One of the things people in a Democracy need to concern themselves about from time to time is the development of mass psychosis. Sometimes the welfare of the public comes under threats from political movements that hold positions that fly in the face of facts, ask people to do things that normal conscience would preclude, and support policies which result in the ill health, oppression, or expiration of others - and in particular, the marginalization and brutalization of minorities and the poor.
This problem of mass psychosis rears its ugly head repeatedly throughout history – in different forms, with different people, using different symbols, and sometimes different issues. When this happens, it is necessary for the voices of freedom, tolerance, and social justice to point out what is occurring. There is a recurrent danger from the unscrupulous in right wing movements to use propaganda to induce mass psychosis – that is to create policies, laws, and regimes that are intolerant and oppressive. Be they in World War II Germany, the KKK, modern racial hate groups, Right Wing Conservative religious extremists, or even some of those in today's Tea Party – the movements are different, but their mentality is similar. What drives such anger, fear, and hate based movements and what makes the believers in such movements think the way they do? They base their authority on different sources, but they all appear to have a common denominator – they are willing to support values, policies, laws, attitudes, and individual and social behavior all of which lack compassion for others. In other words, their common denominator is a lack of empathy - they are mean.
The old Conservatism is gone. It is history. The old Chamber of Commerce Republican Party has been replaced by the Tea Party. The old Eisenhower Republicans have become Democrats. When Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater got together one of the last times, Reagan joked that they were the last two Liberals in the Republican Party. Conservatism has been replaced by extremism - a coalition of religious zealots, racists, and gangster capitalists who oppose social justice and any market regulations. Now the Republican Party has a new face, the Right Wing Conservatives.
That the Right Wing Conservative mind set is basically mean is revealed by the harsh policies and authoritarian laws supported by right wing ideologies. In fact, historically in the U.S., Right Wing Conservatism as a political movement has opposed every progressive effort by Americans to improve our lives. Luckily Right Wing Conservatism has been on the wrong side of history and, up until now, has consistently lost in its opposition to many progressive issues like abolition, the voting rights of women, workers' rights, Civil Rights, environmental regulation, human rights, and product safety. It must be remembered that people worked hard for decades, people fought and died to bring these rights to us. This progress of our society should not be so easily thrown away. Now the forces of Right Wing Conservatism are rallying to unleash the greatest assault on progressive society in history, with the most funding, activist organizations, and media pundits that have ever been mustered in a “culture war.” It is important for us to remember that the decent lives we live today are owed to the benefits of the progressive social development - the very ones opposed by the ideologies of meanness. Now each successive generation is poised to have to fight for the same benefits and rights that have been gained by the sacrifices of so many in the past – all over again!
It is important to come to an understanding of what these forces of Right Wing Conservatism are, and where they come from. Those supporting Right Wing Conservatism, such as the media demagogues Beck and Limbaugh are tellers of “the Big Lie” and use propaganda irrespective of facts. The Right Wing Conservative forces will use big money, talk radio, and the Tea Party to try to whip up mass psychosis. They are following an old playbook from the first half of the 20th Century. All those who oppose Right Wing Conservatism should wake up are become aware of the very real threats to their way of life posed by these right wing extremists. If they are not successfully resisted, they will institute a rollback of progressive society, the abolition of social justice, the imposition of the “company town” lifestyle of wage slave labor, and the institution of authoritarian Right Wing Conservative rule. It is no joke.
Let’s take a quick survey of issue areas that reveal with clarity what some Right Wing Conservative policy positions entail:
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose things like universal health care, Medicare, and Medicaid?
The opposite is to let people die without adequate health care. Right Wing Conservative policies equate to telling people that can’t afford their own health care, they should just die. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose financial and business regulations?
Having an economy based upon unbridled, unregulated businesses only guarantees financial swindles of unsuspecting people and dangerous products sold to consumers. This is business based upon the notion of Caveat Emptor” – “Let the buyer beware.” Such business practices take the attitude that the consumers are idiots who deserve to be swindled out of their money. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose Civil Rights, Equal Rights, and Gay Rights?
