I have to give them credit, I guess--conservatives in the 21st century are very good at double-speak, very good at convincing people to vote against their own best interests. You can't do that without also being very good at deceit and hypocrisy.
Case in point: Conservatives whine and moan about "government interference." To hear them tell it, they believe in a near-complete right to be left to fend for themselves. In trying to dismantle Social Security, a favorite rallying cry for conservatives is, "They think you're too stupid to manage your own money."
However (and setting aside for the moment the fact that plenty of people ARE too stupid to manage their own money...and that even the smartest person in the world is helpless before, say, a market collapse or the calumny of an Enron, which is why Social Security was devised in the first place), it so happens that I live in the state which has made itself (in)famous for passing the most restrictive abortion law in the country. Basically, you can't get an abortion here--no exceptions, not for the life or health of the mother, not for instances of rape or incest...nothing.
In other words, in their vast, bottomless hypocrisy, conservatives see nothing wrong with the government making health decisions for women (and girls)--they see nothing wrong with hated government interference as long as they get to dictate the terms.
And I choose the word "dictate" with care. As time passes, I view the ringleaders of the modern conservative conspiracy to have nothing less in mind than the complete undermining of the real America--that is, a truly representative democracy of, by, and for the people--and its replacement by a dictatorial one-party regime that will stop at nothing to assume total power over the American people...too many of whom seem, sheeplike, to think it must be all right if "good" conservative "authorities" say so.
One can only hope they come to their senses while there's still something left of the United States.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Independence Day
I sent the following little greeting to some of my far-flung correspondents this past Saturday, July 2, the comemmoration of the Lee Resolution. One of the aforemention FFCs thought I should post it here, which I do--although as near as I can make out, only the FFCs ever read this.
Friends,
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote this to his wife, Abigail:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore."
Well, he had the "pomp and parade" bit right, even if he was off by two days. As you may remember from History class, July 2, 1776, is the date that the Second Continental Congress passed Lee's Resolution, declaring the colonies to be independent of Britain. So you might say that today, not this Tuesday, is the 230th anniversary of US independence. Or you might, as I do, say that this is something worth celebrating twice.
Let us hope, on this commemoration of freedom, that the United States might continue to be truly the land of liberty, dedicated to the ideals of its own Constitution, ever resistant to the tyranny of those who would impose their opinions and beliefs on others, a genuine defender of all freedoms, an exemplar for the rest of the world. And let us hope that everyone enjoys a safe and happy Independence Day...or two!
WJR
Friends,
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote this to his wife, Abigail:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore."
Well, he had the "pomp and parade" bit right, even if he was off by two days. As you may remember from History class, July 2, 1776, is the date that the Second Continental Congress passed Lee's Resolution, declaring the colonies to be independent of Britain. So you might say that today, not this Tuesday, is the 230th anniversary of US independence. Or you might, as I do, say that this is something worth celebrating twice.
Let us hope, on this commemoration of freedom, that the United States might continue to be truly the land of liberty, dedicated to the ideals of its own Constitution, ever resistant to the tyranny of those who would impose their opinions and beliefs on others, a genuine defender of all freedoms, an exemplar for the rest of the world. And let us hope that everyone enjoys a safe and happy Independence Day...or two!
WJR
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