Parallel Strains

I had a fantastic conversation with a Republican friend of mine a few weeks back. Once he got over his disgust that I would vote for Obama (TWICE! And I would've a third time if I could) and I got over my disgust that he would vote for Trump Agent Orange, we had a very interesting discussion.

The thumbnail sketch of the discussion is that, at least on the national level, "both sides" are infected with two strains of thought that I will oversimplify as: busybodies and "leave me the hell alone."

When it comes to family planning, Republican doctrine is rooted in the busybody tradition. They seem to believe that pregnancy should be a punishment for "improper" sex. They certainly want to outlaw abortion (Richard Mourdock, anyone?). They also want to limit access to birth control as much as possible (defund Planned Parenthood; ND; Hobby Lobby). On the other hand, most liberals tend to be in the "leave me the hell alone" camp when it comes to sex and birth control. Gay marriage? Abortion? Birth Control? Domestic partner benefits? Hell yes! Knock yourselves out!

Of course, the worm also turns. When it comes to property rights, liberals tend to be pretty busybody themselves. Want to tear down a historic building? Want to use your property in a way that it hasn't previously been used? Want to cut trees out of your forest? Want to hunt animals that go on your land? Rest assured that you will get confronted with the "remonstrators" that have joined up to form a "Historical Preservation Society" or a group of college students who want to protest the "ravaging" of "our" (uhhh) forests or the "slaughter" of these "innocent" creatures. Ask a conservative about this, and he'll tell you to knock yourself out.

I could go on and on with more examples, but suffice it to say that neither party has a lock on the "libertarian" notion, nor does either party have a lock on a notion of what the "collective good" requires.

Food for thought.