Progress Hampered by Progressives

Real progress is impossible because of progressives - oh they mean well but their ideas are generally based on practicality and short-term concepts, while ignoring the traditional, principled and the long-term. Reactionary paleoconservatism, however, offers progress that looks backward and forward.

In my own lifetime the population of the United States has increased 33%. One does not need an advanced degree in mathematics to figure out that those 300 million residents will exponentially multiply in the next 10, 20 and 20 years.

Progressives would tell us that society should be ordered to deal with this reality. I look at my temporary home in Korea and see first-hand the results of improperly preparing for population growth and other changes. The Korean population surged after the 1950-53 war. Farmer families raised 4, 5 or 7 children. These children put off the rural life of their parents, went to school, went into business and have spent their lives as urbanites.

To meet the housing needs of this increased population, cities all of over Korea sprouted housing units that are best described as identical multi-story boxes. Parks, recreation and parking were never given consideration - there was a need for housing, there was profit in building housing so enterprising businessmen met the need.

What Korea has become as a result is a pretty ugly place. Drivers double and triple park along the sides of busy roads and even into the right-most lane. Every city I visit looks the same, over each mountain I find a place that looks just like the place I just left. Don't misunderstand me, there are still a few vestiges of uniquely Korean architecture here and there, but these are all overshadowed by the gigantic, multistory housing units (the same ugly housing units I have seen in places like Egypt and Kuwait, I guess they all got a good deal on the same design.)

The progressive agenda would tell us that only the Federal Government and their programs can assist us in managing the change that is occurring all around us in the United States. We know that this is impossible so long as the Federal Government protects (legally and illegally) transnational megacorporations. Corporations are for profit, whenever their "good works" conflict with profit the later wins. Of course the Federal Government is not solely to blame; most every state has a legislature and/or governor that prostrate themselves before corporations in attempts to lure them to their states. The idea that jobs at any cost are "good" is a good analogy of what progressivism is all about.

I am an agrarian at heart - when I am free to do so I will live a free agrarian lifestyle. I do, however, realize that much of what agrarians believe cannot be applied to society as a whole. We still could choose to retain much of what is traditional and fashion that together with the best of what we have become.

The United States has spent $340 billion on the flawed war in Iraq alone, add to that the countless other billions spent on waste and fraud and programs of dubious worth and it adds up to a lot of treasure; treasure stolen from the people and used in their name.

If all that money was still in the pockets of the people that earned it AND if those people would elect folks to their city, county, and state governments that were able to look past the next election, we might be able to adapt to the changes that an increased population is and will force upon us.

I for one would not mind paying a few extra dollars in county taxes (assuming that the Federal Government stopped stealing from me) if those taxes went to things like ensuring that the counties rural make-up could survive (and assuming the county government was well run). I don't mind not having the tax-base a Wal-Mart is supposed to provide if it means Roger gets to keep his feed and seed and Harlin still runs his store.

I have no desire to see my state subsidize professional stadiums - I am from the South, I could care less about the NFL, we have the SEC and the ACC. As for giving tax breaks to corporations, I cannot possibly imagine how enticing a major corporation to move parts of their operation to my state is progress, if brining the "jobs" means they will bring foreigners from California, New York, Illinois and other places with them they should keep the jobs. Those new people simply mean some greedy scalawag will buy up another prime piece of land from some old man (or his greedy kids after he dies) and build a subdivision - that is not progress.

Things have to change, that is the nature of life - but change does not have to be haphazard nor does it mean that managing change to retain the best of the traditional is a bad thing.