Sunday, March 4, 2012
Divided and Conquered
Why does it feel good to be apart of a group? I would say that it is everyone's instinctive desire to be around people that have similar interests and relateable stories. Most people choose the group they want to belong to as a hobby or maybe even as a profession. Some choose to be on sports teams, others in debate clubs. People become teachers, others become lawyers. Some are Catholics while others are Jewish. And of course there are conservatives and liberals. Despite common stereotypes, all groups are equal as human beings, the only difference is their interests and beliefs. On the other hand, there are some who feel that they are born into a group. We have men and women, blacks and whites. There are straight Americans and there are LGBT Americans. We have the 1% and the 99%. But do most people consider themselves in a group because of their income, gender, race or sexual preference? I argue that most people do not. Of course there are distinctions to be made between men and women, and people from different income brackets that cause an automatic grouping of interest, but who really claims they belong to these groups. I understand there are times when these types of groups needed to be formed in order to fight for their rights, but a majority of those rights have been accomplished. I am writing to argue that these groups have now been hijacked. I believe that these groups are emphasized in order to divide and conquer America for political gains. Politicians are creating the idea that we must join with our "natural groups" to defend our rights. This is what liberals do best.
It seems like everyday we hear that another group is under attack Not by Russia or Iran, but under attack by conservatives. Conservatives are made out to be a "group" of people that have no tolerance for people that are not white Christian men. This idea is nothing more than a political narrative. The biggest problem is that liberals are professionals at directing and managing a uniform narrative, while conservatives are horrible at communicating their counter views. It's not because conservatives are bad communicators, but they know they are up against a liberal machine that will hang on every word choice and then loop it over and over again through media discussions. Some media types, like MSNBC, will come right out and say what they think of conservatives. I have no problem with that. They have freedom of speech, their agenda is well known, and truthfully their audience isn't that large. However, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC play a different game. The use a strategy I call "the question mark cover up". Is the Tea Party really racist? Is Mitt Romney out of touch with the middle class? Is Newt Gingrich insensitive towards African Americans? Does Rick Santorum hate women? By phrasing these ideas as proposed "questions" they give themselves the opportunity to put someone on the air to justify it, while covering up their own bias. Once the question is proposed the narrative begins, then its repeated, and eventually a stereotype has been created to tarnish a person or opposing view. The idea is if you divide people into groups and then feed them a narrative that their group is under attack, then that group will feel a desire to band together to oppose the "attacker". The next step is to bring all the groups that are being attacked together as one massive opposition. In other words, the "left" will make people think that they are in the minority and under assault by the evil majority, and if all the minorities can come together for one cause they can become the voice of a majority. It is an effective strategy because it is easier to get someone to become active in a discussion if they feel they are apart of group fighting for a similar cause. Divide people into groups and then conquer an opposing group. It happens every time, and with election season peaking, it is becoming a key liberal strategy. In truth it has nothing to do with group rights, it has everything to do with winning certain voting demographics.
Allow me to elaborate on two examples: African Americans and women
The civil rights movements was a powerful movement that helped the black community establish itself as equals in society. Now lets skip past the idea that Republicans were the ones that helped this movement and that MLK Jr. was a Republican, and focus on today. Liberal Democrats spread the narrative that conservative Republicans are racist. So this narrative divides people in a group that feels a need to conquer a group of conservatives. Most conservatives are afraid to even talk about racial topics because everything will be analyzed to find hidden racial undertones. Then they will be criticized for not including American Americans in their speeches. The Tea Party is considered racist because they claim that there are mostly all whites at their rallies. This may be true, but it is a lie to imply that there are mostly whites because blacks are not welcome to attend. Despite what the media claims, there are not "whites only" signs at the entrance, and there are no white hoods anywhere to be found. Maybe more African Americans would show up if they weren't told the Tea Party is the "klan" without the sheets, and if they wouldn't be judged by others for changing their views. Meanwhile, liberals are the ones that always link the black community to the poor community. Anytime welfare reform is mentioned or unemployment is discussed, someone like Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson will show up on a major network to claim the black community is under assault. So in response they constantly promise to help this group by giving them assistance through welfare, affirmative action, and housing. Who doesn't want to vote for someone that is promising handouts. Once they create the narrative, a self fulfilling prophecy takes affect and they now believe that liberals are here to help, and conservatives just want to take the things away that they're "entitled" to. But how are those entitlements working out? Poverty is increasing, government housing projects are considered a crime infested drug zone, and the public schools in those areas are beyond failing. As a conservative I think it is shameful that liberals keep feeding African Americans the narrative that they are here to help, but in reality everything they are doing is keeping them dependent and poor at the same time. The narrative has been set for that group and most refuse to break away from the herd in fear of being labeled an Uncle Tom. As Herman Cain said, black liberals need to get off the democratic plantation. (see video to right)
As a conservative I feel that liberals make African Americans feel like they are not able to succeed without the help of the government. We feel that everybody has the ability to think and fend for themselves and their families.It is easy to see how conservatives are made out to be cruel, but the mindset is to give everyone the freedom to prosper to their own ability, and there is no promise of an equal outcome. When someone relies on government entitlements and housing, it is difficult to give up those "free" programs, and a true prosperity is given up for a guaranteed below average lifestyle. Yes, it will be more difficult at times, but the freedom to fail is a key idea that encourages upward mobility. But to liberals, dependence on government ensures guaranteed votes, and eventually an increase in political power.
