A man's property is his to do with as he pleases, right? Apparently not. Historical commissions, permits, housing committees, and lawsuits say otherwise. Government, by its nature, possesses a continually growing sense of entitlement in terms of its ability to tell people what to do. However, I see it becoming overridingly personal. There seems to be this idea developing among the individuals who make up citizens' governing bodies. They are now asserting governmental power based on how they are made to feel.
Want to paint the outside of your house? Better use soothing, muted colors in case the mayor drives by. You never know if she has an excitable personality. Want to put in a swimming pool? You ought to invite Joe Councilman over for a barbecue. His parents never cooked out when he was a kid. Better try for his good side before he finds out on his own and gets jealous.
Rest assured, the issue is freedom on and over property, not other people. We're talking about "it's for your own good whether you like it or not (and it just so happens to be in my best interests)" control by strangers who spend your money. Soon, they'll be telling you what lightbulbs you can put in your lamps.
Strangers telling you what to do behind the closed doors of your home; what could be more egregious? What could be more personal?
Well, at least one thing is. If you want a say so in the fate of your immortal soul, please, do yourself a favor and don't die in China. At the very least, contact the American Embassy if you plan on a long stay. Perhaps you can get a head start on the paperwork. After all, you don't want to end up in Siberia when you reincarnate.
Check the link. I'm dead serious... ha! Stay classy.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Politics
I find politics to be a very low form of human interaction. Currently, it is widely considered to be the realm of smart intellectuals, the place for considerate citizens. I think it is sports for people who don't like sports (and people who do). However, I find real sport to be a much worthier enterprise, particularly a sport involving a team.
It is incredibly gratifying to watch a group of individuals come together and give of themselves in the pursuit of athletic excellence. Talent, dedication, discipline, and teamwork are combined to achieve a common goal.
At first glance, this sounds similar to the rose-colored version of politics, does it not? Take off them glasses, my friend. It is incredibly hard for me to understand a domain where the ultimate goal is a compromise of values. It's no wonder corrupt politicians are commonplace. The people who gravitate toward this behavior are also willing to sacrifice their ideals in order to pass legislation. This is a systemic issue. I'm not just talking about what's wrong with politics today. Moreso, I'm discussing politics as a concept.
Obviously, the counterpoint is that compromise is the only way to get a large cross-section of people to agree, and at least some portion of each person's idealism is met. I say that this is ridiculous. It doesn't say much about a system where two people equally as educated and conscientious, of equal statuses, can hold equally stupid, ignorant, and belligerently opposing viewpoints, as far as the other person is concerned. And this occurs with regard to basic, fundamental beliefs. Facts aren't even immune to politics. It confounds me as to how people can read the exact same story, witness the exact same event, read a statistic or a piece of information from the exact same source, and come to opposite conclusions. What's worse, they each use that as evidence to support their directly competitive ideas. This points to the necessity of some type of system of tolerance, which I think would work much better than a system of politics. You take care of you and I take care of me. Then, it will be easy to find a common ground without sacrificing any personal values, unless those personal values involve telling other people what to do.
It is ironic that those who use power most wisely are the ones who don't want it, those who govern most effectively are the ones who dislike government, and those best suited for politics are the ones who are least interested. Disinterest is good. It keeps necessary, professional compromise away from personal compromise.
These thoughts are not a justification for giving up the vote. I believe that the vote and politics are two very different things. They are not easily separated but they are separate. They should be treated that way.
It is incredibly gratifying to watch a group of individuals come together and give of themselves in the pursuit of athletic excellence. Talent, dedication, discipline, and teamwork are combined to achieve a common goal.
At first glance, this sounds similar to the rose-colored version of politics, does it not? Take off them glasses, my friend. It is incredibly hard for me to understand a domain where the ultimate goal is a compromise of values. It's no wonder corrupt politicians are commonplace. The people who gravitate toward this behavior are also willing to sacrifice their ideals in order to pass legislation. This is a systemic issue. I'm not just talking about what's wrong with politics today. Moreso, I'm discussing politics as a concept.
Obviously, the counterpoint is that compromise is the only way to get a large cross-section of people to agree, and at least some portion of each person's idealism is met. I say that this is ridiculous. It doesn't say much about a system where two people equally as educated and conscientious, of equal statuses, can hold equally stupid, ignorant, and belligerently opposing viewpoints, as far as the other person is concerned. And this occurs with regard to basic, fundamental beliefs. Facts aren't even immune to politics. It confounds me as to how people can read the exact same story, witness the exact same event, read a statistic or a piece of information from the exact same source, and come to opposite conclusions. What's worse, they each use that as evidence to support their directly competitive ideas. This points to the necessity of some type of system of tolerance, which I think would work much better than a system of politics. You take care of you and I take care of me. Then, it will be easy to find a common ground without sacrificing any personal values, unless those personal values involve telling other people what to do.
It is ironic that those who use power most wisely are the ones who don't want it, those who govern most effectively are the ones who dislike government, and those best suited for politics are the ones who are least interested. Disinterest is good. It keeps necessary, professional compromise away from personal compromise.
These thoughts are not a justification for giving up the vote. I believe that the vote and politics are two very different things. They are not easily separated but they are separate. They should be treated that way.
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