Reaching out to Mainstream Conservatives--but not the Koch Bros
As I see it, the principles that unite mainstream Conservatives are these: don't rock the boat, government run social programs are bad, security in all guises is good, and I like what I got. Perhaps the last one is the more telling: I like what I got and if we give anything to the poor, it will mean less for me; I worked hard for what I have and I deserve to keep it. Also, I like my religion the way it is, and I'll support my race and my country first.
All that, I can understand--yes, even bigotry I can understand (not from the point of view of inferiority of one race to another but from simple evolutionary conservative principles that say that no new trait (within a group) will see the light of day if the group procreates outside its own or is too altruistic. Evolution could not do without conservatism--at the very least, it allows new traits to propagate (increase in number throughout a population). Liberalism, on the other hand, is needed to try out new genomics.
About the only thing that chagrins me about U.S. conservatism is that the majority are no different financially than many who profess liberalism yet they allow themselves to be associated with the rich because--hey, the rich want to keep things the way they are, too. The rich encourage this association by--quite successfully--pushing the false notion that if extra taxes are levied on the 1 %, they'll levy them on the smaller earner too because they too are conservative! U.S. mainstream conservatives buy into this 100% but, in reality, I know of no mainstream Liberal that would like to increase taxes on anyone making less than $250,000/year. Now, I understand that there must always be something to shoot for, for a person's reach should always exceed his grasp (J. Donne) but when, ultimately, money starts to beget money, then you are doing less and getting more and that may seem like a good thing at first but the "more" is always at the expense of someone else--there is no way around it.
What a great organized crime paradigm! I'll associate myself with your conservative principles and you keep the Liberals from taxing me because--they tell their base--they will use the revenues to fund liberal policies that you abhor. OK, if that's true, then a solution is still possible: let the money come rolling in and we use it for those programs that we ALL agree are beneficial to society at large. Money from taxing the rich is not automatically slated for use in, let's say, funding abortions or social programs. However, the money could still be used to educate or run orphanages--the common ground amongst caring people.
If Liberals want to reach Conservatives, they should provide assurances that tax revenues will not be used without everyone's approval and tax rates will not go up for those earning 250K or less.
There is a second problem, however. Mainstream Conservatives know that the rich do use their money to fund conservative causes and if they alienated them, who would pay for the lobbying for conservative causes? One must be careful because the Rich are vengeful people. They may just put their conservatism aside for spite. But, fear not, if they ever want to see power again, they will return to the fold with or without extra taxes.
All that, I can understand--yes, even bigotry I can understand (not from the point of view of inferiority of one race to another but from simple evolutionary conservative principles that say that no new trait (within a group) will see the light of day if the group procreates outside its own or is too altruistic. Evolution could not do without conservatism--at the very least, it allows new traits to propagate (increase in number throughout a population). Liberalism, on the other hand, is needed to try out new genomics.
About the only thing that chagrins me about U.S. conservatism is that the majority are no different financially than many who profess liberalism yet they allow themselves to be associated with the rich because--hey, the rich want to keep things the way they are, too. The rich encourage this association by--quite successfully--pushing the false notion that if extra taxes are levied on the 1 %, they'll levy them on the smaller earner too because they too are conservative! U.S. mainstream conservatives buy into this 100% but, in reality, I know of no mainstream Liberal that would like to increase taxes on anyone making less than $250,000/year. Now, I understand that there must always be something to shoot for, for a person's reach should always exceed his grasp (J. Donne) but when, ultimately, money starts to beget money, then you are doing less and getting more and that may seem like a good thing at first but the "more" is always at the expense of someone else--there is no way around it.
What a great organized crime paradigm! I'll associate myself with your conservative principles and you keep the Liberals from taxing me because--they tell their base--they will use the revenues to fund liberal policies that you abhor. OK, if that's true, then a solution is still possible: let the money come rolling in and we use it for those programs that we ALL agree are beneficial to society at large. Money from taxing the rich is not automatically slated for use in, let's say, funding abortions or social programs. However, the money could still be used to educate or run orphanages--the common ground amongst caring people.
If Liberals want to reach Conservatives, they should provide assurances that tax revenues will not be used without everyone's approval and tax rates will not go up for those earning 250K or less.
There is a second problem, however. Mainstream Conservatives know that the rich do use their money to fund conservative causes and if they alienated them, who would pay for the lobbying for conservative causes? One must be careful because the Rich are vengeful people. They may just put their conservatism aside for spite. But, fear not, if they ever want to see power again, they will return to the fold with or without extra taxes.
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