This paragraph struck me as odd, and I had to read it four or five times before I accepted that someone feels this way, but when I see:
Personally, I'd like to see the United States remain the number one economic power in the Western Hemisphere, but this is not foreordained. If Brazil's Congress is smarter than ours, as it certainly is at the moment, we are at a huge disadvantage. It is said that democracies get the governments they deserve, which implies that Brazilians are smart enough to vote for prosperity, and Americans are not. We'll have more data in November.
I at first think it's parody. I had no idea even that someone would think that "democracies get the governments they deserve" could be used with a straight face when someone holds such right-wing political views. I guess they think they can, but,
"I’m really not interested in having yet another debate on the purpose of government so this will be my last post on the subject and you can have the last word.
[Your] views seem to me as nothing more than typical conservative dogma. "
Are you sure you’re in the right country, have you read the Bill of Rights, what do you think was really most important to some of the most brilliant political minds like Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington? Prosperity or Freedom? They had prosperity, these were rich landholders, all of them. They weren't fighting because one more tax was being taken from them, no matter how you misinterpret your history. From the private writings of these people, they protected our freedoms as well as they could because they knew that people with power try to take away liberties. People with power doesn't just mean power from a political office, but corporate power. People need to be protected, and the Bill of Rights are the only words standing in the way of crushing power being used against the little man. Sometimes one wants to be a little man, producing little economically and taking little economically, or a small fish. But small fish don't want to be eaten by big fish, just because they're small, and laws help make that be the case.
Most liberals and/or Democrats feel that the purpose of our government involves a little more than just providing a Laissez-faire system.
As far as I’m concerned, providing people with the security and opportunity to succeed brings with it a hefty responsibility to give back to the system. I fully support a progressive tax rate, so no, I don’t feel “He is entitled to every single penny he has made”. ...
In regards to money grubbing, I’ve found this to be much more of a problem with conservatives and the rich than people who’re down and out. And although you won’t get much of an argument out of me over your opinion about how stupid Americans are, you raised my nationalistic hackles with your comments.
