What kind of society do we want to be? The battle for our future - conservatives vs progressives

[Hugabear]

Last edited Thu Feb 16, 2012, 05:06 PM - Edit history (1)

THIS is what should define the whole "left vs right" debate. Taxes, employment, education, etc - it primarily boils down to what kind of society do we want to become.

Conservatives idealize a "survival of the fittest" society. Those with the means to succeed do so, and those who can't simply don't. Government has absolutely no obligation to help those in need. If you can't do it yourself, then tough luck. If you're sick or injured, but can't afford your own treatment - sorry, you're on your own. We've all heard the "Let him DIE" teabagger shouts. If you're unemployed or homeless, well that's your own damned fault. Don't look to government for a handout. If you're 'lucky' enough to live in a more 'moderate' conservative society, you might be able to stay at a detention work camp, where you enter into a new form of indentured servitude. If you're poor - well tough shit also. Don't expect government to help you. Again, it's your own damned fault. Social Security? Communist plot. It's not the government's fault that you didn't save up all your money while you were working. If you can't afford to support yourself when you get older, well then just fuck off and die already.

Public education would be eliminated. Only the well-off would be able to afford to send their children to private schools. As for everyone else - it's home schooling. Yep, that means geography lessons about a 6000 year old Earth, creationism, climate change denial, and a completely revisionist, white-washed history. And don't worry, there won't be any Big Government agency looking over your shoulder to make sure your kids are getting good educations. After all, it's much easier to mislead and rule over a poorly educated nation.

Conservatives claim to be about individual freedom, but then they want to legislate their religious beliefs on everyone. They want to control the most intimate, private details of a person's life - who they choose to love, marry, and whether or not they want to reproduce. You can't get much more "Big Government" than that.

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Meanwhile, progressives believe that government has a duty to help those who are less fortunate. We believe that those who are the most vulnerable - the poor, sick, and elderly - should be given a helping hand, not spat upon and left to die. We are the ones who are truly "pro-life" - conservatives love to make that claim for themselves, but once the baby is brought into this world, they immediately turn their backs and tell the mother that she's on her own. We believe that health care, education, shelter, food, etc should be available to EVERYONE - not only those with the most money. We also believe in true personal freedom. A woman's decision on what to do with her own body should be absolute, not subject to the religious whims of society. People should be allowed to decide who they want to love and marry - not Government.

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When you get right down to it, it's very difficult to understand why anyone other than the rich would ever call themselves conservative.

[Hugabear]

1. Self K&R

Shameless self-plug

[Nikia]

2. I agree

Even people that don't have a lot of empathy for others have to realize that even if they are doing alright now that things could change for them too. They could get sick or injured. The company that they work for could lay them off or it might become intolerable to work there.

[mmonk]

3. We lost the war.

Wages and our standard of living are still under attack. People in general believe something incorrect ideologically and big money still controls the game. We have to start a new one once the realization hits home and we have to sooner rather than later because we are losing a generation.