Knight Allen, Las Vegas

Fri, Jul 25, 2008 (2:01 a.m.)

Comedian Chris Bliss summed up America’s political landscape very well in his interview with the Las Vegas Sun published Thursday (“Comic juggles entertainment, patriotic cause”): “These days conservatives think liberals want a nanny state and don’t believe in individual freedom.” The conservatives are absolutely right. “And liberals think conservatives want a police state and don’t believe in individual freedom.” The liberals are absolutely right.

Each side picks and chooses those amendments that support its ideology while working hard to weaken those that don’t. What seems to be missed is that as each side gets its share of “victories,” the document itself is reduced to nothing.

Both conservatives and liberals will stand in front of one of the Bill of Rights monuments and shed real tears over the freedoms lost, but will then shrug their shoulders over the crippling of those amendments that either obstructed the creation of a safe and secure, orderly society (conservatives) or those that obstructed the creation of a loving and compassionate society in which all lives are dedicated to the greater good (liberals).

It’s a weird political environment in which everybody loses — one “victory” at a time.