"Government can't solve all your problems"

[ZX86]

Every time I hear this meme it's sounds just as stupid and filled with the kind of blinkered philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from the non-creative garbage that spews that kind of nonsense.

It is wrong on so many levels. First of all it presupposes that government is some foreign entity out of control of the people it serves. In a democracy we chose our representatives to reflect our wishes. If government isn't performing as we desire it's our responsibility to elect representatives who will make sure it does.

The right wing has successfully demonized the word "government" to the point where even so-called liberals bemoan the government. Let's get one thing straight. Government is a value neutral word like "fire". Fire for example in your BBQ is a good thing. Fire on your roof is bad thing. If you run around grunting like Frankenstein, "Fire bad!" people would think you're an idiot. The same goes for related terms like "big government", "small government", "government regulations" etc. It's neither good or bad. It's how you implement it.

Secondly I wish people would pull their heads out of their butts about regulations. Government regulates every thing. Get over it. Everything you see, touch, taste, hear, and smell is in one way or another regulated by government to one degree or another. From the air you breathe to the water you drink. From the food you eat to the disposal of it's by products. And this is how it should be. In a civilized society there has to be boundaries. You'll find no one more freedom loving than myself but regulation is the cornerstone of a civil society.

The protection of your own rights is firmly attached the regulation of the rights of others. Should you be able to marry who ever you want? Of course you should! Should be able to marry a twelve year old you bought on the black market? Of course not! Should you have the freedom of speech? Of course! Should you be able to make death threats to your ex-spouse. Of course not!

The entire point of living in a civilized society among others is to solve problems. Government is the vehicle for that. If government isn't trying to solve problems it's not doing it's job. I can't think of one problem that any citizen has that government can't lend a hand to help solve.

Government solutions to problems are not universally draconian edicts enforced by jack booted thugs. It can be anything from police and fire protection to public libraries and museums. School lunches for kids to healthcare for seniors. What drives me crazy more than anything is when people complain that their precious tax dollars are be "redistributed" others. Especially poor people. Well that's where I want my tax dollars to go! Poor people! Homeless people! Sick and injured people! Fuck Halliburton and Blackwater!

And while I'm on the subject, the fallacy of "wealth redistribution" gets on my last nerve too. Anytime money changes hands it's wealth redistribution. What do you thinks happens when you pay your auto insurance premium? They put it in a shoe box with your name on it and wait til you get in an auto accident? What do you think happens when you put your money in a bank? Haven't you seen "It's a Wonderful Life"? James Stewart spelled this out decades ago.

Okay. Rant off. I just had to get that off my chest. I'm just so sick of the demonization of certain words and phrases that only serve right wing, greedy, selfish talking points.

[Willie Pep]

1. What is funny about the "government is always bad" people is that they blame government for

everything that goes wrong with their lives but also maintain that the government is totally incompetent and that it cannot do anything right. Government is at once all-powerful and totally inept.

As you point out, when it comes to the government it is all about how it actually operates. So we do want the government maintaining public safety through the police but we don't want the government maintaining a total police state that puts a police officer in every house and snatches people from their beds in the middle of the night to never be seen or heard from again.

I wish more politicians would talk about the common good or the public good. We seem to have lost that language, which is sad. I think it is a reflection of how cynical many people have become when it concerns politics.

[ZX86]

2. Don't get my started on politicians.

Last edited Sun Oct 16, 2016, 10:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Why would anybody vote for anybody who didn't believe the job they're doing is worthwhile and should be shrunken to point it could be drowned in a bath tub??? Would you hire a librarian that didn't believe in reading? Would you go to a medical doctor who believed in faith healing?

It's bizarro world!

[Willie Pep]

3. Yeah, it is a bit like hiring an arsonist to be the head of your fire department!

I actually think that conservatives purposely wreck government programs in order to "prove" that they don't work. One way to do this is by chronically failing to properly fund programs then when the programs deteriorate use that as proof that they are inherently faulty and abolish or privatize them. The Republicans do this a lot with the VA, just to give one example.

[ZX86]

5. What they've done to the Post Office is horriffic.

Ben Franklin is rolling in his grave.

[narnian60]

4. +100

So very well said.

[Control-Z]

6. Excellent rant!

I live in California and have to hear about how bad our regulations are for business - mostly from my future-ex. I swear I want to stomp his instep every time he opens his damn mouth about it (and any number of things, to be honest). I wish I could blurt out every last word you wrote. Somehow I manage to lose my bearings around him, though.

[SHRED]

7. Exactly

[piechartking]

8. As far as rants go....

...this was a good one. I too am sick of always having people trying to make me feel bad for:

1) Defending government
2) Saying positive things about Hillary
3) taking pride in being "liberal"