The World As Seen By A Teen Named Chris

Groan of the day: What do you call a dog with no legs? It doesn't matter, he wont come anyway.

Paris Hilton? The person that everyone hates, whose CD bombed, who was in jail, the person being made fun of for her rumored conversion to Christianity? She is the most powerful? No, she wasn't even on the top 100 list.

Oprah is #1. Has been for many years in a row I believe. Maybe because I live in the Chicago area I am so surprised that only like 3 of you guessed right. Moving on…

My plan is to give my thoughts on the important political issues of the day. The last two weeks I talked about why it is important to be involved in politics, and what my basic political beliefs were. The biggest political issues of our times are:

1. The War in Iraq
2. Abortion
3. Taxes/economics
4. Immigration
5. Same-sex marriages
6. How large of a role should government play in out daily lives?

1. I have posted my views on the war several times already: We need to stay until the country can be placed into the hands of the Iraqi democracy.

2. The issue of abortion I have already talked about in the past and if I posted my detailed view of it, I would be preaching to the choir. Abortion is murder. Abortion should be outlawed. What is also important is that we do our part to help people avoid the circumstances that cause many to chose abortions.

3. I am not in any position to argue for one form of capitalism over another. People smarter than I can argue that one.

The other three issues I wish to address at length in this and the next two Tuesday posts. I will start with: How large of a role should government play in out daily lives?

Many people in conservative circles scream from the house tops that government is too big. Many say that if we don't use government programs, we shouldn't have to pay for them. They say the government is corrupt, anti-Christian, and becoming socialist.
    Socialist. The word seems to be the label that is deemed the greatest insult we can give something or someone. Since the 50's many have had a blind fear of socialists because they equate socialism with communism. A secular government that cares for the needs of the people by taxing them, is indeed socialist.  But we shouldn't stop there and decide it is therefore bad. We must look and see if socialism is really all that bad after all.
    Socialism in a democracy is called Progressivism. The theory goes like this: If all people paid a portion of their income to the government, the government could then provide the people with services that would benefit the common good. This plan would not be forced into government, but would come about as Progressive politicians were elected.
    Many hate progressivism, because they have enough money of their own to provide their own services. They don't see why they should give to the government to  help those that are poorer than them. This is understandable…and very disgusting to me and many others.
    It is a simple political issue. Progressives will vote Progressive, and the opposition will vote against them. The simple fact is that the rich and selfish are never in the majority, so they always lose.
    The argument that Progressivism is wrong because it goes against the constitution is often raised, but does not hold water. The courts have upheld that it is compatible with the U.S. Constitution, and even if the judges are wrong (which they often are) the Progressive programs could simply be administered by the states (as many are already) under the State's constitutions.
    Progressive reforms and programs make us a better nation. Yes, discernment and responsible behavior must be used by Progressives in choosing programs, but in my opinion Progressivism is a good thing.
   
So, what do you think?