Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to re: C'mon let's rumble.

Liberals haven't given up
Robert — (archived)

I wouldn't agree that Liberals have backed off from spreading human rights around the world. There's always been a disagreement over approach, with Liberals tending more often to recognize the contradiction of trying to spread freedom at gunpoint, and preferring noncoercive approaches to that end, such as volunteerism (countries can refuse to accept Peace Corps volunteers, for example), foreign aid, alliances and treaties, and economic development short of exploitation (i.e. genuine free markets over plantations, corporations, and other feudal systems).

That's not to say that Liberals have always avoided the temptation to take a shortcut and use government power to coerce people..."for their own good". Which is the same justification Bush gives for trying to spread democracy at gunpoint. God save us from dogooders of any flavor. Authoritarian liberalism is as much a perversion of its basic principles as is authoritarian conservatism. Both are the path to ruin because they converge on Authoritarianism and give up the freedoms both sides cherish. Or cherished...

The flip side of that convergence is to shed a little light on what core Liberals and Conservatives used to have in common, and should still; what we both give up when we turn to authoritarianism. We traditionally have argued about degree and the mix, restricting ourselves to tinkering within the framework allowed by the Constitution; but always recognizing the boundary that should not be crossed. When you see that sense of limits break down, for example when the President asserts the power to suspend Constitutional rights in wartime (and defines "war" on his own terms), you're seeing authoritarianism creep in.

"Live Free or Die" does say it all. "Those who would choose security over freedom deserve neither", said Wise Old Ben. We have to be willing to die rather than give up our freedom in order to resist the demagogues who would try to stampede us into embraching Authority.

My response to Bush's fearmongering is that an American should be willing to accept a higher risk of dying in a terror attack if it means preserving our values and principles. Millions of Americans have given their lives for their country in the past, more will in the future, and today we're asking American soldiers to risk their lives in Iraq to defend our principles and values. How can we expect any less of ourselves? It's immoral to expect only the professional soldiers to take the risks. We're all in this together.

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