by David Steven | Oct 16, 2007 | Conflict and security, North America
A month or so back, I posted four stories of community resilience – health workers in the Congo; Vietnamese immigrants and a school superintendent after Katrina; and a head teacher after 9/11.
But something was missing – a small government conservative to show the poor, the foreign, and the public sector drone how it’s really done.
So meet Rick Moran, columnist at blog collective, Pajamas Media (which claims 2.8m ‘unique users’ a month). Here’s Moran on why the US state shouldn’t extend health care to more children:
The left doesn’t want to discuss what we lose when government steps in where the citizen is capable of taking care of themselves. They refuse to acknowledge that every step toward establishing a government giving the people what they want rather than what is needed or desirable is a step back from human liberty and into the trough of virtual slavery.
But little, if any attention is paid to the idea that every time the government shoulders its way forward to assume part of the responsibility for our own well being, our choices about the direction our lives can take are limited in the process.
So how does Moran live the ‘unlimited’ live? Rather nicely it seems. In a riverside house in Wisconsin (“a dream come true for me”). Lovely. Until it starts raining.
As the river downstream from our creek rose, the water began to back up… Slowly, ominously, the brown torrent began to slide over the brand new retaining wall put in by the Army Corps of Engineers just last fall and inch its way up our newly sculpted back yard. The Corps had landscaped the yard so that there was a much more pronounced hill in front of the house which was supposed to protect us from all but the worst case flooding scenarios.
“Brand new retaining wall… newly sculpted back yard.” Isn’t it typical? Not only does the government thrust you into the ‘trough of virtual slavery’ by protecting your property, it doesn’t even do a good enough job! But Moran won’t be vanquished, will he? He’ll rise to the challenge… by watching the television.
Glued to The Weather Channel, watching helplessly as the storms raced toward us, we knew that it was only a matter of time before we had to leave. Sure enough, at 5:45, a knock at the door. It was the police telling us it was time to go. We had until 2:00 AM to pack up whatever we could and leave.
I suppose it was at that moment that I realized we hadn’t done anything to prepare. We were caught flat footed with everything we owned vulnerable to what the police patiently explained would be 4 feet of water coursing through our living room in a matter of hours. We had no idea where we were going to stay. No thought as to what we should save and what we should leave behind. In short, we were forced into a panic mode.
So what does he do now? Well first, of course, he goes through his vinyl (“I spent 45 minutes going through my album collection wondering why I never transferred most of them to CD’s.”). Then he calls the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency to ask where they’re going to put him up for the night:
I got a call about 3 hours later from the Red Cross telling me that there were no shelters available yet in Algonquin because they hadn’t gotten enough calls to justify opening one.
The horror! All his neighbours have made plans to stay with friends – so there’s no need to cater for feckless refugees. What’s worse, the Red Cross thinks he should… (this is outrageous) check into a hotel!!!!!! “Needless to say,” Rick notes indignantly “we didn’t need the hassle.”
I know you’re all hella upset by now. But fortunately, this story has a happy ending. It stopped raining and the waters receded (God’s intervention). And Rick’s learned his lesson as well:
We were ignorant, complacent, and much too trusting of the authorities. I have brought some of these shortcomings to the attention of the Village in hopes that the next time an emergency occurs, they can improve their performance.
So that’s how it’s done. Resilience – Rick Moran style. Lesson over. Class dismissed.
by Alex Evans | Oct 16, 2007 | North America
Hillary Clinton and John McCain both have essays about their visions for foreign policy in the new edition of Foreign Affairs. We’ll do a proper commentary on both within the next few days (just as soon as we’ve completed the papers on climate change and on public diplomacy that have been making our lives a misery for the past fortnight…) – but in the meantime here’s a brief taster of Hillary’s plans and designs:
- On Iraq: We must withdraw from Iraq in a way that brings our troops home safely, begins to restore stability to the region, and replaces military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq’s future. To that end, as president, I will convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of defense, and the National Security Council and direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home, starting within the first 60 days of my administration.
- On non-proliferation: To reassert our nonproliferation leadership, I will seek to negotiate an accord that substantially and verifiably reduces the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. This dramatic initiative would send a strong message of nuclear restraint to the world, while we retain enough strength to deter others from trying to match our arsenal. I will also seek Senate approval of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by 2009, the tenth anniversary of the Senate’s initial rejection of the agreement. This would enhance the United States’ credibility when demanding that other nations refrain from testing. As president, I will support efforts to supplement the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Establishing an international fuel bank that guaranteed secure access to nuclear fuel at reasonable prices would help limit the number of countries that pose proliferation risks.
- On China: Our relationship with China will be the most important bilateral relationship in the world in this century. The United States and China have vastly different values and political systems, yet even though we disagree profoundly on issues ranging from trade to human rights, religious freedom, labor practices, and Tibet, there is much that the United States and China can and must accomplish together. China’s support was important in reaching a deal to disable North Korea’s nuclear facilities. We should build on this framework to establish a Northeast Asian security regime. But China’s rise is also creating new challenges. The Chinese have finally begun to realize that their rapid economic growth is coming at a tremendous environmental price. The United States should undertake a joint program with China and Japan to develop new clean-energy sources, promote greater energy efficiency, and combat climate change. This program would be part of an overall energy policy that would require a dramatic reduction in U.S. dependence on foreign oil. We must persuade China to join global institutions and support international rules by building on areas where our interests converge and working to narrow our differences. Although the United States must stand ready to challenge China when its conduct is at odds with U.S. vital interests, we should work for a cooperative future.
- On climate change: Far from being a drag on global growth, climate control represents a powerful economic opportunity that can be a driver of growth, jobs, and competitive advantage in the twenty-first century. As president, I will make the fight against global warming a priority. We cannot solve the climate crisis alone, and the rest of the world cannot solve it without us. The United States must reengage in international climate change negotiations and provide the leadership needed to reach a binding global climate agreement. But we must first restore our own credibility on the issue. Rapidly emerging countries, such as China, will not curb their own carbon emissions until the United States has demonstrated a serious commitment to reducing its own through a market-based cap-and-trade approach. We must also help developing nations build efficient and environmentally sustainable domestic energy infrastructures. Two-thirds of the growth in energy demand over the next 25 years will come from countries with little existing infrastructure. Many opportunities exist here as well: Mali is electrifying rural communities with solar power, Malawi is developing a biomass energy strategy, and all of Africa can provide carbon credits to the West. Finally, we must create formal links between the International Energy Agency and China and India and create an “E-8” international forum modeled on the G-8. This group would be comprised of the world’s major carbon-emitting nations and hold an annual summit devoted to international ecological and resource issues.
