This issue highlights one of the great divides we have politically in America today. Bush said it best during the election when called on us to embrace a new vision.
"The responsibility era".
Democrats see practically every issue, and every electorate as a kind of a "victim". How were they victimized today? What greedy company, corporate CEO, lawyer, school, parents, or policy "victimized" these poor people?
This kind of a mental models *breeds* a kind of dangerous person. The Taliban American was a "victim". The people who lost their life on 9/11 were "victims" of American foreign policy. After all, those Muslims who rammed an airplane into the faces of little children were "victims" of our misplaced Israeli policies. Enron employees were "victims" of greedy management who took advantage of them.
This kind of mental model is dangerous because it turns victimhood, into victimhood government policies. "We must now limit 401K distribution because of Enron". We must stop acting in our best interest as a nation in regard to foreign policy because someone might take offense. We must not give control of part of our social security to individuals because they are just poor helpless "victims" who will make stupid decisions.
Living a life of "I am a victim", is a deterministic paradigm which should be rejected by us all.
In the course of human events their are true victims, (car crash victims, people who are born with serious disabilities, those who lost their life on 9/11)) and we shouldn't mitigate their suffering by lumping stock investors in with them. |