The existence of an unjust society where people are not entitled to equal and civil rights creates a civilization based upon differing classes of citizenship under the law. This is nothing short of slavery. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose things like Welfare, Food Stamps, Social Security, and subsidized housing for the poor?
What are the poor supposed to do – starve and / or be homeless? Not taking care of the least among us is mean and the social policies of Right Wing Conservatism would create results that, as Scrooge would say, “if the poor were going to die, they had better hurry up and do it to decrease the surplus population” This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose public education?
Having large numbers of people under educated and unable to provide decent lives for themselves in a global Knowledge Age is a formula for social disaster. Whether it is the proliferation of crime, the election of demagogues, poor public health, social disruption, broken families, multi-generational poverty - - all of these are the legacy of a lack of adequate support for public education. This only keeps the poor uneducated and poor. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose governmental regulation of product safety?
Without product safety regulation we would not be able to be sure of the safety of our cars, toasters, electrical sockets, nor anything else we purchase. We wouldn’t be able to return faulty products. Opposing safety standards is an attempt to offer the public dangerous and sub-standard products. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose environmental regulation?
Obviously, now with the BP Gulf oil spill disaster, the lack of environmental regulation results in a poisoned environment if its care is only entrusted to the goodwill of corporations. Opposing strong environmental regulations results in damaged ecosystems, health problems, and destroys lives. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose taxation?
When those with a great concentration of wealth and resources do not have the conscience to take care of the least among us, in a just society, they must be made to do so. After all, the people who get rich are doing so upon the labor and consumption of others. Taxes enable us to have roads, bridges, police and fire departments, schools, hospitals, a military defense, product safety, environmental safeguards… all of which are necessary infrastructure for the wealthy to make their money. We need taxation of the wealthy to provide for the needs of the poor who are being used to generate the wealth. Furthermore keeping people at slave labor wages that are not enough to subsidize a decent quality of life – compensation for labor that is not a living wage – is actual slavery. A living wage provides for food, housing, transportation, child care, health care, entertainment, and continuing education. Anything less than a living wage is an insult, is slavery, and relies upon the rest of society to pick up the tab to cover the difference between the actual costs of living and the wages paid. It is cheaper to keep one as a wage slave than it is to pay to keep them as an actual slave. This is mean.
Why does Right Wing Conservatism oppose the rights of organized labor?
The Middle Class owes its existence to organized labor. Without it, we wouldn’t have the working conditions we have today. Many people fought and died for labor rights, which too few of us remember. If it weren’t for organized labor, businesses would not have been forced to improve the working conditions of their workers, and as is obvious from the behavior of big business (which is more than happy to use slave labor in places like China and Vietnam because it is cheaper and there are few, if any, health, safety, and environmental regulations) that working conditions would not have changed. If it were left to some businesses, workers would still be slaving away in the working conditions of Dickensian sweatshops – even in the U.S. Many people still are working in such conditions around the world. Many of them work for American companies. Without organized labor, we would still have child labor, no minimum wage, no 40 hour work week, no weekend, no worker’s compensation, no unemployment insurance, no occupational health and safety standards, and no collective bargaining. Right Wing Conservatism opposed all of these, and this is mean.
New forms of Right Wing Conservatism emerge from old roots in reactionary, abusive right wing ideologies and the warped mentalities that foster them. Throughout history, these right wing ideologies have often manifested in movements of mass psychosis that have done great damage to the welfare of many others. Right Wing Conservatism is mean – as we can clearly see from the progressive developments of humanity that Right Wing Conservative ideology opposes. So what is the the philosophical basis of this meanness called Right Wing Conservatism? Does it actually have any foundation other than selfishness? Upon what authority and reason do the policies of Right Wing Conservatism rest - the Divine Right of Kings, Social Darwinism, or a Religion of greed, discrimination, and social oppression? In actuality Right Wing Conservatism has no reasonable philosophical foundation. Just think – who in their right mind would want to embrace a world view, a mind set, an ideology - that projects strength and moral superiority but is essentially based on fear and a sense of inadequacy; an ideology that is essentially mean, greedy, selfish, authoritarian, intolerant, closed minded, hateful, oppressive, and that opposes any progressive reforms that improve the welfare of humanity?
