Wednesday, March 12, 2008

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Brain-Dead Liberals

A few months ago the charming and totally hunky Xavier Onassis posted another Rambling and Utterly Pointless® (his words, not mine) rant about The Fallacy of Borders.

Of course I let it angry up my blood. I posted a few responses in his comments trying to get across that bigger governments are worse not better and the government is best that governs least (up to a point anyway) and that one of the big fallacies of so-called Liberals (or Progressives as they now like to call themselves) is that they ignore basic human nature.

I actually had planned on doing an entire post in rebuttal -- pointing out that the genius of our constitution is that it assumed politicians would be douchey and try to grab power (which, by the way, our current Legislative branch has allowed our Executive to do in recent decades, but that's a different post).

I thought it important that people accept themselves for the animals they are, holistic of all the greatness (creativity, compassion) and jerkiness (lust and greed) that entails.

Unfortunately, in the midst of formulating thoughts on this I became distracted by more urgent issues such as college basketball and Magnum PI's birthday. So the aforementioned post never materialized.

Fortunately, I read a really good essay today by New York author/playwright David Mamet titled Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal'.

Mamet touches on a lot of the same points I would have made, except as a professional writer, he does it much more eloquently.
I began to question what I actually thought and found that I do not think that people are basically good at heart; indeed, that view of human nature has both prompted and informed my writing for the last 40 years. I think that people, in circumstances of stress, can behave like swine, and that this, indeed, is not only a fit subject, but the only subject, of drama.

I'd observed that lust, greed, envy, sloth, and their pals are giving the world a good run for its money, but that nonetheless, people in general seem to get from day to day; and that we in the United States get from day to day under rather wonderful and privileged circumstances—that we are not and never have been the villains that some of the world and some of our citizens make us out to be, but that we are a confection of normal (greedy, lustful, duplicitous, corrupt, inspired—in short, human) individuals living under a spectacularly effective compact called the Constitution, and lucky to get it.

For the Constitution, rather than suggesting that all behave in a godlike manner, recognizes that, to the contrary, people are swine and will take any opportunity to subvert any agreement in order to pursue what they consider to be their proper interests.
The essay is lengthy, but so well written that is absolutely worth your lunchtime reading. You liberals should consider it an inspirational testimony to your own recovery.

Your welcome, XO.

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7 comments:

  1. You do hit upon the marvelous way our Constitution is designed to prevent the tyranny of those in power -- from the basic three tiered government to House v. Senate, Big State v. Small State, state v. federal, these brakes on uncontrolled power are everywhere.

    And anytime someone wishes it were otherwise, it's because s/he wishes to eliminate one of the fetters to unlimited power.

    People complain about "gridlock" in Washington. Not me. I like it because when government is fighting within itself, it's leaving me alone.

    Cheers.

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  2. "I think that people, in circumstances of stress, can behave like swine, and that this, indeed, is not only a fit subject, but the only subject, of drama.

    I'd observed that lust, greed, envy, sloth, and their pals are giving the world a good run for its money..."

    Exactly.

    And the most powerful "...circumstances of stress..." among the rich and powerful are the quarterly reports of corporations to The Street and to their investors.

    Which is exactly why we need The Gubmint to step in and keep those "lusty, greedy, envious, slothy" sonsabitches at the heads of the earth-raping corporations from extracting every single natural resource and exploiting every single worker just to line their "lusty, greedy, envious, slothy" pockets at the expense of you and me.

    Because they sure as fuck won't control themselves.

    They will strip you, this country, and this planet of every shred of monetary value and dignity that they can if it makes their boat payment and keeps their winter home in the Bahamas paid for.

    Do those corporations create jobs and wealth?

    You bet they do!

    Will they eliminate YOUR job at the drop of a hat to balance the books because of their inept business decisions and practices?

    In a New York fucking minute!

    They don't give a shit about you, or me, or anything except the bottom line and their Golden Parachutes.

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  3. You see this watch?

    That watch costs more than you car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see pal, that's who I am, and you're nothing. Nice guy? I don't give a shit. Good father? Fuck you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here? Close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can't take this, how can you take the abuse you get on a sit? You don't like it, leave.

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  4. Chris, I loved that movie. It makes me glad I never when into sales.

    "Third prize is you're fired."

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  5. Noble thoughts indeed, XO. Too band "those "lusty, greedy, envious, slothy" sonsabitches" are the same people we keep electing to The Gubmint (and don't try to tell me that BO and HC are any different than the rest of them).

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  6. I myself harken back to Federalist 10 -- John Adams

    If men were angels or angels governed men no government would be needed.

    Fact is -- left to our own devices we will inevitably put our own self-interests first, it's that crazy evolution thing you crazy conservatives can't understand.

    Civilization thrives albeit with some warts, when government steps in to create a foundation that even the most disgusting amongst us have a chance.

    Long live the bleeding heart for to have a bleeding heart is better than no heart at all.

    And I for one would have settled for the second place steak knives. But I'm cheap.

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  7. How am I doing on the board? I'm fucked on the board!

    (Looking forward to the executive branch power grab post! Mmm, civics lessons...)

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