You've no doubt heard the blustering calls to talk radio shows, both right and left.
A righty know-it-all will snort, "We don't need another government bureaucracy," or, "The government will bungle up health care like it messes up everything else."
Air America host Thom Hartmann had a great rhetorical question recently in reply to one of these indignant GOP all-government-is-bad know-nothings.
"What, your mail isn't being delivered?"
These blowhards have swallowed the Kool-Aid. And Ronald Reagan was the guy who dressed up as a giant pitcher and convinced them do it.
In these days when a public option and government for health insurance seems increasingly likely, misinformed bedrock ideological assumptions by many righties has poured gas on the smoldering, contentious national debate, largely rendering it incivil.
Reagan's now-famous idiotic and simplistic bromides about government are the right's articles of faith in the current health-care debate, to wit:
"Government's not the solution to our problems, it is the problem." And the other I-hate-government Reaganism: The "most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" Those GOP articles of faith, however, probably don't resonate with a whole lot of Katrina victims.
And they don't resonate, either, in most Western democracies, where the government and "bureaucrats" are not seen as worthless. In France, in fact (brace yourselves, righties, here it comes) its public schools' crème de la crème are often selected at an early age to eventually work in government service.
But hatred and mistrust of the government - any government - is now part of the DNA of many conservatives - thanks largely to Reagan, The Great Communicator (of Misinformation.)
One listener to progressive Hartmann's radio show the other day has worked for the federal government for 20 years. She was furious, she said, "at people constantly insulting those of us who work for the government."
Can you blame her?
I lived outside the U.S. for several years, in Canada. Not only do Canadians not hate their government, they actually trust it - well, its employees, at least. Going to a Canadian or provincial government office is, in general, quite a pleasant affair. People are polite - on both sides of the desk.
(It was a bit of a shocker, though, the first time this Americain went into a Quebec DMV office in French-speaking and Catholic Montreal - and saw a crucifix displayed on the wall!).
So, as long as those who are drunk on the Reagan Kool-Aid continue to take cheap and mostly unwarranted shots at our government, civil discourse on health care and many important issues to all of us will continue to be difficult if not impossible. As Rep. Barney Frank said, you can't argue with a table.
Do try to be kind to government employees when you meet them. Their jobs can't be easy - after all, some of the people they deal with are the same right-wing ideologues raised on Reagan and Rush anti-government hate talk.
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Perhaps some day we will be able to impress upon these people the fact that when you are anti-government, you usually end up being a slave to big corporate interests.
If we don't need the Government (anti-government stance) then why do Republicans campaign on fixing it when they are also part of it?
Reagan was a big part of government because being elected for anything means you are elected to govern.
Since the Republicans have become the party of "no" maybe they regret being elected and regret having to GOVERN.
We elect any politician regardless of party to be part of GOVERNING. That is their job, governing in the government, making government policies the American people want in their government.
You don't have to guess what happens with pure capitalism. Just look at its result at the turn of the last century. It's oppression was enough reason for people to walk for seven months risking disease, starvation, attacks from bandits and Indians to find something else for themselves.
Is life under progressives so onerous you'd walk from St. Joseph Missouri to Portland just to escape it?
People will be weeded out, true. But it won't be us.
It's a sham sponsored by corporations. Reagan was a sham, too.
The Bush years were difficult, because we knew we were working for an administration that had no appreciation for its employees or what we were trying to do. Morale took a big jump last November.
Thank you for the kind words.
I trust the US mail more than I trust Wall St. and the Banks.
Incidently, I don't think Reagan is exclusively to blame. Rather, the anti-government rhetoric of the Populist movement seemed to stick around the South and become combined with the anti-government hatred of the Reconstruction period to create an inculated hatred of all forms of government in that area. When population growth shifted power in the electoral college to the South, that form of government-opposed-to-governing became the norm. Even Clinton indulged in it.
Put me in the "necessary" side of the aisle. Yeah, I know, government regulation creates red tape, makes the machine grind slowly, and can cut into profits. But Reagan's gleeful demolition of federal oversight and regulations, deemed necessary since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, is the direct cause of many of the messes we now find ourselves in.
America was formed as rebellion against illegitimate government by divine right to rule. It was supposed to be replaced with democracy, where government is simply that thing citizens do cooperatively for their own benefit. What is this magic by which we are "We the People" one minute and "evil government" the next?
Add to Rayguns poisonous anti democracy rhetoric,
We elected Conservatives, who then showed us just how bad a CORRUPT governmnet can be.
We must outlaw all Contributions as the Bribery they are.
Equal free prime time and a travel allowance for all candidates on the ballot.
Then we might get our Democracy back.