Appendix B: The Polarization of America

The plight of economic Producers in our country has been made only worse by the extreme polarization of our political system. To understand this, let's look at the two main sides of the conflict, liberal and conservative. (And, no, the solution to this plight is not less polarlization!)

Social Liberals believe in government control and regulation of our lives to the end that there are no starving poor, everyone has a job, and there is peace on earth. They believe that it's okay to yield freedom to gain security.

Social Conservatives believe in the principles of truth, virtue, honesty, freedom, courage, equality of opportunity (not outcomes), common sense, and tradition. They champion principles over individuals at times, saying this philosophy ultimately serves all people.

Please understand that the definitions of Social Liberal and Social Conservative are not black and white, and the two sides share these values in varying measures. However, given a dollar, a Social Liberal would use it to feed a homeless person, while a Social Conservative would use it to defend the nation against the internal and external tyranny that is keeping that person homeless. Both approaches are valid at times, and reasonable people can apply the methods that produce good results as needed.

However, our political system has spawned a cancerous tumor around each ideology, liberal and conservative, and it has advanced to such a point that all we see today is tumor. Here's how it works.

The Democrat politician Paraducers co-opt the Social Liberals, tempting them with tax programs that will supposedly help them accomplish their goals, the elimination of poverty and fostering of world peace. Similary, the Republican politician Paraducers co-opt the Social Conservatives, tempting them with government programs and laws that will supposedly secure freedom and liberty for the entire planet, not just the USA.

Unfortunately, the Paraducers are lying to both groups and the Producers end up paying for the entire scam.

The Democrats play the role of Political Liberal, and the Republicans play the role of Political Conservative.

Let us understand that the political arms of these philosophies are not the movements or philosophies themselves, but rather the co-opting, cancerous tumors. We should not take as our idols Jesses Helms or Jackson, as both are political cancers, seeking a pot of other peoples' gold to keep them in power.

It has been said that liberalism (Political Liberalism, as I have defined it) is like a religion with abortion as its sacrament. Similarly, Political Conservatism could be said to be a religion with war as its sacrament. Neither of these Political movements serves the causes of freedom and economic prosperity, but in contrast leech off of Producers to stay in power.

If we could defeat the schemes of the Political Paraducers of both stripes, we would find that Social Liberals and Social Conservatives have much more common ground than expected. Now I am not speaking as a spineless moderate, a person who bends to the winds of political change. Moderation is good for drinking and smoking, but not for life in general. No, we need each person, Social Liberal and Social Conservative, to fully champion the social ideas in which he or she believes, without forcing others to pay the bill.

For example, let bleeding heart Social Liberals feed the poor while stuffy Social Conservatives teach them job skills. Let Social Liberals ship food to Africa, while Social Conservatives train them in the methods of freedom and capitalism. And let the Producers of our nation finance the process, voluntarily, not through compulsive government taxation and programs, while the Paraducer Politicians congratulate each other on meaningless Sunday talk shows. (We have to give them something to do.)

As stated, this will not and can not happen while the Political Paraducers are in full control of our nation, keeping both sides enraged. However, if we can reduce the power of the Political Paraducers, Producers will have the spare cash to finance good in our society, and they will do so willingly, not being forced to send checks to the IRS at the point of a gun.

Our society needs extreme polarization, but not social left vs. right. It needs the polarization of the people vs. government, as we had when we started this journey.