Conservatism Is Politics for Kindergarteners--David Michael Green

[Demeter]

http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/Conservatism_Is_Politics_For_Kindergartners.html





Politically speaking, we are a radically lazy society. Thinking, let’s admit it, is hard work. Many people don’t realize that, but then, many people haven’t really had the experience. For some folks it’s the cognitive equivalent of traveling abroad to a foreign land – done occasionally for a change of pace, if at all. Rigorously exploring and thoughtfully understanding our world is not easy. “Politics ain’t beanbag”, as the man once said, though he meant it rather differently. Far less demanding to defer to simple stereotypes, canned passion plays and quasi-religious political morality tales than to actually do our homework, apply the logic, and generate original thinking. And hey, if you do take the easy way out, you’ll still have plenty of time to catch the game on TV!

Moreover, there are lots of friendly people in Washington who would very much appreciate the opportunity to do your thinking for you. They are called conservatives – though I think regressive is a far more accurate term – and they have been getting lots of practice in recent years. They’ll be glad to make your political decisions for you, and even provide you a fully developed, off-the-shelf, ready-to-use reality, any time you like. All you have to do is not think, and not learn. Or, if you really must have the sensory input, simply confine yourself to the infotainment of Fox News or Star magazine. (Though that whole reading thing is to be especially discouraged. Posh Spice is the operative model here. Lots of glamour, lots of money, lots of celebrity, lots of bling. Little substance. She apparently once told an interviewer that she had never read a book – any book – in her entire life. Now that’s something, isn’t it? You gotta love that. You go, Girl! There may be a Presidential Medal of Freedom waiting for you if you keep on pioneering the way toward Karl Rove’s dream citizenry. And why not? Paul Bremer got one, and all he did was destroy a historic civilization of 25 million people.)

We in the progressive community know that not everybody in America thinks the way we do. But we would probably be well served also by a recognition that some people in this country don’t want to think at all. It is possible that some of these Borg could be knee-jerk progressives instead of knee-jerk regressives were they somehow to be re-assimilated into the reality-based community, but the odds are not high. So much of progressive thinking requires careful reflection, extended analytical probing, and a collection of just plain data – factual information – about what is going on in the world. So much of regressive ‘thinking’ fits nicely, and completely, on a bumper sticker.

“Support our troops!”, to wit, and quite literally a bumper sticker seen all over the place (though noticeably less ubiquitous than it was in 2003). Literally a bumper sticker, that is, but not so literal in its meaning, especially since the most obvious way to support our troops – right here, right now – would be to pull them out of harm’s way, where they sit today for no conscionable purpose whatsoever. Otherwise, short of that, really supporting our troops today would mean screaming and hollering at the top of our lungs to make sure that they get adequate training, armor, and rest before being deployed. While we’re at it, we might even ask that they be paid at the same rate as the nearly equivalent numbers of mercenaries fighting alongside them, to the tune of three or four times the soldiers’ salary. And if we really, really wanted to support the troops, we’d call for a draft, so that we’d have a massively enlarged military, and each soldier would have far less of a share of the burden to carry. Hmmm – that may be a bit more than our friends with the bumper stickers had in mind. Perhaps that’s why they’ve been seen lately ducking out to the garage in the wee hours of the night to scrape the things off their Hummers.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT LINK----

[Starfury]

1. Great article! Snarky and informative at the same time!

More snippets from this wonderful article:

“Support our troops!”, to wit, and quite literally a bumper sticker seen all over the place (though noticeably less ubiquitous than it was in 2003). Literally a bumper sticker, that is, but not so literal in its meaning, especially since the most obvious way to support our troops - right here, right now - would be to pull them out of harm’s way, where they sit today for no conscionable purpose whatsoever. Otherwise, short of that, really supporting our troops today would mean screaming and hollering at the top of our lungs to make sure that they get adequate training, armor, and rest before being deployed. While we’re at it, we might even ask that they be paid at the same rate as the nearly equivalent numbers of mercenaries fighting alongside them, to the tune of three or four times the soldiers’ salary. And if we really, really wanted to support the troops, we’d call for a draft, so that we’d have a massively enlarged military, and each soldier would have far less of a share of the burden to carry. Hmmm - that may be a bit more than our friends with the bumper stickers had in mind. Perhaps that’s why they’ve been seen lately ducking out to the garage in the wee hours of the night to scrape the things off their Hummers.

The fact that the regressive mantra “support the troops” in reality means none of these things is a perfect example of the difference between bumper sticker politics and something much more nuanced and analytical. And real. At the end of the day, the truth is that what this little slogan really means has little to do with the troops at all. What it really means for regressives who employ it is: “I let the president do my thinking for me, and I’d feel a whole lot more comfortable about how utterly lame that is if you would too, so I wouldn’t have to be reminded by your nonconformity of how I’m embarrassing myself by abdicating my role in this democracy thing we’re always huffing and puffing about, especially the particularly imbecilic creature now occupying the Oval Office to whom I’ve turned over my brain”. That’s what “support the troops” really means.

(...)

In kindergarten teacher knows best, and questioning - even of things you see right before your very eyes - will only earn you a timeout for insolence. If teacher says that massive tax cuts for the rich will trickle down to the rest of us, and will even do so without busting the budget, then it must be so. If teacher says turning over Social Security to Wall Street will make us all better off, then your job is to agree. If teacher says we need not worry about our planet burning up despite the gargantuan pile of accumulated evidence to the contrary, she must be right. If teacher promises to fix that entire city in Louisiana that drowned, then of course she will. And if none of these things appear to your eyes to be true, two, three and four years later, then surely what’s needed is for you to visit the nice eye doctor with the funny dials and charts on the wall. For teacher is never wrong. But it is certainly always wrong to even wonder if that might be the case.

This is precisely the sort of mentality about politics that has gotten us into the trouble we’re in today. And this kindergarten approach to public affairs is precisely what the American Founders sought to supplant with their blueprint for Enlightenment-style rational, mature, self-determining administration of government. Their dream was that we could graduate from kindergarten to first grade, or maybe even tenth grade, and employ the wisdom that is inherent in most of us and is necessary to sustain self-governance, rather than continuing to rely upon the daddy figures of various kings and sundry deities.

Strongly recommend that everyone takes the time to read the essay in full.