A Philosophy of Deceit

Well, we're ramping up for the last thirty days of the Presidential election cycle, and we're facing a continuance of a tradition that has become at once prevalent and sickening. Thus far, the biggest noises coming out of both camps can be summed up in two words: irrelevant, and deceitful.

Vietnam continues to be an issue with both sides. The public seems to be enamored with who served (or didn't serve) where, as though it meant something important. Lincoln (a Republican) and Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) both became wartime Presidents with little or no experience as leaders on the battlefield. What they both demonstrated was the ability to wisely choose men to handle the nuts and bolts of warfare.

But the public seems to want to feed on stories (true, false, of mixed) about the Bush ANG years or the Kerry months in Vietnam. When you add to the mix the swift boat veterans and Dan Rather, one is left wondering if either candidate has been informed that the last troops are out of Nam, and have been for some time.

The whole issue is irrelevant to the present day, and deceit has raised its ugly head. The current war, the one in Iraq, is being mismanaged by the Republicans in power, and misreported by the Democrats hoping for election. The Bush administration is getting too involved, it appears, in the minutiae of the war, instead of letting the goal of crushing the opposition be handled by the armed forces, as it should be. The President would do well to remember that when politicians fight wars, they tend to lose.

The Kerry camp seems at once to be of the opinion that we should not be there, we need a coalition to win there, and we can't win there unless our policy is changed. But no hard facts are presented to explain how Kerry can do the job better, We are supposed to take him on his word until after the election. Sort of like being told that a car is for sale, and that it's a good car, but you can't see it or test drive it until after it's paid for. Too, a big fuss is made over the deaths thus far in Iraq. Well, I've seen combat, 24 months worth, 6 times as much as Kerry, and people die in war. It's a fact, a sad one, but a fact nonetheless. In fact, my son went back to Iraq a few days ago, and his mother and I have to worry. Over a thousand dead thus far. That seems to be the number that every liberal wants to present. But no one states how many of those deaths were due to combat in Iraq, and how many were due to other causes. Deceit is clear, on the issue of what's happening, and what needs to be done and why.

 

Lately, there's been some mention of health insurance. I guess both sides have gotten around to deciding that this should be an issue too. Both sides have developed the attitude that the best way to handle this problem is to throw money at it. Of course, both sides ignore where the money has to come from. I read an interesting idea about how to lower the cost to the taxpayer of medical care in places like Texas. Bill the leader of the country for services rendered, when an illegal alien from that country seeks medical aid and receives it. Basically, no one has presented an intelligent proposal from either side of the political race on how to handle medical needs. Should fat people receive free medical care, if they can't afford it, for medical conditions directly related to their obesity? Or should we bill McDonald's? Well, I could get off on a tangent about personal responsibility (in which archaic concept I still believe) but suffice to say that we pay too much in taxes already. Then too, the cost of health has risen dramatically in the last 40 or so years, due in large part to the amount of litigation that our erstwhile attorneys have engaged in.

By the way, I know how to dramatically decrease the number of lawsuits. Make it a rule of law that any attorney that successfully sues a doctor must, at the conclusion of the lawsuit, go to that doctor for all future medical care, for a period of 1 year for each $100,000.00 the attorney wins in court. Deceit from both sides, on what's needed, how much it will cost, and who's gonna pay for it.

Both sides found out how popular the tax cuts are. Politicians from both sides cooperated in Congress to extend the cuts. But both sides have conveniently ignored the fact that the budget deficit is going up. Oh, wait a minute. The liberals did point that out. Guess they get the best of both worlds. They can point to a higher deficit, and mention that it's due to the Bush tax cuts. Matter of fact, the main reason for the deficit is twofold. First, the taxpayers insist on more government spending, more government programs, more government entitlements. Second, our Congressmen give them what they ask for. The common sense logic of budget cuts doesn't seem to appeal to anyone. Oh sure, people will support budget cuts, at least until a budget cut effects a program they use. Then the screaming starts. Let me give you an example. I was promised free medical care for the rest of my life, if I made a career of the military. Well, by the time I retired, I found myself having to make a quarterly payment for medical services. Personally, I don't care about the payment, it's not onerous, but a lot of retired Vets have raised a major fuss about the issue.

Now, here's the shocker: I can afford to pay. If I couldn't, my attitude might be different. But I can, so I do, without complaint. (Oops, I better go elsewhere. I can feel "personal responsibility" coming on.)

 

Deceit about the budget, from both sides. A government that should be growing progressively smaller instead grows to megalith proportions. The politicians on both sides are studiously ignoring the fact that the more the government gives to the people, the more it must take from them. Sadly, it is the worker that gets little, and the parasite that collects the most.

Deceit about the function of the government. One thing that needs to be addressed above all others, by both candidates, is how to get the government back to a reasonable size, and cut the bureaucracy. The biggest lie of all is the one about the government being here to help you. The federal government has become a Godzilla. It's time for us to say "Here lizard, lizard." If you want a political issue to use to judge a candidate by, let it be this: "How will that candidate, if elected, work to cut the size of government?"

Or will the philosophy of deceit continue?

Copyright 9/25/04 by Dave Hoffman
Use granted to all who credit author

 

Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere.

 

 

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