Our Country Is Drowning

[varkam]

And the neo-conservatives have their collective foot on it's head.

It's not that I think that traditional conservatism is bad. Quite the contrary. I think traditional conservatism was a quite workable political philosophy. The problem is that there are not many of them left in general, and quite fewer on the other side of the aisle in D.C.

Today's flavor of conservatism runs directly contrary to the spirit upon which this country was founded, in my opinion. For me, that's the bottom line. The Ann Coulters, the Jerry Falwells, the Pat Robertsons, the Grover Norquists, the Diebolds, the WalMarts, the Ralph Reeds, the George W. Bushes, and the Jack Abramoffs of the world are part of the problem - but they are not it's core. In my mind, these are just separate expressions of an ideology. An ideology which is not harmed a great deal by an attack on a single expression of it. Attacking Ann Coulter for her caustic comments or Diebold for it's stench of partisanship or Reed for his swindling, while right, does nothing to attack the ideology from which their actions flow. It seems to me it would take a lot less time--and work--to point out how the neo-conservative agenda is incompatible with a world in which we all want to live (even neo-cons) as opposed to pointing out the flaws in the behavior of individuals who subscribe to that doctrine.

We all essentially want the same things. We want to be safe on our streets. We want to have the choice to go to become educated without worrying about how we're going to pay for it. We want our paychecks to be able to go far enough to ensure our basic needs for shelter, sustenance and maintenance are met without having to hold two full-time jobs. We want to be able to engage in a national discussion on matters of importance to us. All of us want these things, regardless of political stance or ideology. Ann Coulter wants to go for a walk at night and not have to carry a can of mace. Pat Robertson wants to save enough money for retirement. George Bush wants his daughters to receive a good education.

Perhaps most importantly, we all want to have the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest - regardless of what that means to each individual. Whether that means marrying your same-sex partner, buying a 200 foot boat, writing the next great American novel, or simply raising a family and watching your children grow into adults. This is America - and that is the spirit upon which our country was founded.

The problem is that our country is drowning. Each legal victory. Each bill that passes. For every one civil liberty that is rolled back or trampled upon in the name of neo-conservatism, a little bit more water fills up the room. Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to breathe anymore.

[MadMaddie]

1. This is true...but the Neocons never plan for anything so unlike

the liberals they will have no boat, no diving gear and no oxygen...and they are going to drown in their own hubris, hate and vile....

We along with other Americans will dry out America and put her on the right track again, we will build higher...with a stronger foundation and we will plan for future generations so they never have to suffer through another six years of hell....

[LiberalVoice]

2. "We all essentially want the same things."

Thats very true. But where the right differs from the left is that they want it for themselves and people like them. No one else. If you aren't like them then you dont deserve such freedoms. To put it simply, they are selfish ignorant people who dont know anything past the neighborhood they live in. Mass murder in the name of freedom is ok. But when it starts causing gas prices to go up thats when they decide to get involved. They are sheep. The worst kind of people. Ignorant, selfish, and morally corrupt.

People who dont bother themselves with trying to understand the world around them. They would rather destroy it and live with something they are comfortable with rather then opening their eyes to how things really are. They make me sick.

Edit Spelling and to add a little more.

[undercutter2006]

3. I thought

You were talking about literal drowning - as in effects of global warming

[Lorien]

4. "They" are living their lives to the fullest-at our expense

the richest 1% that controls policy in our Nation believe that the American Dream is alive and well because they are living it. Never mind that what brings them a sense of fulfillment (ever expanding wealth and power) comes at the expense of every living thing on the planet; whether it's a middle class American family who suddenly finds that two incomes no longer are keeping them in the middle class because their health insurance costs have skyrocketed, a child in India who no longer has access to drinking water because Coca-cola has re-routed a river, a 60 year old former Enron secretary who lost his job and his pension, a polar bear who starves or drowns due to global warming, a single woman who battles respiratory illness because she lives at the food of a mountain whose top has been removed-and she's exposed to coal dust and waste 24 hours a day because the EPA now allows companies the ability to pollute as much as they wish, a teenager who finds that after a lifetime of saving, he is still priced out of a college education, an entire species of songbird that goes extinct because it's last breeding grounds were removed to make way for a golf course and gated community. A select few are given the opportunities while the REST of us drown.