OUR MORAL SYSTEMS
The moral systems of conservatism and progressivism are miles apart. The progressive view of right from wrong is the American ideal and was shared by many in both parties when my parents were growing up and at the end of WWII. The progressive morality that helped win WWII is based on core values of empathy and responsibility, both personal and social, and the strength to actually govern one’s personal and public life with these core values. These values are at the heart of the American democracy, or the American republic, if you happen to be a progressive Republican, who are becoming a dying breed and grieving for their GOP (my grandparents and parents were progressive Republicans — they liked IKE).
The federal and Ohio GOP side of the aisle have been captured by this conservative world view of right and wrong, their playbook for governing, and pockets of conservatism do exist in the Democratic Party.
CONSERVATISM AND EMPATHY DEFICIT DISORDER
Conservatism is a very harsh form of governing, according to cognitive scientists like George Lakoff. Conservatism IS intentionally void of empathy and social responsibility, and is the dark soul of the Gordon Gekkos of Wall Street. They literally have self-imposed EDD — yes, literally — Empathy Deficit Disorder. They do have limited empathy and ONLY for other conservatives in their close communities, who also believe, empathy and social responsibility has no place in public government, hence the deficit.
Progressives need to (1) get over being surprised by how comfortable in their own skin conservatives are who want to eliminate education human rights, eliminate basic social security human rights like food and shelter, eliminate the idea of healthcare human rights, and (2) get better at repeating over and over again how our own values of empathy and social responsibility, caring for one another through government of, by, and for people, lead to better standards of life in larger freedom. Yes, the Mueller Report is important, BECAUSE, of progressive values and government of, by, and for people.
No caring citizen needs Bob Mueller to tell us that America’s moral mission to protect and empower its citizens through public government is under attack by conservatives and their corrupt corporations. The candidates at any level, who can articulate the American ideal of strong empathy and social responsibility in government are the most threat to conservatism, and must be supported. Progressive values are a threat, because they strengthen the definition of a caring citizen with strong moral character as one who can govern with empathy and social responsibility. No one needs to win an election to govern their conversations with one another around American ideals.
EMPATHY VERSUS TOUGH LOVE
At the federal level, people like Betsy DeVos, Steve Stivers, and Rob Portman, and at the state level where I live, Shane Wilkin and Bob Peterson really do believe three things equally that makes progressives crazy. First, they are good people. Second, no one has basic human rights, just because they are a human being. And third, everything should be for sale, and, if you need something and can’t buy it and will die without it, tough shit. No. I’m sorry. They would say that’s just tough love. Progressives need to be repeating over and over our ideas of what a good person is, i.e. someone who will stand up for human rights for people, just because they are a human being.
So conservative tough love means that people dependent on the civic tasks to deliver human necessities, when they are cut off — cold turkey — they won’t die, they will develop conservative character. (Of course, we know they could die.) They will become “disciplined” (a conservative core value). And the discipline these public sinners receive, must be harsh enough so that one will learn to “obey” (another conservative core value) — the law, both man’s law and god’s — little g to emphasize that any god that has to bully and kill people to be obeyed is really a monster god. Little “g” monster gods reward those who are disciplined and obey god’s authority (another conservative core value). In their warped gated communities, the rich bask in the love of little g monster god, because they must be disciplined and obedient, otherwise they wouldn’t be rich.
So if you are harmed by any conservative policy, it really must be your own fault, because you obviously didn’t take personal responsibility to provide for your own family, i.e. you weren’t disciplined, didn’t obey little monster god, and so a hell on earth will be provided for you, just so you’ll know what’s coming to you.
Here’s are extreme and mundane examples of hell on earth that are just a sample of what’s going on every day, while waiting for the Mueller Report. Extreme — Here’s a link to stories of parents delivering the ashes of their dead children who died because they couldn’t afford their insulin from corrupt corporations, who have bought and paid for corrupt conservative officials. Mundane — Here’s a link to stories of drivers who need financial help and can’t get it because their car hit a city pot hole and broke their wheel.
EMPATHY SOUL OF GOVERNMENT OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE
Empathy for conservatives, like their view of government, is limited to their own kind, who obviously don’t need any kind of civic task force to deliver human necessities. The idea of a #GovOfBy4People is foreign to them, which is why they never talk about it, i.e. they do not even want to talk about empathy, because they know even talking about empathy strengthens the idea of empathy.
Conservatives may have sympathy for people who are being harmed, e.g. the victims of the opioid crisis, and most likely do have sympathy, but it’s tough love sympathy, because they truly do not have any feeling of social responsibility to do anything different to save lives. Social responsibility is non-existent in conservatives.
Whether it’s #HealthcareHumanRights, #EducationHumanRights, #AsylumHumanRights, #FamilyFreedomHumanRights — it doesn’t matter what your issue is extreme conservatives will all at the end of the day
- have no empathy for the thousands of people who will die without healthcare, and will not take action to save them\
- have no empathy for those who will not be free to get an education, and will not take action to educate them.
- have no empathy for the thousands of families they are tearing apart at the border, who are seeking asylum, and instead have their children kidnapped and put in cages, and will not take action to reunite families.
- have no empathy for the women (and the men who love them) who have the human right to create a family of their own making or not, and who need to end a pregnancy, and will not take action to save a woman’s life, or ease the burden of an existing family.
This IMMORALITY is business as usual, because conservatives want a #SellingBodyPolitic and not a #CaringBodyPolitic. So if you want something different, you need to be talking about progressive core governing values of
CHECK OUT EMPATHY SURPLUS PROJECT
ESP was created to educate caring citizens of any political party persuasion about how to exercise empathic and socially responsible leadership in both private and public life. Caring citizens have a moral responsibility to (1) identify their values and promote government of, by, and for the people, (2) gather with fellow caring citizens on a regular basis to get better at #1, (3) implement the civic tasks that deliver human necessities, and (4) constantly invite others to do the same. Government of, by, and for the people is effective when the people have relationships with one another, have a union, a bond. The last sentence of the US Declaration of Independence from Great Britain says, “And for the support of this declaration we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred honor.”
