It is no secret that there is no longer any place for
rationality and deliberation among those of opposing points of view in our
political system. The only thing we may fail to appreciate is how many
tentacles the behemoth of irrationality has. The one that seems to get the most
attention is blind ideology over taxation, culminating in an absurd pledge to
oppose all taxation that has destroyed any collegial relationships among our
nation’s lawmakers, the fundamental enablers of behind-the-scenes bargaining.
That unbending stand on taxation easily grew into the
equally menacing tentacle of socialism as the new “Red menace.” Under the guise
of menacing language about “nanny states,” this ideology has managed to promulgate
the position that the principle of government seeing to the needs of the public
good is just plain un-American. Apparently, we are a nation of rugged
individuals who worship at the High Church of Social Darwinism. Those who can’t
make it should be allowed to perish before they breed any progeny.
It thus makes sense that the next tentacle should basically
deal with the perishing of those who can't make it more specifically. One might
say that the Social Darwinist position on gun control is that anyone who cannot
defend himself/herself with an assault rifle deserves to be killed off by
someone who can. This is, admittedly, a somewhat hyperbolic interpretation of
John Diaz’ editorial
in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, in which he declares that any debate
on gun control is “ruled by absolutism and intimidation;” but, if my wording is
exaggerated, I like to think of it as hyperbole in the cause of clarification.
Remember, we are talking about ideology at its most
destructive. As Diaz observes, the gun lobby is as dedicated to eliminating
opposition as the anti-tax lobby is. This is basic military thinking: The
opposition is the enemy, and the best way to defeat the enemy is to wear down
its numbers. The Congressional machinery of review, deliberation, debate, and
negotiation simply does not figure into the equation. All that matters is
strength in numbers. After all, if you win the argument, doesn’t that mean
you’re right? Isn’t that the fundamental principle of democracy?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Guns: The New Front Line of Irrationality
Labels:
deliberation,
democracy,
economy,
government,
ideology,
politics,
social theory,
war
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment