A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

Rome Burns as CTU Sings

By:R.J. Moeller

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Two quick points/quotes from the story about the CTU strike ending this evening:

1) Delegates poured out of a South Side union hall singing “solidarity forever.”  ----> This speaks to a point that Dennis Prager often makes: Leftism becomes a religion for many people.  Even already-religious people.  Especially already-religious people.  Think about it: Outside of a concert, who else sings in public groups other than religious folks?  Perhaps this is too fine a point for your liking, and that might be a fair criticism, but there is a religious instinct in all of us.  And we tend to look for the things that we think will help us the most, as well as demand the least from us.  That's human nature.  What could be easier than patting yourself on the moral back because you've convinced yourself that you're doing "the Lord's work" (or Gaia's work) by being in a union, supporting affirmative action, and recycling?  It's cheap social grace (not to be confused with what I exhibit on a regular basis - cheap social graces).

2) “I’m very excited. I miss my students. I’m relieved because I think this contract was better than what they offered,” said America Olmedo, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade bilingual classes. “They tried to take everything away.”    -----> Who is 'They'? What constitutes 'Everything'? Really?  Is this really what was going on here when the unions chose to strike?  What sort of system is so addictive that it brain-washes American adults to say such things & act like this?  People are willing to humiliate themselves, to debase themselves, in front of the country because they don't want to be held job performance standard any janitor would be.  These people will fight and claw and say horrible things about the opposition (aka "you and me") over percentage points in their salary (or, as in WI last year, over pension/health care plans).

If you are not bothered by all of this, you're part of the problem.  If you're not concerned about an organization - the teacher's union - that fights this hard to avoid being held accountable in their work (which is all funded by taxpayers) and lobbies against bills that would make it harder for child predators to get work as a teacher (simply because it means less members and therefore less dues they would be able to collect), you're part of the problem.

Oh, and that same organization was the single biggest contributor to President Obama's campaign in 2008.

But Mitt Romney bullied a kid in high school and dared to point out (however awkwardly) that people dependent upon government tend to vote liberal!  (Insert feigned outrage here)

Rome burns as unions sing.