Women's rights seem to be the new hot topic in the 2012 presidential election. Liberals make you think conservatives want to keep their wives barefoot and pregnant at home behind a stove. Ask yourself why? Who is attacking women? Nobody is talking about voting rights here, even though again it was the Republicans who fought for those rights, and yes Susan B. Anthony was a Republican.We are not talking about equal rights in the work place. We are talking about birth control. Who is trying to ban these things that women use? Nobody, but that is not the narrative that liberals are feeding to women.If you want to stop reading this post and go look for a bill that is being proposed, or a candidate that is running for President, that wants to make these things illegal go ahead, they don't exist. But liberals don't let those facts get in the way of their narrative. This narrative is created to win the women's vote and turn the group of women against conservatives. They need women to ban together to fight against these misogynistic bigots. Even real women's organizations like N.O.W. are hijacked for political activism. It is easy to tell because they always turn their backs when conservatives like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are being degraded. These double standards are the height of political hypocrisy. However, there is a bill that is out there that has been passed that denies rights, it is Obamacare. It takes religious rights away and forces people to go against their own moral conscience. That narrative is true, but liberals need to divert attention to something that fits their political platform. Conservatives need to start standing up to fabricated controversies in the media. Nobody wants birth control to be illegal!!! Women were not on the now infamous congressional hearing panel because it was a hearing about the constitutionality of Obamacare forcing religious groups to pay for things that they do not morally believe in. The panel was made up of clergymen, and rightfully so. It is shameful when women say birth control is too expensive, and then applaud the President when he says don't worry I will FORCE insurance companies to give it to you for free. You are not qualified to be President when you think anything in this world is free. A sexual lifestyle is a choice, but it is wrong to say someone else needs to financially support it because you cannot afford it yourself. Now liberals can scream War on Women all they want, but the real war is against a big government that thinks it can mandate what people buy and what institutions must pay for, and a liberal media that does their dirty work. Religious freedom is the essence of our country, it is apart of the 1st Amendment for a reason. Our country was not built on the idea that the government will provide free birth control, healthcare, housing, food, or even education. We have no right to these services, only a right to purchase them ourselves. Those are things a Socialistic government promises. That is what Europe does. They tell people that they are entitled to free services through government programs, but in reality they pay for it through taxes in every aspect of their lives. And like Senator Rick Santorum says (see video to right), when a government gives you rights, they can take those rights away, and even tell you how to exercise those rights. We must not allow the liberal media to take a segment of a speech and build a narrative in order to divide and conquer.
