Government Is Good

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



Government Is Good
By Bernie Horn

May 4th, 2009 - 7:51am ET


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The outbreak of H1N1 influenza should remind Americans that the very basis of modern conservatism—the idea that “government is the problem”—is demonstrably false. When individuals and corporations are unable or unwilling to solve major problems, the only solution is government.

Right now, next to no one wishes the Centers for Disease Control didn’t exist. Normally, Americans take such government services for granted. But their viewpoint changes a bit during a public health emergency, especially when they feel personally threatened.

Why don’t Americans appreciate the crucial role of government every day? After all, it’s a small step from the CDC addressing the influenza threat to the FDA dealing with salmonella in our food or the CPSC keeping lead off of our children’s toys. Why don't they see that we need government to combat pollution and counter global warming? To build and maintain bridges, roads, and levees? To regulate the banking industry after the worst financial crisis in recent memory? To create jobs during the sharpest economic downturn since the Great Depression?

Sorry, average Americans don’t automatically see it—they don’t tend to appreciate government. Instead, they dislike and distrust the processes of government even as they take government services for granted. Here are three reasons why:

1) Americans have disliked government for more than two hundred years.

They (we) have always agreed with Thomas Paine’s lament that “overnment, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.” Polls show that Americans have liked government even less since the 1960s. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009051904/government-good

[unpossibles]

1. and if the origins of this flu really are from factory farms avoiding regulations

it shows one more way that private business is not inherently better for us.

Personally, the anti-government crowd takes a decent idea - that of trying to be self-reliant and responsible - and turns it into an ugly caricature where people mistakenly think they are "self made" without recognizing the many benefits they reap every day from living in a governed and civilized society.

I think the anti-government types should go take over Somalia - there aren't many regulations there, and apparently owning weapons is a good thing too. No taxes either. It's practically a Republican/Libertarian paradise!

[omega minimo]

2. DU needs a forum where informative threads don't sink like a stone. K/R