“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”
–Reinhold Niebuhr
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I hope you'll forgive me for being uncharitable, but I couldn't keep this inside.
Lynn Bartels writes a short piece at The Spot today with a touching story about Jon Caldara and the child he lost to cancer. In the story is an anecdote describing Caldara's reaction to a news story and his grief and justifiable rage at the universe that conspired to take his child.
The story goes on to note that Caldara heads up an annual fundraiser for Children's Hospital. None of that is what struck me, though.
What struck me is the bankruptcy of the Libertarian ideology that Caldara espouses. An ideology that rages against the ACA, which allows poor parents and self-employed entrepreneurs to have their own children treated in the hospital Caldara supports. A worldview that demands dogmatic opposition to the social welfare benefits that ensure that children are fed, clothed, and housed. A philosophy that would strip even more workers of both the, only indecently, low pay they receive and the meager benefits that their employers are, often reluctantly, expected to give by removing wage supports, creating a contract (I'd say indentured) labor force, and destroying unions– workers who all love their kids and want to care for them too. The list goes on.
What I can't help feeling, and what I hope I can be forgiven for, is that Caldara and the folks like him are still saying, "Good."
I'm dumbfounded. Since my mother lost her child and I lost my brother neither of us have us have ever reacted this way to other people's losses. Quite the opposite. We both feel a rush of empathy as our initial reaction and I'm pretty sure we're more typical than unique. I'm sorry and I have deep sympathy for anyone losing a child, the worst loss that can ever be experienced, not that losing my adored brother has been any picnic, but my honest first reaction to Caldera's reaction was… For God's sake, what a mean spirited SOB. Probably unfair but there it is.
Perhaps empathy is the key word – many people have an appalling lack of empathy. I wonder if there has ever been a study examining the possible correlation between libertarian views and sociopathy . . .
me too BC
That man and his son were my next door neighbors….we lived in Newcastle at the time…