An Open Letter To A Liberal Friend, Part 2

If we can agree that everyone at every point of the political spectrum has their humanity in common, then we can expect common behaviors that spring from that fact.

Probably the number one behavior common to all people is that of self-preservation.  Virtually everything we do relates directly or indirectly to maintaining life.  Why do we work?  To earn money.  What do we buy with that money?  Food, shelter, clothing.  Why do we desire those things?  Because they help us sustain our lives.

Aside from natural disasters, disease, or old age, what is it that can most interfere with our efforts to sustain our lives and to pursue our own happiness during the short time we are here?  To put it bluntly, assholes.  And, aside from the generic street thug assholes running around, which assholes pose the greatest threat to our lives and happiness?  The ones in power.  And where are the seats of power in society?  Government, business, and religion.

This is why separation of church and state is desirable – to limit the power of religious authority over civil society.  This is why the Left wants business regulated – to limit the power and influence of Big Business over the lives of the common worker.  This is why the Right wants small government – to limit bureaucratic power over the lives of the average citizen.

It’s a cryin’ shame that, with few exceptions, “humans + power” tends to lead those who find themselves in positions of power to yield to their Inner Asshole.  What do people with power want?  Again, with few exceptions, they want their power to be secure, and they want more power.  This makes them, in the eyes of their fellow human beings who feel they have little or no power, assholes.  And this will always be true regardless of time or place: no one wants their life run (and potentially ruined) by an asshole.  Self-preservation.  It’s instinctual.

Everyone wants the powerful assholes they fear the most to be limited in their power.  “Government regulation” is the Left’s answer to keeping the assholes who run things in the private sector in check.  “Limited government,” or government held in place by the “chains of the Constitution,” is the Right’s answer to checking the power of the assholes who run the government.  It’s the same response to the same fear.  It seems to be a question of what we fear the most.

In this one short paragraph, I can prove that both sides have legitimate concerns.  Do you think we have nothing to fear from leaders in the private sector?  Work in or just visit a sweatshop.  Do you think we have nothing to fear from government?  Look at the Third Reich.  Look at Stalin.  Think of the millions of souls who would scream from their early graves if they could: Beware out-of-control government!  Beware captains of industry who are not held accountable!

The Left and Right would do themselves a favor if they would stop looking at each other and pointing fingers and engaging in constant friction, and realize their common goal: to hold accountable the Assholes In Charge – all of them.

In the next (and last) part, I will share my thoughts on humans as individuals and as parts of a whole, and hopefully bolster my ultimate position that there is far more that unites us than divides.  Thanks for reading, my friend.