Judging the candidates, 2008
The 2008 election presents the clearest opportunity in decades to judge the candidates. Not since the Civil War has the nation reflected such sharp contrasts of good and evil, right and wrong, barbarism and civilization. Unfortunately, the evil, wrong and barbaric side still has the largest number of adherents.
Three simple tests can identify which side the candidates occupy. For the sake of simplicity, I have named the evil, wrong and barbaric side Tribalists. The good, right and civilized side is the Universalists. The tests are: moral, patriotic and humane.
The moral test is one issue, the Iraq War. The Iraq War is no different than Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Hitler used the same excuses including a military threat of invasion by a vastly weaker nation and the need for a preemptive strike. Tribalists mindlessly and baselessly unite behind their leaders and stampede in whichever direction the leaders direct them to go. Nearly 90% of Americans responded to the tribalist instincts. That included all of the candidates except Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Micke Gravel. The latter three are capable of functioning at a cognitive, analytical, civilized Universalist level. Even Mike Huckabee, who is a Baptist minister, demonstrated that the pagan side of Christianity dominates his actions and beliefs.
Hilary Clinton said she trusted George Bush when he stated that Congress’s authority to go to war was just a bargaining chip that he would use only as a last resort. That is a valid argument except that Bush rigged the election and subverted the Constitution to get into office. Why would she believe a documented liar against the contrary claims of the weapons inspectors? In addition, once all the lies had been exposed, she said that knowing what she knew then she still would have supported the invasion. Only recently has she come out against the war. That is a long, steep leaning curve. We don’t need another trainee in the White House.
Barak Obama claims he opposed the war in Iraq. However, he voted for the funding which makes him complicit in the murders of nearly one million Iraqis and nearly 4,000 American soldiers. Obama also stated that he would take unilateral action and invade Pakistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden if he had good intelligence about his location. Bush has lied about everything else. It’s naive to believe Bush’s account of 9/11 and its perpetrators. Also, Obama doesn’t seem to know or care about the alleged motives for the 9/11 attack.
The second test is patriotism. What is great and unique about the United States is that it was the only 18th Century nation founded on the supremacy of ideals, principles and human equality and dignity. These are universal principles. All the other nations were based on the supremacy of an autocrat such as a king, queen or theocrat and, usually, a nobility or royal court or priesthood. Those who put high ideals first are Universalists and patriots. Those who follow their animal instincts to obey the alpha leader blindly are not patriots but jingoists. The jingoists use material symbols such as flags and practice rituals including pledges and martial music. They tell themselves these practices make them loyal and patriotic Americans. The true patriots are Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul and Mike Gravel. It’s all but impossible for a conservative to be patriotic. Their strongest loyalties are to the herd. That’s why they vote lock-step with their party to which they are more loyal than to their larger, more nebulous nation. The herd instinct dictates that the bigger the entity, the weaker the loyalty
The final test is humanity. This test removes Ron Paul from the Universalist list. Here Ron Paul succumbs to the immoral philosophy advocated by the corporate capitalism economic system that everyone must look out for himself. Paul’s philosophy is called Libertarianism. Corporate capitalism always will be evil and unjust because it takes two of the deadly sins, greed and gluttony, and claims they are virtues. It also is inherently inhumane, undemocratic and deceptive. In reality, it is just a substitute for the old, primitive nobility.
Another test for humanity is the healthcare system. Every industrialized nation except the U.S. has a universal healthcare system. Just as the U.S. was the last first-world nation to ban slavery, it will be the last to institute a humane healthcare system. The U.S. healthcare system puts profits above people, the ruling and owning class above ordinary citizens. The top Democrats want universal healthcare with profits for the bloated healthcare industry that thrives and feeds on the misfortunes and misery of others. Only a single-payer system will put people first and be economically feasible. Only Kucinich and Gravel are advocates of humanity first.
Three simple tests can identify which side the candidates occupy. For the sake of simplicity, I have named the evil, wrong and barbaric side Tribalists. The good, right and civilized side is the Universalists. The tests are: moral, patriotic and humane.
The moral test is one issue, the Iraq War. The Iraq War is no different than Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Hitler used the same excuses including a military threat of invasion by a vastly weaker nation and the need for a preemptive strike. Tribalists mindlessly and baselessly unite behind their leaders and stampede in whichever direction the leaders direct them to go. Nearly 90% of Americans responded to the tribalist instincts. That included all of the candidates except Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Micke Gravel. The latter three are capable of functioning at a cognitive, analytical, civilized Universalist level. Even Mike Huckabee, who is a Baptist minister, demonstrated that the pagan side of Christianity dominates his actions and beliefs.
Hilary Clinton said she trusted George Bush when he stated that Congress’s authority to go to war was just a bargaining chip that he would use only as a last resort. That is a valid argument except that Bush rigged the election and subverted the Constitution to get into office. Why would she believe a documented liar against the contrary claims of the weapons inspectors? In addition, once all the lies had been exposed, she said that knowing what she knew then she still would have supported the invasion. Only recently has she come out against the war. That is a long, steep leaning curve. We don’t need another trainee in the White House.
Barak Obama claims he opposed the war in Iraq. However, he voted for the funding which makes him complicit in the murders of nearly one million Iraqis and nearly 4,000 American soldiers. Obama also stated that he would take unilateral action and invade Pakistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden if he had good intelligence about his location. Bush has lied about everything else. It’s naive to believe Bush’s account of 9/11 and its perpetrators. Also, Obama doesn’t seem to know or care about the alleged motives for the 9/11 attack.
The second test is patriotism. What is great and unique about the United States is that it was the only 18th Century nation founded on the supremacy of ideals, principles and human equality and dignity. These are universal principles. All the other nations were based on the supremacy of an autocrat such as a king, queen or theocrat and, usually, a nobility or royal court or priesthood. Those who put high ideals first are Universalists and patriots. Those who follow their animal instincts to obey the alpha leader blindly are not patriots but jingoists. The jingoists use material symbols such as flags and practice rituals including pledges and martial music. They tell themselves these practices make them loyal and patriotic Americans. The true patriots are Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul and Mike Gravel. It’s all but impossible for a conservative to be patriotic. Their strongest loyalties are to the herd. That’s why they vote lock-step with their party to which they are more loyal than to their larger, more nebulous nation. The herd instinct dictates that the bigger the entity, the weaker the loyalty
The final test is humanity. This test removes Ron Paul from the Universalist list. Here Ron Paul succumbs to the immoral philosophy advocated by the corporate capitalism economic system that everyone must look out for himself. Paul’s philosophy is called Libertarianism. Corporate capitalism always will be evil and unjust because it takes two of the deadly sins, greed and gluttony, and claims they are virtues. It also is inherently inhumane, undemocratic and deceptive. In reality, it is just a substitute for the old, primitive nobility.
Another test for humanity is the healthcare system. Every industrialized nation except the U.S. has a universal healthcare system. Just as the U.S. was the last first-world nation to ban slavery, it will be the last to institute a humane healthcare system. The U.S. healthcare system puts profits above people, the ruling and owning class above ordinary citizens. The top Democrats want universal healthcare with profits for the bloated healthcare industry that thrives and feeds on the misfortunes and misery of others. Only a single-payer system will put people first and be economically feasible. Only Kucinich and Gravel are advocates of humanity first.
Labels: 2008 elections
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