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Benedict Arnold

How To Preserve Individual Freedom? Best of Both Worlds? Political question…gentle thoughtful, no rage please.

In the tiny community of Evaline, WA there is a three-room schoolhouse, a century old, and its 40 students are consistently among the best in the state; both scholastic and sports.

 But the people fought massive odds to resist centralization and preserve their community school; raised $100’s of K’s, overcame at least two “impossible” obstacles thrown at them, both of which should have been grandfathered anyway.

In this process of government bullying, local liberals became conservative and life-long Democrats turned Republican; they would have voted red in this election had his last name been Duck.

 So the Q, should you choose to address it:
Liberal v. Conservative; how do we stop fighting each other and build a government that works?


Posted - March 16, 2017
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Responses


  • 1233
    It's certainly true that both political parties are to blame. Liberalism is the dominant philosophy of our time. The so called political center has swung so far left that anyone who advocates simply balancing the budget is considered a right wing extremist. 

    Virtue used to be working hard and living within your means (both individually and as a nation). Now virtue is measured by how willing a person is to spend other people's money like there is no tomorrow. If you care about the state of our finances the liberals will say that you "care more about money than people". They can't seem to see that money and people are connected. It takes money to help people. If a nation becomes poor, it can't help anyone. As left wing fiscal recklessness damages the economy, more people become poor but it only makes the left even more convinced that social programs are essential. They call to increase them. This is why we probably have no future.

    I don't believe the left can ever wake up. They're not intellectually or spiritually capable of seeing what's happening. We're not going to return to sustainability by making cuts in public services. The sense of entitlement is just too high. Our only hope is to make a massive technological break through that stimulates the economy so much we avoid collapse, such as a very cheap extremely powerful energy source etc. This post was edited by Zeitgeist at March 18, 2017 7:51 AM MDT
      March 18, 2017 2:03 AM MDT
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  • I have learned SO much from your posts here, TrumpianZeitgeist...really one of the reasons I find Q/A sites so beneficial...the insightful perspectives people bring. I have put one of David Stockman's books on my reading list. 

    Here is my concern, I wonder if you would care to respond? And that is, even the massive tech breakthrough you talk about...my concern is that might only POSTPONE the day of reckoning by enabling growth...
    And it makes no sense to me to focus on growth, growth, growth never-ending...seems like a type of Ponzi scheme, and those always collapse of their own weight!
    I have no idea what "economic balance" would look like, but still seems to me that is what we need to be aiming for?
      March 18, 2017 10:30 AM MDT
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  • 1233
    Thanks VirginiaL. Yeah I agree it's just postponing. Though that's all humans have ever done. We just make sure we're one step ahead of our problems.

    Everyone wants balance though people just don't agree on what the balance is and we never will. It makes the word meaningless. Ideological unity is just another fantasy of the left. It's never going happen. To me the balance is to give people the liberty to go their own way. I'm fine with people being communist so long as they form their own commune and don't try to pull me in.

    We need growth. The desire to grow is hardwired into all living things. It contains greed but it's what keeps us alive. Without that instinct we'd be dead or still living in caves. We are incapable of being static. We not just not built for it. For all of human history people struggled to grow. If people could just be content with what they have, we could just produce what we consume and have zero economic growth.

    My entire political philosophy is based on the idea that we can't change human nature. The central flaw in left wing thought is the belief that human nature is just a social construct that can just be redesigned. We are what we are. 

    Sin is inseparable from the good things that keep society running. A society without wrath would be conquered. A society without lust would die out. A society without greed, envy and pride would collapse economically. Every time idealists try to create a world without sin, the engine of society stalls and mass suffering unfolds.
      March 19, 2017 3:53 AM MDT
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  • Oh I am smiling, TrumpianZeitgeist..."We just make sure we are one step ahead of our problems."
    You have given thought to our human situation, and I appreciate your perspective, thank you!

    * * *
    You know, ima add something here, because I hope to hear more of your thoughts over time here on aMug...I have actually been trying to live an "idealistic" life - not being willing to give in to too much realism, so much massive suffering right now...and I will tell you, idealism is NOT easy to live out day to day...I still have hopes, though.
    I tend to think of myself as neither liberal nor conservative buying into one philosophy, instead just going along according to my own lights...but idk maybe I do indeed tend toward liberal...I would definitely like the world to find our way to a more equitable and just way...

    Meanwhile I am going to learn more about that national debt. Stockman's figures show us leveraged out 106% of GDP, and that was back in 2014...and up to 140% in a very few years. Thank you again, and glad to make your acquaintance! This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 19, 2017 10:04 AM MDT
      March 19, 2017 9:53 AM MDT
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  • 3907
    Hello V:

    Before I even knew what a liberal or conservative was, I learned what civics was.  Central to that subject was the Constitution..  If you read NOTHING more than the Bill of Rights, and you BELIEVE them, you couldn't help being a liberal...  Nothing is different today...  With the exception of the 2nd Amendment, conservatives would like to blow up the rest..

    So, if we wanted to preserve individual freedom, we need to adhere to the Bill of Rights..  This is NOT really difficult.

    excon
      March 19, 2017 6:56 AM MDT
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  • Hi Excon,
    I did not receive the notice for your post, so glad I discovered it!

    I do think much about the constitution these days...its prescience and clarity even in these troubled days the framers could never have imagined...
    Now, ima go back and look at the Bill of Rights again, just for some centering there, thank you.
      March 19, 2017 10:09 AM MDT
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