I.... am a pro-government radical: Government is Good.
That's right. I said it.
I'll say it again! "Guh...guh...guh...guh...government is guh...guh...guh...good!"
It's certainly hard to say after 30-some years of anti-government propaganda from the "Conservative Movement".
But the fact is, government is essential and pretty much everybody, but a sizable fringe of talk-radio-addled nutjobs, knows it.
Privatization - from what I have seen, witnessed and experienced first-hand - more or less means fraud and disaster, particularly in mental and general health. The privatization of the Insurance Industry has totally fucked-up what should be one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
I know that you, too, are a pro-government radical - make the jump: I have a couple things to share with you!
Check this out, fellow pro-government radicals: Welcome to governmentisgood.com
For decades now, right-wing politicians and pundits have been disparaging and demonizing government. "Government is bad" has become the mantra of the Republican Party. Activists on the right have pushed to reduce government programs to a minimum, except for a few areas like the military and national security. And whenever and wherever conservatives have been in power, they have tried to put their anti-government philosophy into practice by cutting taxes, neglecting social programs, and undermining environmental, consumer, and workplace regulations.
This online resource is a response to these negative images and political attacks. It sets the record straight about this much maligned institution. It shows that government is not a scourge on society; it is a valuable and positive force in the life of every American. Government is not the problem; it is actually the only solution to most of the pressing problems we face as a nation – from global warming to our growing health care crisis. If we want an America that is healthy, secure, well-educated, unpolluted, compassionate, prosperous, just, and free, we need a strong, active, and well-funded public sector.
Absolutely Goddamned Right.
I am flippant in my expression but I am honest and, I believe, "correct".
We are now collectively witnessing and experiencing many years of anti-government monkey-wrenching, an ideology that was shown to the world via the horror of Katrina - the most powerful government on Earth failed to be able to evacuate the weakest members of society and used that situation as a form of socio-ethno-comic cleansing, via death and relocation after the the disaster had unfolded. Friggin' Mexico and Cuba offered to help us.
Nope: "Movement Conservatism" has once and for all time demonstrated it's utter inability to do things correctly, their rabid and racist disdain for the common people notwithstanding, they have been singularly incompetent in their ability to to the first thing correctly. They have demonstrated seething hatred for the poor, the old, the ill, and the non-white. Hell, they don't even care about white people if they aren't genuinely wealthy.
They HATE government because Government, in THIS COUNTRY, is supposed to be about the power of the People, not the power of a handful of super-wealthy, politically powerful people.
So they conspired for 35-40 years to take over all branches of the US Federal Government, the house, the senate, the presidency, the DOJ - everything. The installation of Bush over Gore, the real and true winner in 2000 (bite my ass) was the last phase of the total takeover. (Only then did the attacks of 9/11 take place, by the way. Not before. Bite my ass again.)
The Wealthy Conservative Class have waged war on "We the People" for 2 generations, more or less. They filled the radio and tv with pro-capitalist propaganda, sneering at any mention of "communism" or "socialism".
They made a dirty word out of "liberal" and made "reefer madness" part of the Republican party mantra, a de facto religion based on illogical nonsense that has passed for "information since 1937.
They have used "values" to divide and conquer this country and, again, it has worked for them. They got what they planned on and totally friggin' lost it. Hung themselves with all the rope they got and are taking lots of innocent American people with them on their way down.
The Democratic Party has always had the opportunity to challenge this but has made a de facto religion of caving in to Republican demands as the Republicans strong-armed their way through their agenda to take us where we are right now.
Well, be that as it may, here's the new reality: Republicans and people who believe their bullshit ARE WRONG.
Just plain the fuck wrong.
People like me - Dirty Fucking Hippies - WE have been right about a lot of things the whole time.
You know it's true. All this hot enthusiasm for healing the planet and eating whole foods and avoiding chemicals and working with nature and developing the self? Came from the hippies. Alternative health? Hippies. Green cotton? Hippies. Reclaimed wood? Recycling? Humane treatment of animals? Medical pot? Alternative energy? Natural childbirth? Non-GMO seeds? It came from the granola types (who, of course, absorbed much of it from ancient cultures), from the alternative worldviews, from the underground and the sidelines and from far off the goddamn grid and it's about time the media, the politicians, the culture as a whole sent out a big, wet, hemp-covered apology.
Again - Absolutely Goddamned Right.
The election of Obama has been nothing short of electric for this demographic, those of us who have been right all along, us "pro-government radicals" who want things done properly and fairly and who think the impact of things on people and the environment must be weighed and considered and that corporate power to influence government for sheer profit should be eliminated.
This is why healthcare, the occupation of Iraq, the "war" in Afghanistan, and the economy are the top concerns in the past election and in the national zeitgeist.
And, quite recently, when given the opportunity to ask, the Number 1 question Americans who responded had for Obama was "about the relegalization of marijuana: the ending of cannabis prohibition. Despite decades of CONSTANT misinformation, highly manipulative propaganda and tens of millions of bullshit arrests, Americans still want this situation resolved and they want, at least, for Americans to have access to medical marijuana.
I digress.
So "liberal values" and "government" can and should go hand in hand. We want to help people, not hurt them.
We want to fix laws, not break them.
And we want to live in peace and happiness, not cowering in fear and believing stupid things.
Is it too much to ask?
I say "Fuck no!".
More government, please.