Why all the Nastiness?

I used to wonder why conservatives were so uncivil in their discourse, disruptive of town hall meetings, and felt the need to make public statements that were needlessly inflammatory and quite contrary to American ideals of free thought and equality. I hear their lies about death panels and socialism, see their ugly posters, mourn the occasional outbursts of violence, and wonder how they claim to be patriotic and Christian. I see them lionize inferior politicians who have little understanding of the world, other than conservative prejudices. They talk about broken government as they do everything they can to break it, and are responsible for all the corruption that occurred during the Bush administration. They promise fiscal responsibility, when all they do is increase spending and lower taxes on the wealthy, launching our deficits to astronomical heights. They condemn earmarks while demanding them at the same time. Inadequate candidates like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann rise to power and are supported by legions of conservative minions. Talk radio megalomaniacs, conservatives all, sound more and more like Nazi propagandists every day, inciting fear, anger and prejudice. Is that really the American way?
    Why are they like this? Because their views are otherwise indefensible.
    They claim to be patriots following in our founders’ footsteps, but rail against the government that our founders created. Indeed, they do everything to hamstring it, supposedly for the people, but only corporations and politicians seem to profit.
    They equate deregulation with freedom, even as it tears our economy apart and enslaves us with growing poverty. The same with healthcare reform. The people are far more free without carrying the burden and insecurity of no healthcare coverage than they are as conservatives would have it. The supposed freedom that conservatives are worried about is the freedom to rip the people off.
    The United States is a nation based on law and the will of the people – not the kind of anarchy that conservatives promote.
    I actually feel bad for the Republican Party. When Wallace Democrats from the South eventually took it over, they radically changed it from the party of Lincoln, to the party of Limbaugh. There is no resemblance between the two. Many good-hearted conservatives who still support the Republican Party for reasons of fiscal responsibility, have been hoodwinked by rhetoric that has nothing to do with reality. All they have to do is look at how Republicans have performed and it is plain to see that the two parties are not equally guilty for the problems we suffer from today. Whereas liberals like Franklin Roosevelt gave us a strong and vibrant middle class with his New Deal, the conservatives would take it away and make us subservient peasants tied to a corporate aristocracy. I wish they would open their eyes and stop supporting what will be their own loss.
    The founding of our nation was a radical move in 18th Century Western culture. It introduced human rights that were expounded upon by the Age of Reason, yet not acted upon in Europe. Conservatives of their day fought to retain Britain as their overlord. Today’s conservatives reject Age of Reason ideals, which are American ideals, and seek to make us subservient to market overlords and political corruption. Only intense and misleading propaganda keep masses of people from seeing this and fighting against their own interests. Fear and anger are their weapons. Fear against our own government, and anger at Americans who remain unconverted to their misbegotten cause. They have been convinced that the forces of Communism and Socialism are about to impose tyrannical control over our lives, without a shred of real evidence, placing their trust in the conservative media that reaps incredible wealth telling them lies.
    Who wins and who loses if healthcare reform falls, or is neutered to the point of being useless? The people who will have to pay higher and higher premiums? No. The ones who will never be covered by adequate insurance, and lose their health because of it? Of course not. The people lose, and the corporations win. How could it be otherwise? To convince the people differently would demand professional propagandists and elected leaders who lie and subvert this government of the people. And that is exactly what conservatism gives us.
    I don’t know what the answer is, beyond having people who have not been brainwashed speaking out and holding up the truth for all to see. Liars must be held accountable for what they say. They should lose their sponsors and be voted out of office. Their demonstrations should be ignored or countered. Talk shows should interview people who represent mainstream Americans rather than extremists who are groping for validity.

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