Reality Realized

One of the more difficult issues for the conservative to realize, to grasp, and to accept, is that we really don’t have a political party to call home. We definitely don’t have the Democrat Party. The Libertarian Party desires open borders, is pro-choice (anti-life as I call it), and generally speaking believes all drugs should be legalized – all non-conservative ideas. Then we have the Republican Party; while they claim conservative values, they either lack the ability to show backbone in defending them or are simply giving lip service to conservatives they talk to.

What’s interesting is the beginning of a struggle we see when liberals begin that same journey of realizing something very similar.

The reason the left has always been so successful in promoting their agenda is because they are very much in to “group-think.” Stray from their party line and you will be destroyed (Joe Lieberman, for instance). Knowing that, few do such a thing.

But what happens when that party line is truly “modern liberalism” (as compared to Classic Liberalism/Conservatism), and those that have boasted the party-line and the leftist philosophy see that in action, leftist politics and utopia being joined is a pipe dream.

I want to make clear that this is not a slam on people who firmly believe that there is a possibility of a “Great Society” as expressed by Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, LBJ or Barack Obama. We all seek that perfect society in which poverty is extinct, bigotry is non-existent, and we can all be our brother’s keeper. Honestly, I used to believe in John Edwards’ “two Americas” concept – the whole “haves and have nots”.

But two things make the conservative different from the liberal in mindset: the first is that “utopia” will not occur no matter how hard we try; and, how hard we try should not be measured in how much government involvement occurs. Conservatives know this. I have come to understand this.

What we need to realize is that “having” and “having not” is largely dependent on the individual.

Are there some extreme examples of those who were not given a chance? Sure. But it is the exception.

Back to the discussion at hand. So we have conservatives who don’t have a home, and we have liberals who large in part have an idea of how to create a society that, quite frankly, can’t exist.

And they are starting to see that.

I will warn you, the content of the video I linked is vulgar and explicit, but it is typical of the left. While “discussing” his hate for religion, Bill Maher recently attacked his own ideology for the outcomes it produces and the mentality that results from it. He angrily expresses his disgust that there are people with his ideology that are upset because some baker won’t bake a cake for a gay couple, meanwhile there are women who can’t vote or drive, and are mutilated by Radical Islamists yet nobody seems to care. Well, Bill, do you expect anything different from a culture you cultivate that instills self-centered attitudes, gluttonous lifestyles, and a complete lack of appreciation for the lives of people around you?

In a local newspaper there is an opinion editorial written by a small-business owner and open Democrat. What struck me – aside from his admission that the policies of liberals aren’t working for the working class – is that Lyle Foster prefaced his letter with the acknowledgement that he would probably lose friends near and far for simply saying the Obama Economic Policies we are living under are not panning out to be the “hope and change” we were promised. It is a bit difficult to grasp (but it is reality, as I have experienced it), that people are willing to give up friendships because somebody that was/is “on your side” happens to look past headlines and see reality for what it is. But then again, I go back to the groupthink concept; step in line and follow close, don’t listen to yourself.

So, that is Maher on the national level and Mr. Foster on the local. Let’s look at the state level example I have conjured up. This is one that I think has it’s own special point to be made. Sure, Bill Maher and Lyle Foster can be upset about certain mentalities or policies that aren’t turning out as planned. But they are single individuals… private citizens.

How about when a state that has carried a Democrat majority for the past four Presidential elections decides to dump the key piece of legislation Barack Obama will be remembered for? That’s right, “Oregon, once expected to be a leader in the national health-care overhaul,” has realized that government-run healthcare isn’t such a good idea after all. Yes, the state has decided to throw out the federal program due to cost, implementation difficulty, and risk. Oregon has decided to dump their “glitch filled” option and let that “other” government entity take over. I find it funny how all of a sudden private business isn’t the bad guy, though the government still needs to have their hands in oversight and implementation. Unfortunately the feds are not going to admit the monstrosity they have created and we are forced to live with that disaster.

I’m not here to say this is some sort of turnaround for the nation and we are going to get our heads on straight. Far from that. Remember that whole issue with no home for conservatives…?

What I am saying is this: I find it refreshing, even if it’s for one brief shining moment, to see all at once several situations in which liberals are being vocal about how their own philosophy and approach to life isn’t working.

While it isn’t some magnificent moment that is going to change things, I can hope that even if slowly, the American people realize that we were founded on self-reliance, personal responsibility, thrift, and helping one another because it’s the right thing to do and not because we’re being forced. Those are the concepts that brought this nation from barefoot peasants fighting the British to the industrial, military, and economic giant of the world.

Those are also the concepts that will bring us back from being on our knees in a declining state that seems to think more government is the answer to the problems more government has created.