Here is a conservative I respect and admire. Mr Roberts and I will disagree on certain principles, like the uses and role of government, but we will agree on many basic truths.
This clear, concise and hard-hitting essay explains why Bush, Ashcroft, et al, are not conservatives at all.
My favorite bit: "Apparently, Rush Limbaugh and National Review think there is a liberal media because the prison torture scandal could not be suppressed and a cameraman filmed the execution of a wounded Iraqi prisoner by a US Marine." But go read the whole thing, you'll be glad you did.
(Thanks to Redsock for pointing it out to me, of course.)
9 comments:
Well, let's see. In the nineties wasn't being a conservative about "less taxes, less government, and getting government of your back"?
Bush only qualifies for the less tax part, which combined with bigger government spending would seem like a stupid idea even to a third grade math student.
And getting the government off our backs. Let's see: increased restrictions on abortion, government spying on internet, library and bookstore activity, attempts to criminalize homosexual behavior... Oh yeah, they're doing a great job staying out of our lives...
I do read from that site a fair bit, partially because I lean mostly libertarian (but because I believe that in situations where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, like healthcare, I don't qualify as a "true" libertarian).
One neat essay was this one:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts81.html
Hence progressive libertarian. :) I am certainly the same when it comes to government interference in our private lives. I believe we should have as much personal freedom as possible. But I do want government regulation of business - I think it's important for workers, consumers and the environment, so in that sense I'm not a libertarian.
I'll check out that essay.
I consider myself a conservative, although by US standards, I'm probably not. My understanding of conservatism comes down to personal freedom balanced by personal responsibility. I don't believe in deficit spending by I think it's irresponsible. The enormous deficits that the Bush administration have been accumulating are anathema to a fiscal conservative like me.
I also don't like the unwillingness of Bush and Rumsfeld to take responsibility for the mistakes that have been made in Iraq. I didn't disagree with going to war because I wanted to see the Iraqis freed from the oppressive rule of Saddam Hussein. I know that wasn't the real motivation for the war, but it was a worthwhile result nonetheless. Unfortunately, bad planning, diplomatic failures and general incompetence on the part of the administration have turned Iraq into a disaster and no one in the White House is willing to acknowledge that fact.
I think you are probably quite moderate by US standards. You are clearly too humane and sensible to be an American conservative. ;-)
I can appreciate your beliefs about the war. It is obviously a good thing to get Saddam Hussein out of power.
For many Americans, though, it's more complicated. We were lied to about the reasons for war (WMDs); Bush and Cheney cronies profit hugely from it; the govt does not support the very men and women who risk their lives in the war; it costs a fortune which is badly needed at home; thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of Iraqi civilians have been killed in it; it sows hatred towards the US and (many of us believe) increases the risks of terrorism rather than reduces it.
I fear that under the Bush regime, the US will always be at war. One long, endless, useless war. Lives lost, lives ruined, bodies maimed, money wasted.
Oh yeah, and you've got some really scary religious types down there which seem more fascist than conservative to me. We don't have a "separation of church and state" component in our constitution the way you have in the US, yet we seem to manage to avoid having these culture wars over religion and its place in society. The majority of Canadians, including most conservatives I know, seem to think religious beliefs are a private manner.
The seemingly defunct state of separation of church and state is probably the single biggest factor alienating Americans and driving folks like me away. It's alienating Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus (etc) alike. It just keeps getting worse and worse. Some days a full-blown theocracy seems not far off.
Someone sent me a good column from the G&M on this, I'm going to post excerpts soon.
Oops, I posted the wrong link above. It should be
http://www.lewrockwell.com/reed/reed49.html
I guess I didn't have the right one in my clipboard.
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