Big Government For Thee, Not For Me

Last updated on: September 18, 2010 at 10:13 am by Henry Karlson

Big Government For Thee, Not For Me 2010-09-18T10:13:04-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Abortion certainly is an evil, and it is one which should be stopped. There are many different ways one can go about this. Some believe it must be top-down, with strong laws against abortion established by a strong federal government being the only acceptable goal. Anything else, any other strategy, is seen as being a trojan horse for abortion, because abortion is not being condemned. There are people who would even prefer a system where there are strong laws against abortion, giving official condemnation for abortion, where abortions continue in great numbers, than a system where there is no law against abortion, but the incentive for abortion has been eliminated so that there are no abortions. This strange position shows us, however, that the concern is not abortion, otherwise such people would prefer a place where no laws against abortion are needed. Strangely enough, many of the people who display this kind of position also declare themselves, in other instances, against “big government.” They say government shouldn’t interfere with their lives.

The inconsistency of this position should be easy for anyone to see. The cause of it is also simple to find: liberty, for some people, is the expansion of the ego, with the ego being used to dictate to others what they can and cannot do. Liberty therefore is the desire for an unrestrained ego for oneself. The ego doesn’t want interference from outside telling it to be limited, it rather, wants to control the world around it, including the lives of others. The issue is not, therefore, big government. If it were, there would be disdain for big government solutions to abortion. The issue really is one of power and control. As long as one cannot control others, and dictate to them, there is a limit to the power and ability of the ego, so that it is not entirely “free.” This is why when someone would tell such a person to do something which is morally superior, and it is not something they would normally do, they see it as an interference in their lives. If, on the other hand, it is something they would ordinarily do, and see doing so leads to no problem for themselves, they will have no issue with such dictates. Indeed, they will work for such programs because they seek to make society in their own image.

One interpretation for the fall of Adam and Eve is that the one who takes from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil engages the world with a dualism based upon the ego. It wants to dictate what is good and evil in its own image. It wants to become god. This is exactly what is at play when we see people who push for an agenda which requires nothing of themselves, but everything from others.

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