Excellent post on the history of conservatism in this country and how the rabble-rousing seen at the health care town halls ain't the real thing. The author is unsure what they are looking to conserve other than the power and privileges of the insurance industry. Here's an important paragraph from the article:
"America was the first country founded upon Enlightenment values. Granted, Americans themselves have rarely in the mass lived up to those values, and the history of America is to some extent the development of these enlightened values over the darker forces of our nature for two hundred years. No one with eyes to see could say that America is a perfectly enlightened or tolerant country, but without a doubt the enlightened values of the founding have slowly found favor with a greater percentage of the population. Those Americans resisting the ideals of reasoned discussion and debate, toleration for the Other, individual rights, liberty, equality, and education are thus not conservatives, but reactionaries. They don't wish to conserve or even resurrect a fallen order, but to impose darkness on the land."
No comments:
Post a Comment