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Monday, October 20, 2008

10. But surely it is good to want the country to be one, big happy family!

Well, it's good to want that, but it is not good to want the government to make it happen. From Goldberg:
The yearning for community is deep and human and decent. But these yearnings are often misplaced when channeled through the federal government and imposed across a diverse nation with a republican constitution. ... The government cannot love you and any politics that works on a different assumption is destined for no good. And yet ever since the New Deal, liberals have been unable to shake this fundamental dogma that the state can be the instrument for a politics of meaning that transforms the entire nation into a village. (p. 159-60)
For example, when you hear an expression like "it takes a village to raise a child," please don't just happily agree that it sounds like a nice idea. Ask yourself, "Who in the village besides the child's parents will then get a say in major decisions?"

Listen carefully to the vast, sweeping sentiments you hear from many politicians today, and you will discover that when they promise you "rights," "freedom," and "choice," they mean that you don't any longer have the right or freedom to choose a hamburger rather than the canned tunafish sandwich that someone from the government thinks you should have instead.

Next: 11. Explain what you mean when you say that liberal fascism exalts feelings over facts

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