Mr. Obama has an advantage that some other presidents did not, in that he has been a singular political phenomenon who probably does not owe his election primarily to any particular group. If Ronald Reagan leaned heavily on the support of the religious conservatives and Mr. Clinton tried to move his party to the center in search of independents, Mr. Obama did not define himself in strongly ideological terms, even if his record and program are largely left of center.How about minorities and unions? And why is it that lefties never recognize liberalism as ideology?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Obamessiah Suck-Up of the Day
From Sunday's New York Times:
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3 comments:
In formulating my comment, I reversed field. They actually have a point that it's not an ideology. That would require an idea. Liberalism is more a set of social cues and attitudes, rather like young gibbons aligning themselves with those they perceive as troop leaders. Liberals are not thoroughgoing enough to be actual socialists or free marketers; not consistent enough to be either moralists or neutrals. The overwhelming drive seems to be the feeling that this would all run so much better if it were just managed by the right people. They want to hold the controls and constantly adjust the various forces of society. They don't see themselves as anti-religious, or anti-market, because they feel they could allow just the right amount of those things if everyone would just let them. Ideologues might be less dangerous, because the public catches on to them more quickly.
AVI:
One early lesson in law school legal writing is to lose the adverb in the opening sentence: "I strongly disagree." That being said, I strongly disagree.
Paternalism is an ideology. It's a doctrine of perpetual infantilism, taking the cradle all the way to the grave. As you say, they talk in the terms of constantly adjusted controls, what Thomas Sowell calls "The Quest for Cosmic Justice". But their jumping-off-point is that they occupy a superior position. So, in pushing for "proper" management, they really just want to be in charge--yet they mocked Bush for saying he was a "decider."
In sum, while I agree that liberals act like gibbons, such "monkey business" is an ideology. I have no idea why 52 percent of the electorate prefers it.
> I have no idea why 52 percent of the electorate prefers it.
The Youth Indoctrination Camps.
When I was but a lad, back in the mid-late 60s, my mother was once asked if she let me dress myself. Yes, she said, asking why: "Was he not making good choices?"
"No" was the response, but I was "too independent", "I needed to learn to follow others".
This is the end result of the Germanic System of Education -- sheeple ready to follow the Nazi leadership.
Honestly -- If I got to go back in time and kill *one* person in the cradle, I'd look seriously at Horace Mann.
Come the revolution, we need to outlaw that whole concept -- Bring back the Little Red Schoolhouse!
Paternalism begins in school.
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