QotD: General silliness

Colin Powell is not a conservative. Never was. Perhaps a teeny bit in the military realm. A very teeny bit. Certainly not in international politics. Definitely not in his domestic politics. Catch this up-chucking quote from a former military icon:

"Americans do want to pay taxes for services. Americans want more government in their lives, not less."

What's most troubling is that I believe he is right, but this is only so because I don't believe most people think too well anymore. With a non-stop frenzied assault upon our senses through every possible media imaginable, we are stinker thinkers. Honestly, how many people have spent more time than it takes a single song to conclude in our iPod headphones to think about a single issue? I indict myself with my words.

Thinking birthed America's Revolution, the Federalist papers, and the finest constitutional government the world has ever seen. Thinking brought about the Civil War. Men considered what the Constitution meant regarding states' rights and man's rights. Thinking birthed the Reformation and the Great Awakening as men considered the truth of God's word in light of the world around them.

We don't think much. Is my tummy sated? Who can satisfy my sexual itch? Do I have enough money to party this weekend or maybe get to South Padre during spring break? Is anything getting in my way that might impede me from getting and doing what I want?

That said, is it any wonder folks want the government doing things for them? If they thought through the horrors of letting the government root itself deeper in their personal lives, such a comment from so distinguished a gentleman would serve to dismiss him forever from public life as mindless radical who's not thought through effects of so terrible a cause.

Read Mark Steyn's take on General Powell's comments and the pending doom of conservatism in America here.