The Aerie
George Bush isn't a conservative. Conservatives are people of principle and ideals whose approach to change differs from that of liberals, but both work towards the same goal of improving society.
Even calling Bush a "neoconservative" is an error. Neoconservatives are ideologues - they believe in something, in this case the Project for a New American Century. They're imperialists and power-hungry, but they have a set of beliefs however at odds those are with social justice and other mainstream Western values.
Bush is a shallow opportunist. Bush has no ideology beyond a twisted Freudian relationship with his father. Bush is the malleable sock-puppet of the neoconservatives. And, frankly, he's very stupid although possessed of a certain cunning that allows him to survive by depending on powerful people around him.
What I suspect most people see as the "cause" of all the evils in the world is not any one of these. The "cause," at least of the world's present evils, is rapacious greed and relentless cowardice.
True conservatives have allowed the Republican Party to be hijacked as a tool of power by the neoconservatives, and are controlled by greed (hence the Culture of Corruption) and cowardice (look at what the neocons do to anyone who opposes them). Only recently, when their fear of terrorism has grown greater than their fear of Karl Rove have Conservative Republicans begun to speak out against the plans of the Neocons.
The Democratic party is ruled by cowardice alone. No rich rewards to be had, since the Neocons only reward their immediate cronies (for the counterexample that proves the rule see Democrat Joe Liebermann, who has thrown in with the Neocons and is rewarded with press and airtime as their Democrat Quisling).
No, the Democrats are so afraid of losing what little power they have that they refuse to oppose the Neocons, nor thoroughly support those few who do. Democrat John Conyers is a rare example of a courageous Democrat, and Hilary Clinton is a typical example of a cowardly play-by-the-rules Democrat. With her ambitions for the Presidency, Hilary has a lot more to lose than Conyers, and she is therefore less willing to take risks.
So afraid are the Democrats of upsetting their flimsy political applecart that they have not contested the last two Presidential elections, despite ample evidence of voting fraud in both cases. Both nominees being by definition loyal Democratic Party operators, they consented to concede the elections as the Party leadership required rather than bucking their orders and pointing out that the elections had no clothes.
And We The People are ruled mainly by cowardice. Many have succumbed to neoconservative fearmongering propaganda (such as that which conflates Iraq with 9/11 in order to justify the war), and others are simply afraid to "get involved" in the political process at all.
It is the fear of getting involved that will allow the present decay of our Federation to continue. Examples from elsewhere around the world and throughout history show that populations will tolerate a surprising decrease in their standard of living (for example the Soviet Union during the Eighties) rather than risk taking action to oppose those in power.
So it's fear and greed, frankly, that are at the root of all our troubles. And it's only people of principle, Conservatives and Liberals together, people of principle with the courage to act who can save our nation.
Posted by Albatross at March 2, 2006 5:53 PM | TrackBack