As Our Nation Drifts Can We Find Common Ground?

By: Les Carpenter III
Rational Nation USA


Rational Nation USA is a politically conservative site. For those who have visited and are familiar with my Randian and Jeffersonian leaning you know I am a strong proponent of fiscal responsibility and limited government. The principals of our Founding Fathers have not been lost on this modern day proponent of Randian and Jeffersonian principals.

Having said this I believe that in as much as we live in a diverse nation, with diverse political and economic views, it is prudent to make an honest attempt to find common ground within these opposing views. The healths, indeed the survival of our liberties as we have known them are dependent upon this.

As an independent conservative with strong Libertarian leaning I have come under fire from both my brethren conservatives and the progressive elements in America. This is fine and I accept the heat from both sides of the political spectrum. What makes it easy for me too do is that I recall the huge compromises our brilliant Founding Fathers had to make to give us the Nation they envisioned for all prosperity 

You may ask what the purpose of this post is. So I now give you the following. It was received at Rational Nation USA via e-mail on Thursday of this week. It was sent by a loyal conservative reader of my site and it was done so with all good intentions. It is an excerpt from an editorial in the Springfield Republican (MA) with following comments’ from my reader.  After many hours of reflection upon this e-mail I have decided to post it on my site.

Here for your consideration is a conservative perspective:

"To use a fancy word, there's a metacognition deficit. Very few in public

life habitually step back and think about the weakness in their own thinking

and what they should do to compensate. A few people I interview do this

regularly in fact, Larry Summary is one. But it is rare. The rigors of

combat discourage it.

"Of the problems that affect the country, this is the underlying one."

My reader’s addition to the above comments:

"I always and regularly took time, generally when I was in bed, to look down

on my department, plant or organization to see what was wrong. The key to

this was that when I looked down I always put myself into the picture. How

can anyone make a rational decision when his/her mind is so locked into

their own feeling of righteous genius that they cannot visualize there might

be another way."

I present this without further comment. Other than to say that without honest dialogue from both sides of the political continuum there is little hope that our current fiscal, cultural, and national identity crises stands a chance of resolution.

As a final I leave you with this:

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned, this is the sum of good government.  Thomas Jefferson 

Government "help" to business is just as disastrous as government persecution... the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off.  Ayn Rand

Cross posted to Left Coast Rebel.

Via: Memeorandum 

Reference: Thomas Jefferson

Reference: Ayn Rand