THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By LON SCOFIELD
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
In a recent Another View, Frank DeMarco postulated that several ``fashionable and political cliches were suddenly exposed as nonsense.'' His misinterpretation of these cliches is a good example of the nonsense that permeates current liberal political philosophy.
Mr. DeMarco began by quoting the familiar ``Government isn't the answer; it's the problem.'' The most famous person to use this phrase was President Reagan.
Anyone who understands the conservative viewpoint knows this slogan is shorthand for the concept that government cannot and should not try to be the answer to all our problems. To imply that those who use it are against all government - including fire, rescue and police protection - is preposterous. We are all very much in favor of the United States government exercising its constitutional powers, but within the constraints of the 10th Amendment.
The government is more the problem than the solution when it causes many deaths at Waco, Texas; when it entraps Randy Weaver, then murders his dog, son and wife at Ruby Ridge, Idaho; when it breaks into law-abiding citizens' homes, shooting them when they try to defend themselves; when it takes land from law-abiding citizens by designating it as ``habitat'' for supposedly endangered species, turns our schools into political indoctrination centers, and foists mandates, funded or not, on states where such mandates are against the will of the people.
``Rugged individualism'' was another clich Mr. DeMarco assumed invalid because we all depend on others for the houses to be built, fires to be fought, food to be delivered, books to be printed. But in the golden age of rugged individualism (before the socialism of the New Deal and Great Society), Americans depended on one another, not the government.
They knew the difference between depending on themselves and becoming dependent. Most were too proud to accept charity. Can we even imagine that concept in this day of big government as the provider of tax breaks, subsidies, welfare, medical care, grants, loans, guarantees and quotas?
The rugged individualist of today eschews victimhood and handouts and wants the government only to get out of the way to allow individuals to depend on one another more directly.
Mr. DeMarco mocked those who believe ``government has no business helping those who can't help themselves.'' But the issue is government helping those who can help themselves.
The national government should help only individuals who can't be helped by their families, churches, charities, communities or lower levels of government. Just 20 years ago, we had no homeless problem. Twenty years ago people who lived on the street were hobos, bums, drunks, drug addicts and other types of derelicts. They slept in flophouses. The mentally incompetent were confined to state mental hospitals and the family members who couldn't maintain their own homes were taken in by relatives.
Since then, the American Snivel Liberties Union (Thomas Sowell's priceless words) has convinced liberal judges that the mentally incompetent have a right not to be confined against their will, bums have a right to use city parks and decent public areas as their personal campgrounds (and toilets) and all kinds of irresponsible behavior must be subsidized by the government.
I agree that the homeless problem can be solved: Get the ACLU out of the way so we can revive the vagrancy laws and loosen requirements on flophouses. Give tax incentives to those who provide assistance to the homeless - even if it's the Salvation Army with its religious message. It works.
It's not likely, though, that a solution will be found with the liberals' insistence on the government's involvement. It's also unlikely that we, as a society, can come to any agreement on how to solve any of our problems with conservative ideas misrepresented and labeled as nonsense as Mr. DeMarco has done. I noted that he is a former associate editor of The Virginian-Pilot. Since there's no such thing as a liberal bias in the news media, his must be an aberration. MEMO: Mr. Scofield lives in Virginia Beach. by CNB