Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Hypocrasy and power plays all around or the decline of the USA

Scipio · 02-04-2004, 02:18 PM

Sorry, but I had to:

hypocrisy, n
1 : a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
2 : an act or instance of hypocrisy

============

You seem to be at least conceding that the hypocrisy in our political system is shared between our parties. You also seem to find that the GOP is especially bad about it.

Fair enough, but I think putting aside the abortion debate might be a good idea.

I'll just touch on one thing, and do so generally.

There are two values we have that tend to oppose one another. They are liberty/freedom and security. In most areas of policy, we can go one way or the other, and you can examine political parties in terms of how they apply these principles.

Republicans tend to favor security when it comes to national security and crime. The patriot act is a good example of this. It might take away a bit of our freedom, but it (supposedly) makes us more secure. They favor liberty rather than security in economics. They tend not to support measures that provide economic security, and would prefer that people who take chances in the economy bear the price if they happen to fail, rather than make everyone else pay for it.

Democrats, on the other hand prefer a crime or domestic security policy that protects our freedoms and liberties. They tend to support policies that emphasize protecting the innocent and rehabilitating rather than punishing the guilty. Economically, they favor measures of security, at the expense of freedom. People who fail in their businesses or careers will be protected from poverty, to some extent, and taxes that everyone pays will subsidize it. It's a form of insurance.

This is a theoretical view of things. Parties might be thought hypocritical when they deviate from these principles.

Republicans often advocate economic protectionism in spite of their support of market solutions. The farm bill and steel tarrifs are good examples of this.

Although they advocate individual liberty in making economic decisions (which they follow in passing tax cuts), they take away our civil liberties through the patriot act.

In my mind, a middle class tax payer loses more value than they get back from a tax cut. They may get another $50 a month, but they will ultimately lose government services they might someday depend on, as well as services they do depend on daily.

02-04-2004, 02:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
Scipio Mencken Location: College	Sorry, but I had to: hypocrisy, n 1 : a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion 2 : an act or instance of hypocrisy ============ You seem to be at least conceding that the hypocrisy in our political system is shared between our parties. You also seem to find that the GOP is especially bad about it. Fair enough, but I think putting aside the abortion debate might be a good idea. I'll just touch on one thing, and do so generally. There are two values we have that tend to oppose one another. They are liberty/freedom and security. In most areas of policy, we can go one way or the other, and you can examine political parties in terms of how they apply these principles. Republicans tend to favor security when it comes to national security and crime. The patriot act is a good example of this. It might take away a bit of our freedom, but it (supposedly) makes us more secure. They favor liberty rather than security in economics. They tend not to support measures that provide economic security, and would prefer that people who take chances in the economy bear the price if they happen to fail, rather than make everyone else pay for it. Democrats, on the other hand prefer a crime or domestic security policy that protects our freedoms and liberties. They tend to support policies that emphasize protecting the innocent and rehabilitating rather than punishing the guilty. Economically, they favor measures of security, at the expense of freedom. People who fail in their businesses or careers will be protected from poverty, to some extent, and taxes that everyone pays will subsidize it. It's a form of insurance. This is a theoretical view of things. Parties might be thought hypocritical when they deviate from these principles. Republicans often advocate economic protectionism in spite of their support of market solutions. The farm bill and steel tarrifs are good examples of this. Although they advocate individual liberty in making economic decisions (which they follow in passing tax cuts), they take away our civil liberties through the patriot act. In my mind, a middle class tax payer loses more value than they get back from a tax cut. They may get another $50 a month, but they will ultimately lose government services they might someday depend on, as well as services they do depend on daily. __________________ "Erections lasting more than 4 hours, though rare, require immediate medical attention."