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Conservatism's Hidden Agenda
Although
conservatives seem to be having an identity crisis since the election
of 2008, they are not. What they are suffering from is a not having an
effective façade to hide their real agenda, and are struggling
to find one. They are still as mean-spirited as before, and still support
an artificial hierarchy that would demean our democratic system.
Conservatives do not trust the intellect or the will
of the people. Their goal is to subjugate them for the benefit of a small
minority of the privileged, while convincing the masses that this is the
correct order of things. For this, they have great disdain for the idea
of equality.
Equality is a mischievous concept. If it were not in
the Declaration of Independence, it would probably be long gone by now.
Why? Because equality is an ideal that contradicts everything we see around
us. It is obvious that people do not enjoy matching portions of skill,
talent, intellect, and even good will. Because of that, equality loses
its practical meaning. Democracy,
where each person's vote, value and opinion share parity with everyone
else's, seems a naive form of government doomed to failure to the hidden
agenda of conservatism. It always has. The founders of modern day conservatism
make this clear.
Simply put, not everyone should have an equal voice,
because not everyone is equal, and therefore deserving. Conservatism calls
for us to surrender to an acknowledged aristocracy of those who have wealth,
leadership abilities, power and cunning. These include conservative politicians,
corporate CEOs, some religious leaders who tow the line, and purveyors
of local prejudices, those who blaspheme the name of freedom by trying
to control the thoughts and values of others. We know them well.
Setting up an aristocracy of power is the central cause
of conservatism, despite all the talk about religion, patriotism, taxes,
spending, gun rights and abortion. These issues are nothing but stepping
stones to their goal, and all one has to do is look at how these leaders
live their lives to verify it. Their hypocrisy is undeniable, which is
why their wedge issues never really get resolved. Only the aristocracy
benefitted from Bush's tax cuts. Spending leaped forward instead of going
back. Gun regulations stayed pretty much the same. Their approach to abortion
made the problem worse instead of better. Government corruption flourished
to an extent unprecedented in modern times. And still they talked about
values and tradition.
Actions speak louder than words. Their chief concern,
proven over and over again, is to cater to those who are wealthy and powerful-while
making sure that working people are subserviently supportive of them,
even against their own interests. Some democracy. When they talk about
tradition, this is what they mean. They are harkening back to a form of
aristocratic rule rooted in the Middle Ages.
They have proven such inclinations, even though the
rest of us fail to see it. Those of us who do not fall for their antics
just look and scratch our heads trying to understand their goals.
They praise the Constitution, but what do they do to
it? During the Bush administration, they increased executive power to
make it more like a monarchy. They tried to destroy the balance of governmental
powers by reducing the powers of the Supreme Court, denouncing "activist
judges" as un-American. And their legions nodded and repeated the
mantra. They turned the legislative branch, while it was under Republican
control, to a rubber stamp of the presidency. They handed decision-making
power to corporate CEOs in backroom deals. Generating fanatical fear of
terrorists half a world away, they chipped away at our civil rights so
that government had more and more control.
They redefined patriotism to no longer represent American
ideals, but a kind of nationalism that monarchies were famous for generating,
to call masses of people to support their unnecessary wars, bow down to
corporate interests and applaud even a failed presidency. (That same distortion
of patriotism is being used today to impede an otherwise successful presidency.)
They deride Americans who respect true American ideals
as "elitists," for being better educated, thinking for themselves
(the first criterion for freedom), and not falling for their incessant
propaganda. They convinced millions of people that it was better and more
natural to support and sacrifice for the wealthy than to care about the
well-being of everyone else. This successful twist of prejudice against
the common people (us), by common people (conservative in nature), is
the crowning jewel of today's Conservatism.
Who else takes dedication and pride in denying and
protesting equal rights for other Americans—and always have?
I,
for one, cannot and will not buy into this. I will not surrender the inspiration
of equality for the modern feudalism of ignorance and despair that Conservatives
spew forth.
Like
good propagandists, they accuse others for what they are guilty of. They
accuse books and colleges of brainwashing people by opening their minds.
Let us consider brainwashing for a moment. Where do we hear the constant
drone of brainwashing propaganda? Conservative radio and television. Who
uses the catchwords of the professional brainwasher? Who puts forward
empty-headed candidates for office who then cater to the special interests
of big business? Who convinces people that the tax break they just received
is a tax increase? Were is this liberal extreme who threaten America?
Why do we never hear from them, especially in comparison to the other
side? Why are moderates castigated as extremists?
We
may not all be equal, but I, for one, will be damned before I'll give
up my equality to some conservative nightmare of corporate and political
aristocracy. No amount of pathetic propaganda from right wing extremists
trying to cookie mold our thoughts and values will stop me from thinking
for myself, as all Americans should. I will never fall so low as to raise
placards of prejudice against real American ideals, as I saw at their
recent Tea Parties (which Republicans are trying to take advantage of).
Portrayed a a grassroots phenomenon, they were unabashedly sponsored by
corporate interests.
Let
them burn books for fear of brainwashing. I and others like me will write
new ones. We will speak out more intensely in clearer voices. Real patriots
will use the evil power of conservatives against them by speaking the
truth. History shows us that the more they win, which is synonymous to
saying the more they destroy, the more their insanity reveals itself,
to their own detriment.
Conservatism
is truly unveiling itself now that it is searching for a new supposedly
populist guise. Despite its bluster and coarse rhetoric, we see an ideology
that is small, negative, and fixed in lies, grossly inappropriate to the
dire needs of today.
