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Opinions/Editorials Title: Conservatives and Progressives Are Denialists One of the major differences between libertarians, on the one hand, and conservatives and progressives, on the other, is with respect to freedom and reality. When it comes to the concept of freedom, libertarians have a grip on reality. Conservatives and progressives don’t. Both conservatives and liberals are convinced that they live in a free society. This mindset is reflected in various ways. The Pledge of Allegiance comes to mind. Having had this pledge inculcated in them in public schools since the first grade, conservatives and liberals continue to recite it at public events long into adulthood and all the way until the day they die. As they dutifully put their hands on their hearts and recite the phrase “with liberty and justice for all,” not one iota of doubt enters their minds. They are convinced they are free — no doubt about it. Another example of this phenomenon is the profuse thanks that conservatives and liberals heap on U.S. soldiers. They incessantly thank the troops for their “service,” which consists of constantly killing people thousands of miles away from American shores. They are grateful that the troops are protecting and defending their “freedom.” One sees the phenomenon at major sporting events, like baseball games and football games, which have acquired a major military component to them. Fans are exhorted to stand and thank the troops for defending their “freedom.” A great example of this freedom mindset among both conservatives and progressives is reflected by the lyrics in Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA”: And I’m proud to be an American Those lyrics are the mindset of both conservatives and liberals. They “know” they’re free and, equally important, they “know” that the troops who died “gave” them their freedom. The mindset of libertarians is precisely the opposite. We know that we don’t live in a free society. In fact, our goal is the achievement of a free society. We want to know what it’s like to live a life of freedom before we pass from this life. Why do we libertarians feel this way? Let’s examine a few of the reasons: Those are just a few examples of why libertarians understand that they are not living in a free society. They show how libertarians, unlike conservatives and liberals, have a grip on reality. In fact, the plight of American statists can best be summed up in the words of the German thinker Johann Goethe: “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Does it make any difference that conservatives and liberals are denialists when it comes to freedom? I’m not a psychiatrist but here is what Wikipedia says: Freud employs the term Verleugnung (usually translated either as “disavowal” or as “denial”) as distinct from Verneinung (usually translated as “denial” or as “abnegation”). In Verleugnung, the defense consists of denying something that affects the individual and is a way of affirming what he or she is apparently denying. For Freud, Verleugnung is related to psychoses, whereas Verdrängung is a neurotic defense mechanism. What is psychosis? According to Webmd.com, “When you lose touch with reality and see, hear, or believe things that aren’t real, doctors call that psychosis.” You know, like when a person who isn’t free is convinced that he is free. Meanwhile, conservatives and progressives continue to wonder why they live in a society in which there are soaring suicide rates, especially among young people, mass drug addiction and alcoholism, and periodic mass killings of innocent people for no rational reason. It just doesn’t make sense to them as to why there is so much unhappiness and dysfunctionality in what they “know” is a free society.
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#3. To: Deckard (#0)
Lets start there. Libertarians live in a delusional state just like leftist/progressives. A world where all we have to do is just dream it and it will be good! Well it isn't that easy! Reality is hard and cold. If you do not account for reality you end up like Regressives or radical libertarians. Out in the cold harming all those they infect with nonsensical dreams of kumbaya. Conservatives, not neoclowns, are the most sensible people on the planet!
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