We have taken a look at what the Right Wing Conservatives oppose - let’s take a look at some of what they believe:
Lift Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps:
This only applies to you, however. Right Wing Conservatives will be the first in line to receive benefits if their own property or businesses are damaged by a flood, hurricane, meteor, oil spill, chemical spill, military or terrorist action, bad financial investment, someone else, or even themselves! This is selfish.
I’ll Get Mine, You Get Yours:
Another way of saying this is “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.” Right Wing Conservatives want to make as much as possible and pay as little as possible. This is similar to the idea of “buy low, sell high” – but applied to society. They want the benefits, of roads, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc. but feel that they owe little or nothing to contribute to the upkeep of such things. They want to make as much money as possible from everyone, but pay people as little as possible. They want the benefits of living in the U.S. but they don’t want to pay taxes. They want to become rich, but begrudge the poor food and shelter. This is greedy.
Nature is Harsh:
Right Wing Conservatives believe that nature is cruel, harsh, bad, and punishing. They forget that the lion does kill to eat, but it doesn’t kill every antelope in the herd – it only takes what it needs, when it must. In fact, nature and the universe are the ultimate free lunch, we only charge for things in human societies. Hitler couldn’t understand why “man shouldn’t be as cruel as nature?” The problem is that it is not nature that is cruel, it was Hitler. This is just a projection of their meanness.
Human Nature is Bad:
Right Wing Conservatives believe that people are inherently bad. They believe that we are inherently prone to all manner of sin, vice, cruelty, crime, and horror. This is a very scary view of what people are. Actually, very few people commit the vast majority of crimes. Most people are decent folks who live their lives, raise their kids, work, and participate in society without victimizing their fellow humans. This belief that human nature is bad requires a hierarchical social system to keep people behaving properly. This is authoritarian.
People Must be Controlled:
This belief results in their desire to have tightly controlled people under their thumb – be it in the workplace or in society. They support harsh, punitive, and restrictive moral and legal systems. This is oppressive.
I Live in the Real World – You Don’t:
Just what is the “real world?” Is it the “real world” of a frog, a dolphin, a Stone Age human, St. Francis, a peasant in China, a Mid Western Suburbanite, Donald Trump, or Vladimir Putin? Just which “real world” is the correct one – certainly each of the above think theirs is the proper one! In actuality, the “real world is subjective – it is relative to the experience of the individual in question. Right Wing Conservatives believe that they have the corner on the market of “reality” – they believe they truly understand everything they need to know about the universe, what it is to be human, religious teachings, and society. This is closed – minded.
People Different than I am are Threats:
This belief that “my kind is the right kind” gives rise to all kinds of injustices. It is Xenophobic, and rests on an inability to be accommodating of surface differences between people irrespective of our common humanity. It is this belief that gives rise to racism. This is hateful.
My Interpretation of Religion is the Ultimate Truth - Yours Is NOT:
Right Wing Conservatives believe that their interpretations of religious teachings are the only true ones. They believe in literal interpretations of religious teachings that were written by people thousands of years ago for different people from different cultures with different languages and with different needs. Often these teachings were written in allegorical, metaphorical, and aphoristic styles that require reading between the lines to get to the essence or spirit of their intent. Right Wing Conservatives who believe that they are “divinely appointed” to interpret such teachings and who allow for no other discussions on the meanings involved are beyond reasonable discussion with those of beliefs other to theirs. This is intolerant.
I am Better than You:
The belief in an inherent inequality of people is anathema to Democracy. The world view that Right Wing Conservatives adhere to is one in which wealth and might make right. They believe that other lifestyles and religions are bad, sinful, and criminal. This breeds intolerance and hatefulness, including spreading fear about those who are not like themselves. This is a belief in social, moral, and sometimes even genetic or racial superiority. It is not unlike the old idea of the “Divine Right” of kings, where they are the anointed ones who are entitled to make rules for everyone else and inflict harsh punishments for violations of their privileges. This is a sense of superiority.
