For the first time, the US House of Representatives voted out of office its Speaker, a conservative. And the vote came during a conservative majority. How’s so?
Core Values?
Conservatism prides itself on defense of the individual. In contrast, current liberalism ostensibly prides itself on defense of the group. In reality both sides fail as their logic runs up against their own extremes and the need to identify as one or the other.
Outliers
On the Far Right lie the outliers of civilization who believe that authority impinges on their rights to do whatever they wish on any land they wish and with whom they wish; for them the government is or can be tyrannical. This is individualism unimpeded by society’s rules and cultural norms. And that Rightist outlier imposes a bit of irony on our perceptions, for it is with the Leftists that we often associate, for examples, Bohemian, Hippie, and avant-garde artists, all representative of countercultures, all representatives of individualism deemed extreme by mainstream society. And yet, Far Rightists also reject mainstream society, its laws, and its culture.
On the Far Left and in addition to the Bohemians, Hippies, and artists searching for some shock value, are those outliers who believe in chaos and censorship of all opposition not just by suppression of speech, but also by accusations and labeling. These Leftist ad hominem tactics, such as declaring conservatives “Nazis” center on generalities more often false than true.
In Practice
In fact, censorship of some kind arises from both Left and Right.
Recently, the Left censored conservative voices trying to express themselves on social media platforms, and Rightists sought to remove books they found objectionable from school and public libraries. In spite of their similarities, their differences still lie in the emphasis by conservatives on individualism and the emphasis by liberals on groupism that is sometimes disguised as individualism but is just adherence to a perspective that says anything conservative is either backward or bad and always worth condemnation or ridicule. Thus, late night comedians can find fault with anything any conservative does but can find no fault in anything any liberal does. And in the spirit of believing that groupism prevails in humanity, Leftists lump conservatives into units labeled “rednecks,” “deplorables,” and uneducated, Bible-thumping, xenophobic supremecists. And even though conservatives, by virtue of their emphasis on individualism, stress independence of thought and action, such Leftists in the media uniformly deride them for “belonging” to a group.
That historic vote to oust the Republican leader exhibits the difference between individualism on the Right and groupism on the Left. The Democrat members of the House voted as a block. Among the Republicans eight members voted to oust the Speaker. It seems that over the past 23 years, getting all Republican members to vote as a block has been as difficult as herding cats. I am no expert in congressional matters, and I’m sure someone can cite a similar Democrat separatist movement; but generally, as in the vote on Obamacare or on debt-driving “stimulus bills,” Democrats not only run together, but they also stampede.
What If I’m Wrong?
Yeah. So?
Regardless of their policies’ cost, Democrats run the Republic as they wish and as a block of unified representatives. Republicans who object to a burgeoning debt can’t get their colleagues to act in unison. In fact, more of the top ten “big earmark spenders” on the Hill are Republicans than are Democrats. Conservatives can speak about an issue like reigning in the spending, but they cannot seem to act in unison on any effective legislation as evidenced by those billions of dollars earmarked for interests among Republican constituencies. Herding cats, that’s what it is.
I’m arguing an inability of conservatives to govern consistently because individualism lies in their core. On major issues, they have bucked and not backed their leadership and goals that conservatives across the nation generally supported: An effective closing of the border, for example, a rule of law in cities now run amok by crime under Democratic leadership for another example, and, for a third example, the uncontrolled spending on redundant social programs.
Conservatives trip over their individualism in their attempt to govern well and to control spending. Democrats are more lemming-like. Yes, they govern by spending excessively, but no one can say they don’t govern in unison.
Core Values?
Conservatism prides itself on defense of the individual. In contrast, current liberalism ostensibly prides itself on defense of the group. In reality both sides fail as their logic runs up against their own extremes and the need to identify as one or the other.
Outliers
On the Far Right lie the outliers of civilization who believe that authority impinges on their rights to do whatever they wish on any land they wish and with whom they wish; for them the government is or can be tyrannical. This is individualism unimpeded by society’s rules and cultural norms. And that Rightist outlier imposes a bit of irony on our perceptions, for it is with the Leftists that we often associate, for examples, Bohemian, Hippie, and avant-garde artists, all representative of countercultures, all representatives of individualism deemed extreme by mainstream society. And yet, Far Rightists also reject mainstream society, its laws, and its culture.
On the Far Left and in addition to the Bohemians, Hippies, and artists searching for some shock value, are those outliers who believe in chaos and censorship of all opposition not just by suppression of speech, but also by accusations and labeling. These Leftist ad hominem tactics, such as declaring conservatives “Nazis” center on generalities more often false than true.
In Practice
In fact, censorship of some kind arises from both Left and Right.
Recently, the Left censored conservative voices trying to express themselves on social media platforms, and Rightists sought to remove books they found objectionable from school and public libraries. In spite of their similarities, their differences still lie in the emphasis by conservatives on individualism and the emphasis by liberals on groupism that is sometimes disguised as individualism but is just adherence to a perspective that says anything conservative is either backward or bad and always worth condemnation or ridicule. Thus, late night comedians can find fault with anything any conservative does but can find no fault in anything any liberal does. And in the spirit of believing that groupism prevails in humanity, Leftists lump conservatives into units labeled “rednecks,” “deplorables,” and uneducated, Bible-thumping, xenophobic supremecists. And even though conservatives, by virtue of their emphasis on individualism, stress independence of thought and action, such Leftists in the media uniformly deride them for “belonging” to a group.
That historic vote to oust the Republican leader exhibits the difference between individualism on the Right and groupism on the Left. The Democrat members of the House voted as a block. Among the Republicans eight members voted to oust the Speaker. It seems that over the past 23 years, getting all Republican members to vote as a block has been as difficult as herding cats. I am no expert in congressional matters, and I’m sure someone can cite a similar Democrat separatist movement; but generally, as in the vote on Obamacare or on debt-driving “stimulus bills,” Democrats not only run together, but they also stampede.
What If I’m Wrong?
Yeah. So?
Regardless of their policies’ cost, Democrats run the Republic as they wish and as a block of unified representatives. Republicans who object to a burgeoning debt can’t get their colleagues to act in unison. In fact, more of the top ten “big earmark spenders” on the Hill are Republicans than are Democrats. Conservatives can speak about an issue like reigning in the spending, but they cannot seem to act in unison on any effective legislation as evidenced by those billions of dollars earmarked for interests among Republican constituencies. Herding cats, that’s what it is.
I’m arguing an inability of conservatives to govern consistently because individualism lies in their core. On major issues, they have bucked and not backed their leadership and goals that conservatives across the nation generally supported: An effective closing of the border, for example, a rule of law in cities now run amok by crime under Democratic leadership for another example, and, for a third example, the uncontrolled spending on redundant social programs.
Conservatives trip over their individualism in their attempt to govern well and to control spending. Democrats are more lemming-like. Yes, they govern by spending excessively, but no one can say they don’t govern in unison.
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