Allow me to finish by explaining the Conservative Mindset when it comes to these topics. Nobody should be put into groups in fear that their natural birth characteristics are being attacked. I'm sure everyone knows somebody that is degrading to minorities or women, but I guarantee you would be wrong about their political position. Most people these days have harsh feelings for others because they have witnessed the content of their character, not because of their physical attributes. And if that is not the case, then shame on them no matter what their political affiliation may be. Conservatives believe individuals have the ability to think for themselves and succeed by themselves. When we live independent with minimal government intrusion, we have the best chance to prosper in life. We are not a country of groups and demographics, we are a country of individuals. The President always says that we are in this together, we help each other out, we all need to do our fair share and what is right for the good of the country. Now he makes it sound patriotic and like poetry to the ear, but he is completely wrong. That is not America.Conservatives believe this country was built on INDIVIDUAL liberties, and this country became great because of INDIVIDUAL interests and pursuits of happiness. The American Dream is one where you can strive to do what ever YOU want and what makes YOU happy within the law. The problem with what the President preaches is that if we live as collective groups, live equally, and contribute to the common good, then someone has to dictate what is considered equal, and what is considered the common good. The President wants to micro-manage each group by promising equal outcomes, but the only way to do that is to smother someone else's freedom. If you promise an African American more access to college based purely on the color of their skin, then you are taking away the right of someone else to gain entry to college based on the color of their skin. If you give women the right to free birth control, those costs get offset by fees on others, and then you take away the right for someone to be morally against it and not have to pay for it. Any time the government creates a right, it takes away from someone else's God given right. This is the foundation of our country. I agree it does sound harsh at times because people do fail, but they fail on their own merit. On the other hand, some people become millionaires, and we should applaud them because they do it on their on merit. We must not allow liberals to get away with making false promises in order to divide and conquer our country. The idea of America is that each of our individual interests will build off of each other's, creating more opportunity for all. As Jack Kemp claimed, a rising tide lifts all boats. Freedom is our tide, not our President.
Hear is what Conservatives sound like in their entirety regarding these issues:
1. When Newt Gingrich was leading in the polls the media pushed a narrative and allowed other to exaggerate the idea that he wants poor blacks to become janitors and clean up after the rich white kids in the schools. Liberals are afraid to allow the poor to believe that they can achieve success on their own. Here is Newt in his own words.
2. When Rick Santorum was leading in the polls the narrative switched to women. The left claims that Rick Santorum has said that birth control should be banned, women should stay at home with the kids, and Catholicism is the way of the world. Now it is easy to pull those phrases out of his speeches, but if you hear him out fully there is a decisive difference between his personal beliefs and his public policy record. He has strong convictions for a united family and he makes a great case for our society being directly related to it.
And in respect to the one that took the fight to the Liberal media the best.
Andrew Breitbart R.I.P.
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Thursday, December 8, 2011
He Said What's Not Fair ?
Let me first present to you a fictional narration of unfairness through the eyes of a Liberal/Progressive:
America is a great country that has overcome many difficult times, BUT there are many issues that still face us today. America was founded on a document that broke us from the chains of a European ruler, BUT there are new issues facing our country today that that document does not settle. Today, the fairness in this country has been biased to a certain portion of Americans. Income disparity has grown to an all time high, where 1% holds all of the wealth, while the other 99% struggle. Our economy is unfair to too many people letting the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Our system is holding down minorities, while the rich white men play in a league of their own with their own set of rules. The millionaires and billionaires are manipulating the system to benefit themselves while the burden falls on the backs of small businesses, working middle class families, and the poor. Republicans only want to go back to the same old ways of the Bush administration which would keep giving taxes breaks to the rich, loopholes to corporations, and subsidies to Big Oil. We need a fair level playing field. We need everyone to pay their fair share so we can all advance together as one America. (Enter Barack Obama stage right and cue the music) I will be the one to make this a fair country, I will create a fair playing field, and I will (fill in the blank). Vote for me in 2012, Barack Obama the Creator of Fairness.
America is a great country that has overcome many difficult times, BUT there are many issues that still face us today. America was founded on a document that broke us from the chains of a European ruler, BUT there are new issues facing our country today that that document does not settle. Today, the fairness in this country has been biased to a certain portion of Americans. Income disparity has grown to an all time high, where 1% holds all of the wealth, while the other 99% struggle. Our economy is unfair to too many people letting the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Our system is holding down minorities, while the rich white men play in a league of their own with their own set of rules. The millionaires and billionaires are manipulating the system to benefit themselves while the burden falls on the backs of small businesses, working middle class families, and the poor. Republicans only want to go back to the same old ways of the Bush administration which would keep giving taxes breaks to the rich, loopholes to corporations, and subsidies to Big Oil. We need a fair level playing field. We need everyone to pay their fair share so we can all advance together as one America. (Enter Barack Obama stage right and cue the music) I will be the one to make this a fair country, I will create a fair playing field, and I will (fill in the blank). Vote for me in 2012, Barack Obama the Creator of Fairness.Now I know you might be thinking that that sounded like a message we can all get behind, and its exactly what all the Occupy protests are fighting for. Of course it sounds good to the ear, that's why most of the statements above are usually found on signs, bumper stickers, and Obama’s teleprompter. What you are not asking yourself is HOW do you create fair!!! To the far-left it doesn't matter. See they believe what Saul Alinski says,(a Marxist Chicago community organizer who wrote Rules for Radicals), that the ends justify the means. Meaning it doesn't matter how we get there, as long as we get there. That can be a disturbing and dangerous path, and it is actually what you are seeing develop through the chaos of the Occupy protest.
