Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleLetter to the Editor:
Progressives neglect lessons of the past
Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
In response to Richard Pratt’s Thursday letter to the editor in the Las Vegas Sun, headlined “Where would the U.S. be without progressives?”:
I think what disturbs me most about the idea of progress today is the disregard for history. Yes, our Founding Fathers were somewhat progressive in the government and ideas they established, but they were well read and understood the history of government.
It would be foolish to suppose they would be pleased with the course our “progressive” administration is taking. They would be horrified that the officers in our government are ignorant or blatantly disregarding ideas of tyranny, oligarchy and checks and balances. They set up a government with checks on power because they believed human nature is easily corrupted.
Those checks were not only horizontal (executive, legislative and judiciary) but vertical (local, state and national). The progressives of today desire to centralize government, forgetting that power corrupts and therefore needs to be checked.
The best form of government is the one nearest the people. As we try to govern all aspects of life from Washington, D.C., problems occur up and down the line of authority.
Let’s take a look at history before we try changing our government. What was the cause of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire? Was it not a corruption of society coupled with a central government that could not administer to the sprawl of the empire?
There are hundreds of examples in the history of the world where centralized government becomes not only tyrannical but fascist as well. If you ask me, today’s progressive looks rather regressive.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- UNLV can move forward without the burden of losing streak to San Diego State
- A wife’s wisdom shows birth control issue needn’t be divisive
- Surprise links, negotiated deals addressed by commissioners
- Motorcycle accident claims life of man in northeast valley
- Hope and change and … what’s missing?
- New York mayor has the right idea
- We don’t need a CEO in charge
- Paying our own way
- Country has ‘given’ citizens a lot
- Jerry Tarkanian: Mike Moser impresses yet again on a day to remember former Rebel greats
Blogs
The Kats Report
Color from scene at Thomas & Mack: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8' (4 Comments)
Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Landowner: All roads could lead to Uxbridge casino
Revel reveals smoke-free casino opening
Cirque du Soleil show in Sands China casino to close this month
Meet the woman behind Sheldon Adelson
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
"The best form of government is the one nearest the people. As we try to govern all aspects of life from Washington, D.C., problems occur up and down the line of authority."
Fundament to our form of government was that the Central government would do a limited number of COMMON GOOD things like National Defense and everthing else is reserved for the States.
Whwere progressive are best is when a solution starts in one state and gets adopted by other state.
For health Insurance reform Tenn and Mass both have plans which are many areas failing
Hence other states are not following and if passed a afederal level will be a failure
Constance is absolutely right. To equate Progressives with the Founding Fathers is the same as comparing Obama to George Washington. Washington would be appalled by this president and the out of control growth of the nanny state.
The art of spin seems to be the frontrunner in controlling our citizens thoughts these days. Whoever can get the most believable story out to where it is believed by the majority of citizens is many steps ahead of the politicians trying to get out the truth.
Obama seems to be the leader of the pack.
Absolutely one of the dumbest arguments ever put to print... if only the Romans knew the benefits of limited government... tax cuts for the rich... deficit reduction for the masses... The sprawling empire could have been saved! The Barbarians would have turned into family values type voters...
If only we could learn from conservative history revision.
Good letter, Polutu.
You're right -- history is the best teacher. Our leaders keep trying new ideas in a manner that can only be compared to "Lucky Number Slevin's" Kansas City Shuffle -- while you get everyone looking to the right you go to the left. And little they do is within the authority of the Constitution, government's only legitimate reason for existing.
Libertarians and republicans want a church state. Religous Rule is not freedom. That's wahy I wont vote libertarian or republican!
Is a progressive the same as a Liberal?
I don't think that a Liberal can be a progressive.
Most Liberals that I know are regressive in mental facilities and lack a progressive mind.
Nick -- your labels are BS and make you sound paranoid. I'm quite libertarian and also quite anti-religion. Either rethink it or expect to be shunned.
So governments ok when Republicans run it and
not ok when Democrats run it?
You Republicans lost, get over it.
Yes, a liberal can and most often is a progressive. I call myself both and I'm very proud of the fact...
It's interesting that the right-wingers, who live on this board, are always trying to paint Obama and the Democrats as the villain and the sole reason for the present economic debacle that we find ourselves in....
That would be funny if it wasn't pathetic...Remember clueless George W. Bush and how he took us to a war in the Middle East that we could not afford, gave tax cuts to the rich, and signed into law massive pork bills that required us to mortgage the house, barn and property in order to survive?
Under the inept and I mean INEPT leadership of "god wants me to be present George," we went from being a nation that loaned money to any nation in need to a nation that was forced to borrow billions from anyone and everyone in order to survive....Thank you China...thank you Japan....we wouldn't make it without your loans... Boy, is that ever embarrassing?
George, in one respect, was amazing. He accomplished our near bankruptcy in the short span of 8 years....No president had ever done that before.....Hopefully no future president will ever do that again...
Hmmmmm....maybe that's why current historians rank clueless George down near the bottom of the list of U.S. Presidents?
If you sleep over on the right, I'm sure you don't recall any of that taking place....but what's new?
Remember Bill Clinton? Surely all you right-wingers remember Billy Jeff? He's the guy who got frisky in the Oval Office with a young government worker and was almost removed from office for his actions....
I know every right-winger on the face of the earth remembers that, but I wonder how many of those same "selective amnesia types" recall that Billy Jeff left office with a budget surplus.
Billy Jeff had a strange definition of what sex consisted of, but he knew how to balance a budget and keep us out of unneeded wars.