Robert Bateman - Fox on the Move
The terrific wildlife artist Robert Bateman has a great article over at Wildlife Art Journal entitled Why I Am a 21st Century Conservative.
Read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt:
I am a conservative. This is why I deeply resent the neo-conservatives who are not conservatives at all. They are the opposite: radicals who are destroying cherished institutions and wreaking havoc on our human heritage as well as our natural heritage.
I do not consider destroyers to be conservative.
So many cherished institutions have been built with great care and dedication through the decades by well-trained people with good hearts. These are being smashed and weakened in great haste by politicians and ideologues who do not even understand what they destroy. Creation is long and difficult; destruction is quick.
Institutions such as railways, medicare, electrical power production and delivery, environmental protection, social services, schools and many other government agencies are being attacked, weakened and even privatized. These aspects of society are useful and helpful and are there for the common good. Their destruction is done with the aim of cutting taxes and reducing government. Yet many thinkers, such as Lord Richard Layard, professor emeritus at the London School of Economics, argue that taxation is a good thing for creating a state of balance between work and life.
Neo-conservatives seem to care more about the individual than the common good; indeed, the cult of the individual has grown into an ideology. Now we are faced with the foolish idea that a corporation should be regarded legally as "a person."
In reality, a corporation is simply a pile of money to which a number of persons have sold their moral allegiance. The slogan of most of these entities is "make too cheap and sell too high."
Robert Batemen - Observing Christmas..
3 comments:
Heard him speak at an AZA conference quite a few years ago, about simple living, and he made a lot of sense then too.
Thanks for the heads up!
It's almost gone, the idea that some institutions are benevolent and comfortable and are there to solve problems and provide support for people and their good or enjoyable pursuits.
It as if no one deserves comfort or recreation unless they have mounds of cash.
Another great article from my favorite artist. Thanks for sharing.
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