Compassionate Progressive - Part 5

Image from: compassioninsight.org
  

If we're destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there's got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.
~ Ellen DeGeneres


I hope the first four installments of this series have been generating positive discussions. Each issue listed and detailed are the important issues that our society is facing and the only way to be solution-focused is to be compassionately focused. Enjoy the fifth installment in this series. And please share, comment and subscribe!
(All comments are moderated to prevent spammers)

Why am I a Democrat? Well...

"I am a Democrat because no leader should impede any life-saving science or be dismissive of life-threatening environmental problems."

An article in Salon made the observation that a person (or politician) that not only advocates for ignorance, but also proudly condescends knowledge, facts, research and verifiable data as "foolish", is not someone that can be swayed by any form of logic, and in fact, is employing a highly effective tool to manipulate others: 

At the end of the day, the problem is one of identity. The conservative identity is one of being opposed to everything liberal, to the point of despising anything even associated with liberalism. As liberalism has increasingly been aligned with the values of empiricism and reason, the incentives for conservatives to reject empiricism and reason multiply. To be a “conservative” increasingly means taking a contemptuous view of reality. And so the proudly ignorant grow more belligerent, day after day. ~ Amanda Marcotte

The neoconservative marriage with religion has increased this disdain for reason and logic, as religion has impeded scientific knowledge since the beginning of recorded civilization. Our founding fathers attempted to prevent this perversion by erecting a wall of separation between church and state, recognizing the innate right of all people to hold religious views of any stripe (including no religion), but while protecting us from the pervasive and oppressive nature of governmental religious legislation. 

Unfortunately, the neocons have found the power of religiosity as a means of obtaining absolute power. The results are a disdain for science and scientific results, as well as minimizing and bastardizing the scientific method, especially the requirement within science to question even the most esteemed scientific findings. In other words, the fact that scientific truths can change as more evidence is revealed is seen as an inherent weakness by the religious conservatives that hold faith in their religious views of the origin of man, in spite of opposing scientific facts, as a moral superiority. 

The list of conservative-led legislation that is aimed at eliminating scientific knowledge from social and political discourse is both troubling and toxic. Here are a few examples:

• A Huffington Post article gave light to the Wyoming governor approving a budget that would prevent the state from reviewing or funding a new set of science standards that treat climate change as fact. 
• In 2012, the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote a piece concerning the North Carolina Senate voting to prohibit agencies and towns from using the latest scientific data on sea-level rise in coastal management decisions. This law passed, putting a four-year moratorium on any action concerning the drastic sea-level rising. 
• And in 2013, four US states (Colorado, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma) considered, "new legislation about teaching science in schools, allowing pupils to to be taught religious versions of how life on earth developed in what critics say would establish a backdoor way of questioning the theory of evolution."

The long-term effects of the Republican/Tea Party/Neoconservative/Religious-Right attacks on science are not only bad for every area of our economy, but also are devastating for our survival on Earth! 

"I am a Democrat because I know that there are more people harmed by defective products, medical mistakes, and bad-faith acts by insurance companies than there are frivolous lawsuits filed; and that no liability insurance company has yet proportionately lowered premiums in exchange for laws passed by Republicans that unfairly limit a deserving victim’s damages."

While we all recognize that frivolous lawsuits exist (see Boehner's recent frivolous and terribly expensive lawsuit against the Obama administration), we can also recognize the need for patients to have legal recourse for gross negligence, willful malpractice and/or defective products. The legislation passed or attempted by the GOP to severely strip or eliminate altogether the rights of patients to sue is nothing more than another step toward Corporatocracy. Corporations have infiltrated our government through campaign finance and SuperPACS, undermining the role of government to serve The People. And when a people are unable to utilize the system as a means of redress, the people are not enjoying democracy or freedom. For an in-depth examination of patient rights, informed consent, and more, click here.

"I am a Democrat because I don’t blame the poor for their plight, nor will I ignore company owners who acquire vast wealth by abusing their workers."

A terrible symptom of lacking compassion is the revictimization and blaming of a subset of society that suffers greatly. The neoconservatives have found that their platform of blaming the poor for being poor is hugely popular with their base, which ironically tend to be largely poor themselves. 

Why is this true? The conservative mindset is one that values individualism above all else, that links hard work with success, and that refuses to acknowledge any other factors other than personal action or inaction for the realities one faces, be them positive or negative. Their base assume that the poor are "those other people" who are lazy, lack drive and ambition, and sponge off the system, taking something from the hard working without having to work for it, themselves. Add to this viewpoint their belief that presenting facts, data and research indicating the opposite is seen as "elitism", "liberal bias" and "foolish". They rely on their own preconceived perceptions for their "truth" and deny all else. At the same time, they idolize the wealthy corporate owners as being the smart ones, the hard workers, the "job creators" and that which they strive to emulate (and are just a good decision or lucky break away from achieving themselves).

David Horsey from the LA Times wrote:

"The financial debacle of 2008 that killed millions of jobs was, in large part, the result of bankers and financiers being liberated from federal regulations that had once served as a check on free-market excesses. Nevertheless, conservative members of Congress cling to the myth [of the wealthy "job creator] and continue to call for lower taxes and fewer regulations."

He points out in detail, with supporting evidence, that the tax cuts and loopholes for the wealthiest 1% and largest corporations are continuing the negative effects of the decade-long recession. However,  pointing out the factual data that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the über wealthy are not job creators, are the real sponges of welfare and government programs, and are getting wealthier as a direct result of the suffering they're inflicting on the rest of us, falls on deaf ears. The right-wing leaders and their base believe the wealthy earned their exorbitant wealth through hard work and tough smarts; they believe that progressive tax systems are stealing from the wealthy and giving to undeserving poor; and they believe that unregulated capitalism is not only sound economics, but also Divinely given. 

Once again, I would appreciate your comments. Please share and subscribe! Thank you!