Right-Winger Conservatism Is Short-Term Politics

[MineralMan]

One thing that seems clear to me is that today's "conservative" thinking is based only on short-term goals, rather than long-term sustainability of our society. The "I've got mine...you're on your own" nature of what the right wing calls conservatism spells doom to our constitutional republic, if that's true.

Health care? Hey, they've got their employer-subsidized insurance, so what's everyone whining about. They can get appointments at their clinic, so screw those who can't pay. That works while they have jobs, but will fail for them, just as it has failed for 40 million or so Americans who have no health insurance. It fails for them now when they go to the Emergency Room with a serious health issue and have to wait for hours while those who have no insurance use the Emergency Room as their primary care clinic.

The economy? Hey...we're doin' great. Their mortgages haven't been foreclosed, so they're OK. So far. But, the unregulated banking industry will eventually get them, too. Instead of making sure that the banking industry can't manipulate loans and price everyone out of their homes, the right wing is doing OK with their loans. Who cares what happens to the lazy bums who can't pay their inflated mortgages? Short term thinking.

The Middle East? War is good. It stimulates the economy, right? Besides, those Muslims are evil...every one of them. Support the soldiers...as long as they don't have to be soldiers. Never mind that these phony wars, started on phony pretenses, are bankrupting the nation, killing our young men, and killing the very people we are pretending to help. Never mind that we'll never succeed in building USA-like nations in that part of the world. Never mind that the funds spent on these senseless campaigns could easily pay for health care for American citizens. "Let's you and him fight," the "conservatives" say.

Global Climate Change? Denial is the "conservative" position. Never mind that the ice is thinning, the methane warming up and coming to the surface, and the planet is headed for real trouble. The weather's just fine where the "conservatives" live, so this must all be a liberal plot. Things are going just fine, the gas stations have plenty of gas to sell. Why do we need alternatives to fossil fuel? Why do we need to conserve? We're doing just fine, the "conservatives" say. Things are going great.

It goes on and on. Thinking about problems and their solutions on a short-term basis, like the "conservatives" do, completely ignores the reality of the long-term. We're heading in a bad direction, and short-term thinking is going to be our ruin.

[Bgno64]

1. This is absolutely true...

...they're all tactics and no strategy.

[The_Commonist]

2. I know a couple of conservative types...

...who cannot see past the end of their noses.

Long term is next month.
Planning for the future of the species?
They think there's something wrong with you if try to talk like that.

[MineralMan]

3. I wonder if the reason can be

linked to the fundamentalist way of viewing Christianity? Why worry? We'll go to Heaven if we die, and Jesus is coming back soon, anyway. Could that be part of it?

[laughingliberal]

4. Exactly the same as corporate 'this quarter profits' mentlality

The same attitude that drove American industry into the ground. Focusing on this quarter's profit margin and no investment in long term sustainability.

[Overseas]

5. I agree. Right wing frenzy is manipulated to serve quarterly profits.

Amoral PR firms are hired to stimulate that right wing frenzy to oppose changes that threaten the quarterly profits of their clients, as we saw this summer in the town hall storming funded by Freedom Works and others.

[MineralMan]

6. Exactly. Without long-range planning, we're bound to fail.

Sometimes I wonder if that isn't the right wing's goal.