Republican Nihilism

This is a pretty fair explanatory treatment of conservative resistance to progressive change and the crippling effect an inflexible anti-government ideology has on the conservatives' ability to address social problems. The article is a bit long, but it will provide you with insight and perspective on the reasons, and methods by which, conservatives resist progressive change. Apocalyptic hysteria - what I call the "the sky is falling, we do this at our peril" strategy, is not new. It greets all major reform efforts.

"Death Panels," anyone?

The authors have also traced and reprinted conservative predictions of the doom to come after the enactment of each major reform - going back as far as the enactment of restrictions on child labor in the early 1900's. The alarmism is remarkably similar in each case.

And it always turns out to be dead wrong!

Note - as a caveat, let me say that I respect the conservative impulse to go slow and change incrementally. There is wisdom in recognizing that human reason is limited and fallible, particularly in its ability to predict the effects of interference with complex organic systems. Thank God we have a food and drug administration.

That being said, I think the article definitively establishes that we should ignore the entirely predictable alarmism that precedes all political efforts to reform broken systems and/or end injustices.

I am upset that there is no public option - and that insurance will be mandatory albiet with no effective price control - except community pricing, which I favor. I think that is a big give away to the insurance industry that was unnecessary.

Nonetheless, the legislation is a major step in the right direction.

Merry Christmas!

Joe H.