 | Liberal/Conservativ |
By Richard K. Moore | Aletho News | April 7, 2010
Between left and right there's lots of ranting but little dialog. If only people would listen to one another they'd find there are real people on both sides.
I was raised as a liberal. I remember how pleased I was when Kennedy sent in troops to protect black students, and when the Civil Rights Bill was passed. It took me many years to realize that the net result was the centralization of power in Washington, while blacks continue to be treated as second-class citizens. I believe Kennedy was well-intentioned, but we know where good intentions can lead. I no longer identify with any political faction.
I'd like to suggest another perspective on liberalism. The fact is that the majority of the population in North America and Europe are liberal in their thinking. The dream of the liberal is a government that serves the people, balances the budget, promotes prosperity, avoids wars, and protects our rights. They think it is possible, if only the right people get in power. They don't think too much about the fact that whenever you ask the government to do something for you, you're giving them power to do that -- plus whatever else they decide to use the power for. And liberals can't bring themselves to see that government is basically a conspiracy against the people -- they reject that along with all other 'conspiracy theories'.
Since liberals are the majority, the mainstream propaganda is aimed at liberals, and phrased in liberal language. Conservatives are quite right to call it the 'liberal media'. The healthcare bill, for example, was sold by the media in liberal terms -- 'helping' people who are not currently insured. The media also told people that Obama's attempt to 'help' was being thwarted by 'heartless' Republicans.
So we get a situation where liberals are celebrating the passage of the healthcare bill, even when most of them don't have a clue about what the bill really means. They were seeing the whole thing as a battle between good and evil, between 'caring' Obama and 'heartless' Republicans. They'll accept 'defects' in the bill because they think it was 'the best Obama could get'.
The whole thing was theater, a scam. The healthcare bill was settled in its fundamentals many months ago, written by insurance companies, and rubber-stamped by party leaders of both sides and by Obama. Then we had months of fake debate, giving Obama an excuse to 'back down' on major promises, so he'd look good to liberals. Meanwhile Republicans could point out how bad the bill is, so they can look like heroes when the shit hits the fan in the healthcare system, as it will. And on both sides of the aisle, campaign accounts had been boosted by contributions from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
The point I'm making is that the healthcare bill has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. It's theft by insurance companies, abetted by corrupt politicians, and sold as 'liberal' by the corporate-owned media.
It isn't that liberals 'want things', and then the government 'gives it to them'. Rather, the wealthy elites that run the country decide what they want, and then they sell it in the media using liberal language. From a conservative perspective it might look like liberals are running things, but it's an illusion. An illusion that many liberals buy into as well.
One practical political alternative is to work toward restoring the Constitution, and I support that. However, most liberals will oppose it, if it's proposed by Republicans. Not because liberals dislike the Constitution, but because they don't trust Republicans. And because the media will tell them that 'Constitutionalism' is fake, that it's a cover for eroding civil rights, etc. etc. Whichever lie that works -- to be discovered in focus groups.
As long as liberals see conservatives as 'the problem', and conservatives see liberals as 'the problem', then we're never going to get anywhere. We'll be played off against one another, and nobody will get what they really want. When the government wants to sell more 'security', they'll use conservative language. When they want to sell more spending, they'll use liberal language.
I believe that we need to start talking to people on the 'other side', rather than circling our wagons in opposition to one another. I don't propose this as a political strategy, but rather as a pre-condition for developing an effective strategy. We won't convert anyone to change sides, but we'll learn that underneath our labels we all have similar concerns and hopes.
A Constitutional republic is supposed to operate by the consent of the governed. If the governed are divided against themselves, then government is free to do what it wants. If the governed can develop mutual understanding, they can stand as one voice and demand accountability.
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Peace.
Michael Santomauro
Editorial Director
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