It becomes apparent that you have no life when you watch so much political coverage on TV (or read about it online) that you experience an overwhelming sense of deja-vu with every speech, every interview, etc. Naturally, this becomes even more exaggerated as an election approaches as candidates go from town to town, interview to interview--different audience, but same speech. This, of course, makes perfect sense from a campaign point of view (at least in today's political climate here in the U.S.) but I can't help but yearn for something "different."
It seems that this "oratorical uniformity" isn't completely lost on today's political analysts--watch just one hour of CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc. and you'll likely see someone critiquing one of the candidates or campaigns for "harping" on a particular issue and saying the same things over and over (such as recently with the McCain's repeated efforts to associate Obama with William Ayers). That's fine...but what I certainly don't think there's enough of (I may be going a bit too far to say any of) is any mention of repetition or similarities between the two "major" candidates/two "major" political parties (after all, the candidates are just Democrat and Republican figureheads).
Yes, of course, there are differences in how to carry out various specific policies...differences in opinions on social issues, minutiae, etc. But when it really comes down to it, at the most basic level, both candidates/parties seem to espouse the same philosophy (regardless of what they call it) on the purpose of "government" at the most basic level...and it's not a philosophy that I feel leads us in a good direction. So, you're likely asking what is it that I mean by this?
It is rather unnecessary to list quotes from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama or to produce a lengthy analysis of his policy positions to say that fundamentally he believes in parity (in many respects--health care, jobs, etc.) for everyone and that this can best be accomplished by increasing taxes (or repealing tax cuts) for the "rich"--people making over $250,000. Fine...my goal here is not to analyze political philosophy or to launch into a diatribe on why I don't believe in socialism. No, my goal is merely to highlight what I feel to be Obama's philosophy on the function of government which certainly affects every policy decision/platform thereafter. I wouldn't go nearly so far as to call Obama a socialist, but I do certainly think that many of his ideas have that sort of "aura" and point in that direction.
I have no desire to vilify socialists or socialism myself, but many in the Republican party have no such qualms. In the past few weeks, both Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have flatly accused Obama of being a socialist numerous times. What I find especially interesting is the vitriol that drips from their words when they make this accusation. "Socialist" has become something of a "naughty word" in the U.S., an accusation I dare say rather akin to being called an "anti-Semite"...an accusation which produces an immediate gut reaction of recoil. As an aside, I think this in particular has a great deal to do with the public education system in the U.S., which inculcates us from a very young age to revile such words as "socialism," "fascism," "Soviet," etc. as a simple matter of fact (with hardly any admission from anyone as to highly subjective, interpretative nature of "history") . This is a significant problem that perhaps can be dealt with in a future post.
In any case, it is clear that the Republicans (at least those in the campaign and currently in the "spotlight") would like us to believe that Socialism is a horrible thing, Obama is a Socialist and that McCain/the Republican party provides an alternative. While I have for a long time now held the view that both major political parties and those involved directly in our government are really all the same and deep down believe the in same thing--over-arching governmental control in many or all facets of our lives--it is somewhat more difficult to find clearly telling statements to this effect on the Republican side. I was then delighted (and at the same time dismayed, although not surprised) while watching John McCain give an interview with Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday this past Sunday morning, where I heard him say the following:
But the point is that, of course, when a -- when a --that's the reason why we have governments, to help those who need help, who can't help themselves, and when time of crisis to step in and do what's necessary to preserve the lives and futures of innocent people.
Now at first this may seem somewhat innocuous, but I would urge you to re-read it. The fundamental "reason why we have government" presented by McCain here is really not much different than that of Mr. Socialist, Obama. While their means (and rhetoric) may seem vastly in opposition, they are really both advocating the same thing--large-scale government intervention in our lives.
So, in the end it really doesn't matter which of the two you vote for--you're really voting for the same thing either way...but (to use a recently coined cliche) it's not "more of the same" we really need. We need something radically different, someone radically different. Someone who understands that it's not our government's job to intervene in our lives and to take away from some citizens and give to others. To this end, I would insist that everyone read Bastiat's "The Law" which I believe my husband has mentioned in a previous post.
Where does this leave us? Where are we headed if most people blindly continue to follow the two-party system and don't wake up to the fact that they're both the same? Alas, that is the subject for another post! I would though like to leave you with a particularly pertinent quote from one of my absolute favorite comedians, the late Bill Hicks (quoting it in writing doesn't do it justice, so I'd highly recommend his CDs, if you've not offended by extreme vulgarity)--
I'll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. "I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs." "I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking." "Hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding out both puppets!" "Shut up! Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control. Here's Love Connection. Watch this and get fat and stupid. By the way, keep drinking beer, you f***ing morons. (From the album Rant in E Minor)
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