idea that an intact country is a country that has a border. It’s a country that has laws that allow people to immigrate in both directions legally through a process. This gets countered as conservatives wanting America to be closed to the world, a racist and harsh America that looks down on peoples all over the world.
Conservatism is the idea that a smaller government is a better government. This goes completely ignored, because while we are all holding onto our conservative values, the left is selling the idea that jobs, food, housing and happiness all come from the government. They do a damn fine job selling this to the American public.
The American public is bought and paid for. And it’s our fault.
For 20 years, we’ve done nothing to expand our base. We don’t educate blacks and minorities about how better off they’d be living in a country that embraces conservative principles. We don’t control the conversation at all. We’re not doing any talking. We’ve allowed ourselves to be demonized to the point where it will take a generation to undo the damage, and even that may not be enough. We may simply be done.
A. Did we feel we had safety in numbers?
B. Did we feel that we’d win elections on principle, because the good guys always win?
C. Did we think that since our ideas are good that people would just jump on board?
D. Did we assume that blacks and minorities are unreachable?
E. All of the above.
Answer, E.
But while we’ve slept, the left has undone everything that we accomplished under Reagan. And they’ve done more. They’ve infiltrated our party with left leaning Republicans who on some issues will side with the big government liberals every time. Think of it like a casino. We win some battles, but the game is rigged towards the Democrats. This holds true regardless of who controls which chamber or both chambers. In reality, we have 1 political party; The Elite.
Our Elite Overlords.
The elite whom decide our Freedoms.
The elite whom decide our Success.
The elite whom decide our very Survival.
From cradle to grave, this Elite Party controls every part of our lives, from birth, education, family, health and death.
What do we do? As I said, we may simply be done. Welcome to Rock Bottom, nation. The national debt is unthinkable. Total unemployment is 30 percent and probably higher. There’s no manufacturing. No innovation. No invention and no drive. We’ve run out of time. Reagan’s City On A Hill is going dark.
If we have any hope of saving the country, we must begin first with honestly admitting where we currently are as a people. The picture is not good. The outlook is worse. The kind of urgency needed in the righting of the ship is not often seen in human history, but we have no choice. This land was chosen as the last best hope of mankind, and as Ronald Reagan once said, “How can we do any less; we’re Americans.”
A young nation turned to George Washington in their darkest hour. Who will step up this time? Who will be the voice to mend a torn nation?
Mr. Haenn is a resident of Collingdale, Pa.
I’ve found this to be a good list of conservative principles (hat tip to Lee Edwards, who presented these in an essay at TownHall.com, way back in 2004 or so):
Six Principles of Conservatism
1. The private sector can be depended on to make better economic decisions than the public sector in 99 out of 100 cases.
2. Government serves the governed best when it is limited.
3. Individuals must exercise responsibility along with freedom.
4. There is an enduring moral order.
5. Peace is best protected through military strength.
6. The United States should not hesitate to use its power and influence to shape a world friendly to American interests and values.
No. 1 means we favor a free market, with as little State intervention as possible. Certainly the market decides winners and losers, not the State. It does not mean that we want unsafe products.
No. 2 should be self-evident, and it’s also expressed well in the formula that Dennis Prager coined: “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.” It’s also a chief mark to identify our Revolution from the French Revolution. For us, the State is our servant. For them, the State is the master.
No. 3 is also a no-brainer, as any good parent should be able to tell you. You have rights, but you have responsibilities, too. You can’t just do whatever you want, whenever you want, without thinking about the consequences.
No. 4. is the opposite of the Left’s/Progressivism’s moral relativism. Morality is external to us, not internal. For example, murder, taking an innocent life, deliberately, is wrong, regardless if we all say it isn’t. And a society in which there is no morality, when everyone decides for himself, then you have a society in which the strong oppress the weak, and the majority oppresses the minority.
No. 5 is also a no-brainer and we see today what happens when you don’t follow it. As the Roman author Vegetius put it, “If you want peace, you must prepare for war.”
And finally, No. 6 should be natural to us, but again, it is the opposite of the internationalism, or better, anti-nationalism, of the Left. In that regard, our Leftists are linked to European Leftists. From their two devastating wars, the Europeans, especially the Germans, drew two lessons: Nationalism is evil, and fighting is evil. There is nothing wrong with nationalism, with pride in your country. There is something wrong when you say, “I’m going to kill everyone who isn’t my countryman.” But that is not a logical step from pride in your country. And the idea that fighting is evil is ass-backwards. Fighting isn’t evil, though you may apply it to evil causes. But if you decide that fighting is evil, then you won’t fight evil.
Implied in these principles is also the idea that we must each rule ourselves. That’s what the Founders meant when they spoke about virtue. Each citizen must rule himself, and then society will order itself. But if citizens do not rule themselves, the State is always too ready to step in and rule for them. And beware the tyrant who says that he will rule on behalf of his subjects, in his subjects’ best interests. He is the most insidious rule of all.
I have always been a “fighter”,but in the last 10 years the overwheming media bias,and all too often lies,has me ready to go silent.:(
I dress as a clown and stalk progressives.