Obama and most Progressives believe fairness should be created by a higher power, no not God, but Obama himself as President (I know for some there is no difference). Liberals will always use Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, and Gay rights as an example of inequality and how the government can create a more just society. Yes this is true, but Civil rights were being demanded by The People, and then the government responded, and the same goes for Gay Rights currently. Also, those were rights dealing with humanity and how society viewed a certain type of person, then resulting in laws that brought groups of people up in society to be equals at a higher level. I believe economic inequality is being fought to do the exact opposite.Right now President Obama is shaping a dialogue that is creating envy through the prism of unfairness. Liberals want you to see a rich person and ask why do they need all of that money (well unless they are a part of Hollywood, then that money is acceptable because it contributes to their campaigns). Liberals have the mindset that the rich should give up some of their wealth to the poor to create equality. Like Obama told Joe the Plummer, "I think if you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody." Would that be fair? This is why we have a PROGRESSIVE income tax. The more you make the more you pay in taxes. Not just as a total amount due to a flat and equal percentage for all, but you must pay a higher percentage as well. Is that fair? They believe income disparity exists because the 1% hoards all the wealth. So they want more welfare programs to help the poor, which will be paid for by an increase in taxes on millionaires and billionaires that will never need them. Is that fair? They believe poor families are born into poor families, while rich kids like Paris Hilton are born into wealth. So they support a death tax (estate tax) that currently takes 35% of the total value of all assets over $1 million after death, in 2013 it increases to 55%. Is that fair? They claim the rich are not paying their fair share, yet 47% of the country pays NO federal income tax while the top 1% pays 36% of the total federal income tax, the top 5% pays 59%, and the top 10% pay 70%. Is that fair enough? Progressives want to create fairness through tax law and legislation, but stealing from one person to give to another is not true fairness. And, unlike civil rights, creating economic equality does not raise a person’s status, it only bring down the higher classes to seem more equal overall. The democrats will use this illusion of fairness to help the president because he cannot run on his presidential record. He will speak in a bumper sticker fashion that will appeal to a majority of the country because a majority of the country is not rich. Class warfare is all he has left, and he is naming the rich as the enemy. Will you be fooled and persuaded to believe that our country is so unfair? I believe most people are smarter than the president thinks. I believe that a majority will side with the Conservative Mindset.
Conservatives believe that we are all created equal with unalienable rights from God, and we have the right to pursue happiness. However, from birth on we must lay in the bed that we make. Now that bed might not be as nice as your friend’s bed to start, but who is really the one to blame for that. This country does not have a fairness problem, it has an accountability problem. Did you take your school work seriously when you were younger, and if not did your parents hound you for it. Accountability starts with the individual, followed by the family, and then if and only if you do not find the problem there can you begin to point fingers to others. You see, we may not all start life in the same class and we will not all end life in the same class. The government should only be concerned with protecting equal rights at birth and making sure it is possible to climb to the highest social status possible. Sure there are instances of unfairness as we climb to the top, but that is life, and if they are unjust or illegal, then we have laws to handle that. It is not fair to get a job or into a school because the government sets quotas to be met based on sex, race or religion. The government cannot manipulate the free market to artificially create fairness because it disincentives hard working honest people, and that’s truly unfair. The government should not pick winners and losers by shaping tax code and creating exemption for companies based on special interests (That goes for both parties). That is unfair. But it is not unfair to be denied a job because you are unqualified, or to receive a salary that doesn’t cover the expenses of your complex family situation, or that you are not given a job right out of college, or that your neighbor has three speed boats and you have none. Figure out how to get three speed boats, and if it is too late for you then make sure you teach your children so they continue your family’s climb to the top. It is not the rich 1% holding the other 99% down. Taxing the rich is nice sound bite, but you cannot get around the fact that you are take from one person to give to another because you think they have "enough" already. The rich do not stuff their money under their mattress, they invest it, that's why they are rich in the first place. Investment is what starts businesses, create jobs, a triggers new innovation. No matter what way you look at it, nobody works for a person poorer than them. Your boss is always richer than you, if he wasn't then he couldn't hire you. So we must have economic hierarchy, and there must be competition to the top.The president wants you to direct your anger at the rich man, I say be angry at yourself for not finding a way to earn the rich man’s job. Be angry at yourself for not taking your teachers serious, and be angry at your family for not pushing you to be better off than them.
