The US government under Republican rule has become a series of train wrecks, with looters picking over the wreckage and robbing from the corpses. And of course, it’s all the fault of government — not the people who let the bridges rust away, sold off the rails for scrap, ignored all the signals, and went full throttle into sharp curves. Oh, and their special friends get a free ride while ticket prices for the rest of us keep going up and up, and the accommodations get worse and worse.
Aside from the obvious criminality of this, another pernicious effect is to discredit the very idea of railroads — and government. And that is the real problem, because “the magic of the markets” and the “Invisible Hand” will not save us.
They will do nothing unless someone makes a profit by doing it — and can’t make more money doing something else. We need government because there’s more to the world than dollars and cents. We need it to do things for the public good, not solely for private gain. We won’t get them from people who deny the very existence of the public and the public good.
Right now is a time to seize. The failures of Republican rule are becoming too obvious to sweep under the rug or gloss over with disinformation from Fox. But the problem is getting people to understand that the institutions Republicans are using for ill can be turned to good. The tool is not the problem — it is the people with their hands on the tool. We need that tool to fix what they have broken — and we need to give people reason to believe it can work.
It’s going to be a long job, but there’s a resource that’s been around for a while: Government Is Good. It is a web project of Douglas J. Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College. Here’s a bit from the introductory web page:
Welcome to governmentisgood.com
Why a website defending government? Because for decades conservatives have been demonizing and attacking government and not enough has been done to defend it. We need to recognize that despite its problems, government plays an essential role in promoting the good life for all Americans. When we recklessly reduce and underfund this institution, we are hampering our ability to improve people’s lives and to effectively address our pressing social, economic, and environmental problems.
Now that Republicans are screaming “THE SOCIALISTS ARE COMING!!! WE’RE GOING TO END UP LIKE VENEZUELA!!!” we need to have resources to counter the steaming loads of bullshit that will be coming our way, even more than usual. We need to be able to address the reflex media antipathy to anything that looks progressive. (Progressive = extreme left.)
The website is full of constructive arguments, examples, and other resources. There are three categories on the left hand menu down the margin at the website:
The War on Government:
Why Government is Good:
Revitalizing Democracy and Government:
Plus, there’s now a book in both print and electronic versions. If we were part of the wingnut welfare system, we’d have a billionaire’s pet foundation buying the books by the pallet load and airdropping them everywhere for free, into schools, libraries, etc. As it is, Professor Amy has some suggestions:
SOME REASONS TO ORDER EXTRA COPIES:
- Give a copy to your local library.
- Send copies to your local, state, and federal representatives to help them do a better job defending the vital role of government in our society.
- Give a copy to your obnoxious Tea Partier uncle or an irritating Libertarian acquaintance.
- Hand some copies out at political meetings.
- Suggest it as a reading for your book club.
To meet the challenges ahead in the time we have left (Climate change, among other things, can not be put off) we will need government and everything else we can bring to the battle. This website and now the book are the right tools at the right time.