Full Disclosure

 

Time to come clean. By this time you probably know my biases (especially if – and it's a very unlikely possibility – you've read this blog before), but I thought I'd spell out some of them just in case. That will allow you to disregard whatever doesn't correspond to your own faulty ideas when reading some of my other musings. And it my help to explain some of what appears to be perverse. But like most people I have a more comprehensive grasp of the problems than the solutions. Anyway, this is I.ⁱ

My father was apolitical. It wasn't that he couldn't decide on a particular philosophy or general outlook, nor decide regarding specific issues. He just wasn't interested. At least he never conveyed any interest to his children. My mother, however, was a staunch liberal, and weⁱⁱ learned that perspective from her.

In college almost everyone is a liberal. Especially the professors. So I fit in fine. There were a few conservatives on campus – very few. At least that's what I heard. No one ever admitted to being one.ⁱⁱⁱ Clearly they didn't know the difference between right and wrong. Fortunately I did. I knew that the hungry had to be fed and the naked clothed. They were as much religious concepts as they were political, but religion was praiseworthy then.

Times have changed though. I'm less sure now than I was then. Black and white have become gray. I still want to care for the needy, but I'm not convinced that it's always up to the government to do so. I deplore the selfishness of individuals who have to be forced to give charity by the government's taking of their tax money and turning it into “entitlements,” but I'm not completely convinced that societies were established to enforce philanthropy. I understand our obligation(s) as individuals to help those in need but I recognize the failure of our citizens to fill that need. Does that make it the responsibility of the government? I don't think so, but somewhere along the line the government grew and, like an amoeba, engulfed everything in reach. And with the demands of so many groups for help – and the increasing power of political blocs – it seems likely that there will be more programs instituted to provide for those demands. That provision means bigger government, greater expense, and the loss of more liberties. But that doesn't seem to be a major concern to most citizens.

Why did this occur? From my perspective, liberalism failed – or, more accurately, liberals failed. They seemed to switch their concerns with fads and “squeaky wheels.” It became more important for them to address the demands of those they considered to be oppressed, than to determine if their demands were justified. They failed in matters of both national^iv and international^v interest. Like the rest of us, they are inconsistent in their claims and crusades, but the operating principle seems to be that if you're poor^vi you're needy and oppressed, and if you're not poor, you're an oppressor. Except for themselves.

Speaking of international issues, as I mentioned above in passing, it's hard to ignore the disorders around the globe – some of them out-and-out tyrannies and wars. Except for sporadic American involvement though, many of them tend to be ignored by our own liberals and those of other nations, who are focused on blaming Israel for most of the world's troubles.^vii Lest there be any question, I am a Jew and a Zionist.^viii My sympathies are not with OPEC and others who would control the world.^ix Consequently I usually walk to shul each day^x for morning services not only for the health benefits^xi but also in order to decrease the amount I send to the oil producing states – many of them rich Arab kingdoms that would rather condemn Israel than help those they call their Palestinian brothers.^xii

A final note which will tell you a little more about me: I'm a hermit. I don't especially care for people and certainly have no interest in talking about them or to them. I'm a lousy guest since I am unlikely to spend much time conversing with others. I particularly dislike small talk. So I'm not the hit of any party. But if that knowledge means fewer invitations that's fine with me. It's hard to keep coming up with original reasons for refusing them. (A couple of other things. I'm retired – a lapsed radiologist. As you can guess from this blog, I enjoy writing, and reading and listening to music . And choral singing.^xiii I've been doing that since college. It's a good way to sing without being heard individually so I don't embarrass myself too much. Of course choral singing means that I have to interact with other people but I keep that to a minimum.)

In summary, then, I'm an antisocial Zionist neocon with little regard for a government that is moving leftward toward greater control. I'm not as happy as most seem to be in sacrificing our liberties and the assets of our grandchildren so we can feel good and generous now – with their money.

Now you know. But I suspect that most people don't care.^xiv Certainly, for the most part, the “younger generation” doesn't care about my opinions^xv They don't realize that wisdom comes with age. They'll learn that later – when they're older and are ignored by those younger than they.

Next episode: “Writer's Bl...” – Whatever.

i     Correct grammar often sounds funny.

ii     My older brother and I.

iii    It was claimed that you could put all the school's Republicans in a telephone booth. (I don't think public telephones exist any longer in this age of cellular communication.) I suspect that the characterization was far from accurate, but it was quite colorful.

iv    Public responsibility for all the “ills” of the poor – both physical and economic.

v    Although selective in the causes they espoused – mass annihilation of black Africans seems to escape their notice – the general pattern is to trumpet the plight of selected population groups. At present they espouse the “Palestinians,” a group that didn't exist before 1967 (except to indicate the Jews in pre-1948 Palestine), and parrot their anti-Israel propaganda while completely denying any Arab or Muslim responsibility for the situation. Such would be contrary to the message they are trying to send.

vi      And a member of one of the groups they are currently supporting.

vii   Interestingly therefore, but not surprisingly, liberals have adopted the poor, “humiliated” Palestinians as their poster children for victims of oppression. Nothing that they do, however barbaric it may be, is worthy of note or condemnation. Only the actions of the Israelis, their “oppressors,” merits censure.

viii   I suspect that makes me part of a vast conspiracy though I never thought of myself that way.

ix      Others, who would like to control both geography and the world's economies, accuse the Jews – minute in numbers and influence in comparison to themselves – of doing that, but they are only trying to distract the world from reality.

x       A little over half a mile in each direction.

xi      If in fact there are any. I'm not fully convinced.

xii    I have been accused of trying to “shaft the sheiks,” but, unfortunately, I lack the power to do so. In any event, though, I feel better for what I'm doing. I just need a few billion others.

xiii    The latter few you probably can't guess.

xiv   Which is why I don't tell anyone about this blog. I do it for myself, not for them.

xv    Indeed, I doubt that my own generation gives a damn.