America is undergoing a transformation at the hands of conservatives who have convinced ignorant voters that the government has grown too large, and that it is time to revert back to the Founders’ days when there was a limited government. The Tea Party and Libertarians claim that with limited government, citizens will be able to conduct business without regulations or taxation, and the nation will prosper. That argument may have worked in 1776, but in 2010, it is a fantastical dream of people who are apt to cheat and take advantage of the less fortunate. Welcome to Conservatism.
One has to wonder if those who long for smaller, less intrusive government realize that without government intervention and support, their lives would be Spartan at best. The people who want limited government really want no taxes and no regulations on their ability to conduct business. The corporate world has convinced individuals that their freedoms and liberty are being eroded by the government in their effort to rape consumers and the government as they increase their bottom line. The intrusion the corporate world complains of has no direct consequence on individual Americans except to protect citizens from corporate abuse.
Individuals in the Tea Party have complained that Democrats and President Obama in particular are turning America into a Socialist country. It’s an interesting concept because most of America’s institutions are socialistic by nature, but not definition. Socialism is a form of governance where the State owns everything, and private ownership of the means of production and distribution has been eliminated. Although America is not Socialist, we do enjoy a privileged lifestyle that is the result of social programs.
Our highway system, air travel, food safety, medical care, and old age assistance are all social programs, and whether or not teabaggers realize it, they enjoy and benefit from socialism. The biggest Socialist, entitlement program is the American military, and it accounts for more wasteful spending than any other social program. It is the one aspect of government that takes the most money from the American people without any return of benefit for the majority of Americans. It also fills the coffers of corporations who produce expendable products at the highest cost set by the corporations.
Which part of limited government would the teabaggers and Libertarians be willing to accept? Would they be willing to forgo regulatory agencies that guarantee safe medicine or air travel? Or would they prefer to drive on open ground because the highway system is part of the government that is too big? Perhaps older teabaggers would want the government to withhold their retirement income from Social Security in order to downsize the federal government.
There was at one point, a shared pride in the standard of living in the United States, and Americans could boast the finest roads, hospitals, schools, and quality of life of any nation in the civilized world. That is not the case anymore, and in fact, Americans have a lower life expectancy, worse health, and crumbling infrastructure because there is more emphasis on allowing the wealthy to shirk their responsibility as citizens.
Unless members of the myriad Tea Party groups and Libertarians realize that the limited government they long for is a ploy of corporate America to stir up discontent and malice for corporate benefit, America will continue its slide into 2nd class nation status. Our standard of living and safety is only the result of government regulations and taxes that pay for the infrastructure we enjoy. America is more complex than the original thirteen colonies, and if not for big government and regulations, women could not vote, serve on juries, own land, or run for political office. There was no standing army and no defense budget to protect the country; under the limited government the teabaggers want, the only defense would be the shotgun in the closet.
Tea Party members are being duped by corporations to vote against their own interest when they elect candidates who promise limited government. Corporations want a limited government that allows them to pay no taxes and rape, pillage, and abuse the American people and the land. Corporate America has no interest in citizens except to use Fox News to lie to them so they vote for corporate rule and control of the government. Conservative corporate rule has grown the government by wasting precious resources and tax dollars to benefit big business and their wealthy shareholders.
Now that conservatives have a foot in the government door, America is moving toward limited government, but it is government limited in its ability to protect its citizens while it provides unlimited power and profit to the wealthiest Americans. Conservatives may end up getting limited government, but they won’t like what they get, and by then, it will be too late.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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