REPUBLICANS ARE COMPELLED TO BE IN CHARGE

Sometimes I see things happening in politics and wonder what is going on; why do they happen the way they happen. Recently, in the Republican control North Carolina Senate they attacked “Common Core”, an attempt by the Secretary Duncan of the United States Department of Education to normalize teaching across the nation of elementary subjects with a mind to increase the quality of learning. The Secretary did this in response to the recognition that we have students graduating from high schools that read at a third grade level. We are slipping down in rankings of national education levels. What was notable were the arguments voiced by the Republicans in the N.C. Senate in support of preventing North Carolina schools from participating in the program. The major argument was that we are giving up our sovereignty, as a state, is we “succumb” to this federal mandate. These senators reinforced this “sovereignty” argument by adding that they would write a substitute program that would be better for North Carolina. This is exactly the same argument I heard from Republicans in the United States congress in opposition to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) only it was individual rights (sovereignty) and not states sovereignty that they claimed the ACA damaged. Again, they, offered to write a health care program that would do the same thing but be better at protecting individual rights.

I think back in to history and see a number of instances where conservatives have used this same theme. I use the label ‘conservative’ rather than ‘Republican’ because in recent history, people with conservative tendencies have been concentrated in the Republican Party. I think of the formative years of the Untied Nations after WWII, which was proceeded by Democrat Woodrow Wilson’s attempt to form the League of Nation after WWI. A Republican controlled congress failed to approve the treaty forming the League of Nations; all other nations were members but we, one of the most powerful nations in the world at the time, would not join the effort to prevent another war. The argument in 1919 against the League of Nations was the same as now in opposition to the United Nations; Republicans seem to believe that by being a member of the United Nations we give “our” sovereignty. That is the same as the argument against the Common Core. The counter argument is that Republicans can do it better, but they never do or if they do they copy exactly what the Democrats have proposed, with the twist that in the Affordable

Care Act we copied them.

I was reminded of this when I heard the North Carolina Republican senator stand on the floor of the senate and say this same thing.  He even said he would copy Common Core but it would somehow be different. He was saying he is compelled to to be the leader, to be the source of the good idea even if he has to steal the idea to do it. What I find intriguing is that it seems like they would do the same thing Democrats would do only it has to be they who do it to make it acceptable. Strange; however, the question I have; “Is this all part of a ‘republican’ personality complex?” On this blog site, I have repeatedly alluded to the possibility that our political party affiliation is innate. Conservatives are greedy; they want everything under their control, including power. They are the “natural” leaders in families and in society. Democrats, in contrast, are altruistic, why want to give everything away including power, which makes the followers. Conservatism is a paternal instinct and altruism is a maternal trait. The implication is that greed is one of the basic instincts we all have; a trait that is vital for survival. In contrast, altruism is something we are learning more and more to make acceptable in society, even in a macho society. I was fascinated to read George Lakoff’s book; The Political Mind. He is an American cognitive linguist although I have to admit I do not know what a cognitive linguist is. Regardless, I liked his reasoning. It makes what happened on the floor of the N.C. Senate understandable; it mirrors basic Republican philosophy. That of course does not make that kind of reasoning acceptable.

URL: firetreepub.blogspot.com Comments Invited and not moderated