Raising awareness

When I was a teenager and throughout my twenties, the big thing in liberal -- and slopping over in to social -- circles was "raising awareness." And so many things to raise awareness about, including male chauvinism and the oppression of women, pollution and the environment, the oppression and poverty of the Third World, animal rights, the lethal threat of nuclear power plants, the "military-industrial complex." I'm sure I've left out a few.

Anyway, I got older and did more reading and accumulated more life experience. Now I understand that "raising awareness" is the same as "politicization" of these topics. That is to say, you harangue and aggravate and protest and demonstrate until you get enough people convinced that society has an unrecognized problem, and then you legislate.

Once you legislate, individual citizens are no longer free to make their own choices and decide these matters for themselves. Now there's a "legal" way to handle these things, enforced by the power of the government. You pay a fine or go to jail if you don't obey. But let's emphasize that individual citizens are no longer free to make their own decisions on these matters.

This politicization is a tactic straight out of Mao's Little Red Book, or Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, or one or another Bible of the left. It represents the growth of governmental power -- and the simultaneous surrender of individual liberties -- and it's even more destructive of liberty than the Comrade seizing control of Government Motors.

What brings this to mind is that during a conversation with a friend who's older than I am, he commented that when he was growing up, he didn't recall that everyone felt compelled to put every life decision to a vote. You just did what you thought was best for yourself and family, to promote your own interests in a peaceful and non-criminal way. Other people didn't enter into the equation at all unless you voluntarily went to someone for advice.

Nowadays, since our awareness has been raised, you have to spend a couple hours sorting your trash before walking it to the curb for pick-up. You're ostracized if you buy a T-shirt made in some oppressive Third World country (and try finding one made in the USA), and you have to bite your tongue and carefully consider before you tell a co-worker, "Gee, you look really good in that outfit." Could be sexist or otherwise discriminatory, and could imply that the co-worker didn't look good in other outfits. We don't want to offend anyone. And possibly get sued and fired.

And as George McGovern learned, this type of awareness and the myriad regulations it spawns is quite oppressive in other ways. After leaving the US Senate, McGovern, a super-liberal who ran for President once on the platform of guaranteeing everyone a "minimum income", decided to open a restaurant. Well, let's see. Is the site of the restaurant equipped with all the health & safety stuff required by law? That is, at least two bathrooms, a kitchen with a minimum of three sinks. No lead paint or other potentially unhealthy decor. How's the exhaust system(s)? What do you do about the trash? Any local code requirements about parking, or specifications about deliveries? You need staff that includes at least one person certified in "safe" kitchen operation. Do you need to hire union people? Do you need to provide them insurance? What is the employer's responsibility about how to handle tips and bonuses? Then you need building and health inspections and so forth.

Anyway, McGovern noted that in trying to open a restaurant, he experienced first hand, and for the very first time in his life, all the nickel-and-dime, time-consuming governmental encumbrances to trying to start a small business. He said while he was in the US Senate championing all this b.s., that it truly never occurred to him how very damaging and destructive these types of regulations are to small business -- and especially family-owned sole proprietor operations that maybe you could have run out of your garage at one time, but no longer.

Have to give him credit for admitting what a butthead he was while in congress. And isn't it kinda scary thinking that such naive but well-intentioned people are still running things? I mean, what else don't they know how to get along in the USA?

The government (any government) is basically a decison-making function. Want to know how free you are? How many of your own decisions can you make in how many areas of your life -- before you need a lawyer? And just because governmental decisions are made democratically, doesn't mean that they aren't oppressive and destructive. They still expand the scope of governmental power -- and shrink your own ability to make your own decisions.

The issue isn't that our liberties are being eroded; it's that there aren't too many left, really. And it's not only regarding the national economy, Wall Street bonuses, or expsneive and useless civic projects like light rail. It's all about routine, everyday government intrusion into what were once our "private" lives.

The Comrade and his merry marxists hope to extend government reach even further. Because, I mean really, don't you think some dude from Harvard knows so much better than you do about how to live your own life? I mean, they've even got it all figured out who "deserves" health care, based on how much you can contribute to society and for how long. Screw your little personal concerns, like taking care of your grandkids and stuff like that.

You don't agree that the government should make these decisions for you? Well, my gosh, you flaming reactionary far-right extremist radical. Pretty soon the FBI will be tapping your phones, trying to figure out if you spent that $25.00 lottery jackpot in a socially responsible way or just blew it on Hershey Bars -- and now will probably require a dentist... at public expense.