Posted by
Resa on Monday, October 23, 2006 10:10:08 AM
I have no problem with
“attack” ads in political campaigns.
Criticizing an opponent’s record or views often clarifies the
differences between the candidates, which can be very helpful to voters. However, when candidates distort their
opponents’ records or views, and when the campaigns become venomous, then voters
get the uncomfortable sense that there is something wrong with the whole
system. Unfortunately, they are right.
Just as physical symptoms
often reflect a medical problem that needs to be treated, our uneasiness and
discomfort about the current state of our political campaigns reflects a
political problem that needs to be treated.
The problem is not that too much money is being spent in the campaigns;
it is that most of our elected officials have lost respect for private property
rights and Constitutional limits and now are simply in a contest to amass raw
power.
Most political contests today
are simply about who gets to control all the loot and all the guns -- similar
to a turf war between Mafia Dons. In
most cases, no matter which candidate wins, the people lose. No wonder the campaigns have become so
dishonest and nasty!
If government lived within
its Constitutional bounds, generally leaving us free to conduct our lives and
use our resources as we think best, then political campaigns would be much more
civilized. But these days, the
government takes half of our income and intrudes into nearly every facet of our
lives. Government has become a giant monster,
giving us false promises of security as it takes away our property and our
freedom. How could we possibly be so
naïve as to believe that we are better off giving someone else all the power
over our lives and property? Surely, when we stop and think about it, we know
better.
What can the average citizen
do to help return this country to its roots, in which the government treats the
citizens with respect?
First, we need to stop
feeding the monster. We need to
recognize that, every time we ask for more government, we are feeding the
monster.
When we demand that
government increase the minimum wage, as if we think we can repeal the laws of economics,
we are feeding the monster.
When we demand that
government prevent farmers from developing their land because we think we have
a right to beautiful scenery without having to pay for it, we are feeding the
monster.
When we demand that
government provide “free” education, or “free” medical care, or “free” housing
at the expense of our neighbors, we are feeding the monster.
It might seem pleasant to
live in a fairy tale world, in which we don’t have to worry about anything and the
government takes care of everything for us, but even fairy tales have their
monsters and ogres. People who continue
living in a fairy tale world, believing that increasing the size and power of
government will solve all our problems, are creating an enormous, monstrous
ogre that threatens to eat us all.
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