Decision 2006: An Indecisive Victory for the GOP
Listen.
I know what you’re thinking: how could this, in any way, be construed as a victory for the Republican Party?
Allow me to open your eyes…
Unfortunately, the drive-by news media likes to present its “news” in a narrow historical context. It chooses to look at things as they exist right now, and only within the context of right now. However, hindsight being 20/20, and history existing as such a useful tool in terms of predicting future trends, I always find it best to place my news analysis within a wider historical framework.
America loves its freedom. It loves its iPods, SUVs, and Flat-Screen TVs. Young naïve liberalite Americans, especially, love their rights to free speech, their right to hate religion and George Bush, and for at least a little while longer, their right to kill unborn babies. But does America as a whole understand how it retains these so-called “unalienable” rights? The answer is complex: sometimes.
Like in everyday life, we sometimes are willing to make the sacrifices necessary, endure the required trials and tribulations, and face the adversities placed in our path, in order to grow toward our given ideals. But occasionally, we grow disheartened. We get beaten down a couple of times, and want to forget our troubles, at least for a time. We drink alcohol, take drugs, watch television, gamble, make the homeless battle to the death, tease the handicapped, and have improper sexual relations—all to forget ourselves, and the rough road on the way to becoming the person we all know we can be. The same is true for us as a whole—for America. Every so often—on average every 8-12 years—America gets tired too. Ideals like Freedom, Democracy, and Free-Market Capitalism are not always easy to protect, maintain, and continue to develop. It takes determination. It takes stamina. It takes a balls-to-the-wall courage this country was founded on!
So, we get angry at the world—at our circumstances. We point the finger, just as we do in life, at those around us, and particularly, at those in power. You see Republicans are elected at points in history where American’s recapture their desire to grow. In 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected President, people were just coming to their senses. It’s not that the Democrats are bad. On the contrary, most Democrats mean well. It’s that liberal policies are dysfunctional, impractical, and ultimately shortsighted. Liberals follow the “good enough” philosophy. They’re appeasers… Maybe I can sum it up in a little story.
There were once two men walking down a busy metropolitan street. A beggar approaches them and asks for money. The man on the left reaches in his pocket, hastily tosses a wad of money at the beggar, and hot-foots it out of there thinking, “Poor chap. Isn’t it a shame the system is rigged that way?” Meanwhile, the man on the right is still standing there. He asks the beggar how he got there. The beggar tells him that the educational system failed him—that he never learned how to read. The man on the right tells him to meet him there the next day, at the same time, and that if the beggar is willing, he will use his lunch break to give the man lessons. He explains that by learning how to read, the beggar can get himself a job, some money, and a roof over his head. The beggar thanks him with tears in his eyes, and promises he’ll be there. The next day the man on the right returns, but the beggar is unwilling to leave his spot. The man returns the following day—still the beggar refuses him. On the third day, the man returns and finds the man on the left handing another generous wad of money to the beggar. As the man on the left walks away, the man on the right asks the beggar if he is willing to be taught at all. The beggar responds, “No offense, mister, but if I leave with you, who’s gonna be here when that rich guy comes to give me a wad of cash?”
It’s the old “give a man a fish/teach him to fish” philosophy. But taking the time to teach a man how to stand on his own two feet is tiresome, and requires a lot of persistence. The thing to remember is, what you’re working hardest to combat aren’t the obstacles themselves, but the counterproductive conditioning of liberalism. And so, an election like this one is important in that it will undoubtedly remind people of what works, and what doesn’t.
--
Tom Thompson
Editor-in-Chief
The Freedom Flyer
I know what you’re thinking: how could this, in any way, be construed as a victory for the Republican Party?
Allow me to open your eyes…
Unfortunately, the drive-by news media likes to present its “news” in a narrow historical context. It chooses to look at things as they exist right now, and only within the context of right now. However, hindsight being 20/20, and history existing as such a useful tool in terms of predicting future trends, I always find it best to place my news analysis within a wider historical framework.
America loves its freedom. It loves its iPods, SUVs, and Flat-Screen TVs. Young naïve liberalite Americans, especially, love their rights to free speech, their right to hate religion and George Bush, and for at least a little while longer, their right to kill unborn babies. But does America as a whole understand how it retains these so-called “unalienable” rights? The answer is complex: sometimes.
Like in everyday life, we sometimes are willing to make the sacrifices necessary, endure the required trials and tribulations, and face the adversities placed in our path, in order to grow toward our given ideals. But occasionally, we grow disheartened. We get beaten down a couple of times, and want to forget our troubles, at least for a time. We drink alcohol, take drugs, watch television, gamble, make the homeless battle to the death, tease the handicapped, and have improper sexual relations—all to forget ourselves, and the rough road on the way to becoming the person we all know we can be. The same is true for us as a whole—for America. Every so often—on average every 8-12 years—America gets tired too. Ideals like Freedom, Democracy, and Free-Market Capitalism are not always easy to protect, maintain, and continue to develop. It takes determination. It takes stamina. It takes a balls-to-the-wall courage this country was founded on!
So, we get angry at the world—at our circumstances. We point the finger, just as we do in life, at those around us, and particularly, at those in power. You see Republicans are elected at points in history where American’s recapture their desire to grow. In 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected President, people were just coming to their senses. It’s not that the Democrats are bad. On the contrary, most Democrats mean well. It’s that liberal policies are dysfunctional, impractical, and ultimately shortsighted. Liberals follow the “good enough” philosophy. They’re appeasers… Maybe I can sum it up in a little story.
There were once two men walking down a busy metropolitan street. A beggar approaches them and asks for money. The man on the left reaches in his pocket, hastily tosses a wad of money at the beggar, and hot-foots it out of there thinking, “Poor chap. Isn’t it a shame the system is rigged that way?” Meanwhile, the man on the right is still standing there. He asks the beggar how he got there. The beggar tells him that the educational system failed him—that he never learned how to read. The man on the right tells him to meet him there the next day, at the same time, and that if the beggar is willing, he will use his lunch break to give the man lessons. He explains that by learning how to read, the beggar can get himself a job, some money, and a roof over his head. The beggar thanks him with tears in his eyes, and promises he’ll be there. The next day the man on the right returns, but the beggar is unwilling to leave his spot. The man returns the following day—still the beggar refuses him. On the third day, the man returns and finds the man on the left handing another generous wad of money to the beggar. As the man on the left walks away, the man on the right asks the beggar if he is willing to be taught at all. The beggar responds, “No offense, mister, but if I leave with you, who’s gonna be here when that rich guy comes to give me a wad of cash?”
It’s the old “give a man a fish/teach him to fish” philosophy. But taking the time to teach a man how to stand on his own two feet is tiresome, and requires a lot of persistence. The thing to remember is, what you’re working hardest to combat aren’t the obstacles themselves, but the counterproductive conditioning of liberalism. And so, an election like this one is important in that it will undoubtedly remind people of what works, and what doesn’t.
--
Tom Thompson
Editor-in-Chief
The Freedom Flyer
posted by Tom Thompson | Wednesday, November 08, 2006
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1 comments