It is time to stopping buying into the idea that democrats are here to help and make everything ok. They dangle entitlement checks in front of the vulnerable, not so they build wealth, but to guarantee a vote. Notice how Obama’s big solution is to tax the rich in order to solve all problems. How much does taxing the rich actually give you? He is not talking about creating wealth for you, he just wants to look like the guy that is there to help you get by. And don’t worry, when that money runs out, as long as you keep voting democrat the checks will keep coming. Welfare, food stamps, and public housing does not create an incentive to climb higher in society because it is too hard to give up free stuff. It creates a mindset of mediocrity and resentment. The idea of free stuff is then what gets past down to the kids along with the idea that the rich man is keeping them there. Kids grow up without seeing what it means to live inside your means and to balance a checkbook. Now this doesn’t apply to allow families on assistance, but more and more kids are being born into this environment of "free stuff". It creates an entitled society that is doomed for failure. The ones that are fooled the most are minorities. Like Herman Cain says, “it’s time for the black community to get off the Democratic Plantation.” And to really throw a wrench into the minority melting pot, Asian-Americans are the greatest minority of all, yet they have the lowest unemployment rate of all. In fact, they have consistently held a lower rate since 2000, and it is currently at 6.5%. I wonder if that has anything to do with their attitude towards education and the opportunities they take advantage of in our country, or their reliance on entitlements? It is ironic how liberals are true believers of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection and Evolution, but they refuse to make the connection between survival of the fittest and our economy. Despite what you have been told, conservatives do not want the poor and minorities to starve on the streets while they regret their mistakes. We just believe that the idea of poor and unfair has been inflated. For instance, you are not poor if you have a car, a cell phone, a computer with internet, and a TV. No matter how lame that cell phone is, or how slow the internet, that does not equal poor and it certainly is not unfair. You shouldn't request food assistance, renter’s assistance, or utility assistance because it helps offset the prior luxuries mentioned. It seems people these days do not know what it means to be poor. There use to be a time when if you wanted a house you would save up the money, buy some property, and then build your family a house. Now you file paperwork for section eight. Americans are the most generous fair people in the world, but we are getting to a point where we don’t feel like our money is going to those in need. We need to start thinking about who is really being greedy.
In the next eleven months you are going to see democrats pin the lower and middle class against the rich. They will claim the GOP nominee is against the middle class, while they promise to deliver prosperity either through entitlement programs for the poor or public union pensions for the working class. In the end neither promise will ever pay off because they both use money that belongs to other people. Call it Marxism or Socialism it doesn’t matter, the same holds true, eventually you run out of other people’s money. A utopian society cannot be built by redistributing the wealth. Eventually, and a lot sooner than later, our entitlement society will run out of money to support it. When that happens Occupy Wall Street will look like a peace rally compared to what will be in the streets. Remember this election is crucial and will test what you believe. Until then, be smart and question what you are being told to believe. Make sure you understand what you stand for, and more importantly be knowledgeable about what you stand against. It is easy for sound clips to be played to make conservatives sound harsh and cruel, but remember we want everyone to use their freedom to earn wealth and move their family upward in society, not to be tethered to Uncle Sam’s wallet. Work hard, educate yourself, and be charitable, and if that eventually puts you in place with three speed boats one day, then good for you. That's true fairness. That's the American Dream.
Milton Friedman: Fairness vs. Freedom
Milton Friedman: Fairness vs. Freedom
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