I am Always Right, You Are NOT:
The Right Wing Conservative belief system, drawing on its sense of moral superiority and ownership of religious truth leads them to believe in the infallibility of their beliefs. And they also believe that extremism in the defense of their world view is acceptable, even when it comes to discrimination, the imposition of harsh rules, inequality under the law, and even violence. They are not unlike the extreme right wing Islamic extremists who believe that terror and murder in defense of their view of reality is acceptable and will be rewarded in Heaven. When it comes to clothing themselves in the flag and using the Bible as a hammer of injustice, they believe that the rules are made for everyone else. This is hypocritical.
Greed is Good:
The belief that one’s self worth is determined by possessions, property, wealth, and power. Right Wing Conservatism embraces a religion of greed and intolerance. This is a combination of Church and Mammon in a death grip. It is the belief in the religious value of wealth generation that leads to the kind of cynicism prevalent on Wall Street. The little guy is a sucker and deserves to be ripped off. When he is robbed, the thieves should be bailed out by the community of suckers if their gambles with the ill gotten gains of their swindles are squandered. Caveat Emptor – let the buyer beware, could be one of their convention banners. This is greedy.
Change is Bad, Stability is Good:
The belief that change is bad unless it is an increase of my wealth is another key facet of the Right Wing Conservative world view. Just let me keep on making money off the labor of others without regulation or interruption. Let me keep swindling others and getting bailed out by the community. Let me continue getting the best from my society while contributing as little as humanly possible. Let me oppose everything that could alter my equation of superiority. This is the justification for opposing any progressive reforms that improve the welfare of humanity – heck someone else might get ahead. This is regressive.
Only a Few Succeed:
This is a fear based approach to society that derives from a sense of inadequacy. It is a fear that if others succeed, if others get ahead, that reflects poorly on me because I didn’t do it. This compensation for the deep sense of inadequacy that surely must be felt by those embracing such a small world view – which is always under threat – must project power, strength, wealth, ambition, and well – being lest any chink in the armor becomes visible. This is selfish.
What are we to make of such an ugly mix of delusions? It is possible that some ideologies of hate, fear, etc. are actually manifestations of pathologies or even neurological damage to the brain. Right Wing Conservative ideologies that are cooked up by true believers who may actually be sociopaths - like Hitler, Jim Jones, or Bin Laden – sometimes get transferred to large numbers of others. How do sociopaths and sociopathic ideologies become popular, as seemingly reasonable reactions to environmental conditions in the lives of people; and wind up enabling otherwise normal people to do things and support policies that damage others? Some of these episodes in history where Right Wing Conservative ideologies have had their way seem to be like epidemics caused by sociopathic ideological viruses. They begin in the minds of truly twisted, sick individuals and spread by appealing to the demons in our nature. Then the talking points of these ideologies are repeated endlessly by Right Wing Conservative minions through the media regardless of other opinions, perspectives, or facts proving the contrary. It is possible that such ways of thinking, if indulged in, and often enough repeated, actually affect the brains of the believers, developing neural nets which serve to validate their interpretation of experience, and hence their sense of "reality" - irrespective of and over-riding empathy, compassion, kindness, love, truth, wisdom, facts, reason, or any experience to the contrary....
Why is Right Wing Conservatism so mean? Where does this impulse for oppression, discrimination, and treating others with a lack of compassion come from? To find the answer to this we don’t have to look any further than the playground bully – the anti-social personality that has a disorder based upon aggression, violence, and most importantly, a lack of concern for others. It is clear the value system of meanness and abuse rests its authority on violence in the name of self interest. One of the reasons why Right Wing Conservatism is mean is that Right Wing Conservative ideologies are the result of a world view, a mindset – although not necessarily shared by all those who call themselves political Right Wing Conservatives – that is essentially paranoid, anti-social, and neurotic. This is not healthy. Right Wing Conservatism is mean essentially because it is a value system derived from a lack of empathy for others – it is a spiritual illness caused by a lack of love and compassion in life.
Copyright 2010 B.E. Foley
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