tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post3540444305321275741..comments2024-03-26T14:20:38.103-04:00Comments on The Thought Criminal: Answer To A Whiny Baby Of The Green Variety Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-76595432319830245962016-05-21T21:46:03.872-04:002016-05-21T21:46:03.872-04:00It would give the Greens too much legitimacy, and ...It would give the Greens too much legitimacy, and the Democrats too little.<br /><br />Not that I'm a fan of the two-party system, but it does seem to be the cultural default setting, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-11745431187830214692016-05-21T18:29:34.351-04:002016-05-21T18:29:34.351-04:00I would love to see Democrats engaged in the Green...I would love to see Democrats engaged in the Green nomination process.ntoddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01068160577299501895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-11056324717496175742016-05-21T09:20:04.433-04:002016-05-21T09:20:04.433-04:00I keep thinking I've seen this dynamic at play...I keep thinking I've seen this dynamic at play in churches, usually congregations that you don't want to be a part of.<br /><br />Like political parties, churches are voluntary organizations with (among most Protestant denominations, anyway) no real control over membership or church governance. A small faction (even with a priest, I've seen it done in an Episcopal church; but the people there had great influence with the Bishop) can easily control the life of the entire congregation (especially if they have the ear of someone who functions as a Bishop, but this can be true even in very congregational denominations).<br /><br />And how do you get rid of them? Short of getting a court order and posting a guard at the door, you don't. And then, of course, they can always meet church members off church grounds. I speak of extremes because they are absurd, and to show how impossible it is. A determined handful can be a hand grenade in a crowded space: they can do a lot of damage, and they don't care how much of it is "collateral damage."<br /><br />I've seen people decide the church is theirs by dint of their contributions, or just their age and attitudes, and it's never pretty. They don't work with the church, they work "behind the scenes" and insist on their way, or they'll "burn it all down." Because if they can't be in control, nobody can be in control. I was interested in consensus as a pastor; but there were always people interested only in control, only in power.<br /><br />Sanders imagines there is power to be wielded as he sees fit, and it will be good. Amy Goodman was on NPR this morning arguing that single-payer would ultimately be cheaper because it would save so much money. But it would cost a great deal to get there, and put a lot of people in the insurance business out of business (not toe mention people as far down the chain as employees in doctor's offices, handling all that paperwork). I've seen the explosion of personnel connected to doctors who have to handle the insurance claims just in the last 30 years, and I'm all for abolishing it.<br /><br />But is this a revolution where we kill jobs for the good of the ideology? Or do we take into account the massive costs a sudden shift to single-payer would represent? This is one reason Obamacare is the chimera it is: we can't sweep away the insurance system we rely on and replace it overnight: the social and very real economic costs would be so massive as to be disastrous, and sink the idea before it could get implemented (look what has happened to the very modest effort of Obamacare).<br /><br />But Sanders supporters tell us we gotta believe! Reminds me too much of the revolutionaries of the '70's who, as you noted, gave us Reagan and the GOP right wing. They were a gift to the Republican party.<br /><br />Sure, we need change; but we also have to count the cost, or the "change" will be to reject the most important efforts we make, and bury them. Unless, of course, we want another Great Depression just to teach the country a lesson, while we hope history repeats itself (it certainly doesn't have to; we could be Nazi Germany the next time. Why not?).Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.com