E. J. Dionne in WaPo quite properly bemoans the likely narrative the conservatives will draw from the recently resolved government shutdown:
Government shutdown follies feed an ideologically loaded narrative that government is hopelessly incompetent and can never be counted on to do much that is useful.
President Trump and Republicans should bear the burden for Washington’s disarray because it was Trump’s erratic and uninformed negotiating style (along with his repeated flip-flopping) that made a rational deal impossible.
But even if he and his party are held responsible, episodes of this sort have the long-run effect of bolstering the standard conservative view of government as a lumbering beast whose “meddling” only fouls things up. The private sector is cast as virtuously efficient and best left alone.
Dionne then goes on to cite the many successes of the government in dragging us back from the brink of catastrophe during the Great Recession. I think those are valid examples, but because they may somewhat controversial in the minds of folks who want strict capitalism – that is, no government bailouts – I’d like to cite different examples.
- Have you recently had to deal with a Red Dawn scenario in your hometown? If not, thank the government-organized US military.
- Have you lost half your relatives to salmonella poisoning from food you bought at the supermarket? If not, thank government food inspectors.
- Did you lose two-thirds of your siblings to smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera? No? Thank the epidemiologists who spend their days tracking down public health menaces and mandating sanitary sewers.
- Do you spend all your time on the highways dodging idiots going the wrong way and doing 120 MPH? No? Thank government, which mandates the rules of the road and enforces them, for our collective safety.
When I was reading libertarian rags, it was quite fashionable to try to make government appear as useless as possible, and this was done with virtually no balance, no acknowledgment of the importance of government. So it doesn’t hurt to do what Dionne did – remind folks that we don’t have the American government as a punishment for the sins of our ancestors, but because, when well-managed (and it sure isn’t right now), it makes us stronger.
Stronger.
So if you’re one of conservative readers, readying yourself to trumpet the failures of government, take a step back and think about all it does FOR you. Quietly, behind the scenes, hardly asking anything of you but some cooperation.
