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Politics : Bush-The Mastermind behind 9/11? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MSI who wrote (1879)	8/11/2003 3:31:48 PM
From: Don Earl	Respond to of 20039

I've always been leery about the labels a lot of folks use to file people away into neat little categories. The whole idea of democracy, freedom and liberty are liberal concepts. The philosophy is as long as I'm not doing anything to cause you harm, and as long as you aren't doing anything to cause me harm, we should both be at liberty to do as we please, without fear of retaliation. What usually ends up as a "conservative" tag are anti American ideals. You should be allowed to do whatever you want, EXCEPT you should belong to our church. You should be allowed to do whatever you want, EXCEPT you should look the way we do. You should be allowed to do whatever you want, EXCEPT if you accidently become pregnant, you should be forced to be a parent. You should be allowed to do whatever you want, EXCEPT your personal relationships must conform to what we consider "proper". You should be allowed to do whatever you want, EXCEPT there are items you shouldn't be allowed to own. The list goes on and on, but at every turn it's a program of tyranny. Of course it's always justified by the best of intentions. After all, if you do what we think best for you, you'll be ever so much happier. The "conservative" program is always one of an attempt to force one's will on another. It doesn't matter that the other person's actions in no way interfere with the choices the "conservative" may wish to make, it bugs them that anyone would make choices other than their own. The reality is that in a liberal society, if there is truly a better approach to different issues, the majority will eventually figure it out and choose that particular approach as a matter of choice, while the minority learns from their own mistakes. By the same token, the minority is free to experiment with different approaches and potentially find alternatives which benefit society as a whole. In most cases several approaches will exist side by side with the only determining factor being a matter of personal choice. The conservative approach is one of fear and insecurity. It's basically a slave mentality where everyone's behaviors and beliefs are carefully controlled, including their own, and the responsibility for making personal decisions is eliminated from society. The reason tyrants always target "conservatives" is because they are lambs for slaughter when a ready made slave population is needed to push an agenda. They've already adopted a mentality which embraces the concept of forcing others to act in a certain way, "for their own good", so falling into lock step behind a new dictator is second nature to them. What I found most remarkable about the John Birch Society write up is they are slowly starting to realize that if others aren't allowed to be free, their own freedom is threatened. They're still irrationally paranoid about "commies" - "commies" being yesterdays bait for a "conservative" slave population - but it's interesting to see they're starting to twig to the fact that "liberty and justice for all" is not a "conservative" concept, and is the only system which allows them to adopt a lifestyle they perceive as "the right way", as a matter of their own personal choice.

To: MSI who wrote (1879)	8/11/2003 7:24:00 PM
From: Rock_nj	Respond to of 20039

That's because liberal/conservative is getting to be a phony distinction You can say that again. American poltical debate is very narrow. I mean, it's really more like moderate vs. moderate, but we're all working for the same slave master (the big moneyed interests who fund the politicians). Any truly radical ideas, like legalizing pot (liberal side) or prayer in school (conservative side), don't get much of a hearing in American political discourse. It's really a dog and pony show to keep the common people at bay and make them believe that democracy is something real, while the FAT cats are at play gourging off the public trough.

To: MSI who wrote (1879)	8/11/2003 9:30:31 PM
From: KonKilo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20039

Victory This is getting a bit obvious: Attorney General John Ashcroft is hitting the road to rally support for the Victory Act, which would further expand his powers to go after Al Qaeda and narcoterrorists, the Daily News has learned. Ashcroft will starting pushing the Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act later this month in a 10-day, 20-state Victory tour that includes a stop in New York. Winston followed her down the passage. These amateur repair jobs were an almost daily irritation. Victory Mansions were old flats, built in 1930 or thereabouts, and were falling to pieces ... From somewhere at the bottom of a passage the smell of roasting coffee -- real coffee, not Victory Coffee-- came floating out into the street. Winston paused involuntarily. For perhaps two seconds he was back in the half-forgotten world of his childhood ... "Where can we meet?" "Victory Square, near the monument." "It's full of telescreens." "It doesn't matter if there's a crowd" ... Winston sat in his usual corner, gazing into an empty glass. Now and again he glanced up at a vast face which eyed him from the opposite wall. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said. Unbidden, a waiter came and filled his glass up with Victory Gin .... George Orwell 1984 Don't these friggin' people ever read? Or is this their idea of a sick joke? Posted by billmon at 01:31 AM \| Comments (43) \| TrackBack (2) billmon.org