Saturday, February 7, 2009

Punxsutawney Politics

"Come on, all the long distance lines are down? What about satellite? Is it snowing in space? Don't you keep open a line for emergencies or for celebrities? I'm both. I'm a celebrity in an emergency."
--Phil Connors (Groundhog Day)

A popular claim of those who opposed the Bush administration's policies, particularly those policies related to the war, was that the administration employed 'fear mongering' tactics to scare people into consenting to government actions. Threat of terrorist attack, WMD, etc were offered as rationale to act now in the name of national security.

Fast foward to the Obama administration's rhetoric regarding the urgent need for gigantic economic stimulus. We need to act boldly and now, they claim, in order to stem the next Great Depression. Once again, the argument is in the name of national security--that of an economic nature.

A similar argument is structured around the environment and the need for bold and urgent action to save the planet from 'global warming.'

More vuja de for Phil.

Bureaucrats from both sides of the aisle realize that fear sells. The more control we grant government to combat these 'threats', the more we give our liberty away.

2 comments:

BFuniv said...

There are very few that can step aside and let their herd stampede past. To those this true warning is unnecessary, within the herd it is ignored.

What do you do with this knowledge? Can you do it today?

fordmw said...

Seems to me we can react like animals in a herd or we can engage the power of reason that separates us from other critters.

If individuals don't think for themselves, then they're likely to follow the herd over the cliff.