In his first inaugural speech Franklin Roosevelt made the statement that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. . .” Interestingly, that was made in the terrible economic climate of the great depression—very much like our current situation. Roosevelt was attempting to be upbeat and give the people of the country a reason to hope that the economy would soon recover.
Today his political descendants in the Democratic party have a different slant on the fear theme. They have nothing to offer but fear itself. In an election where it appears they and their ideas are going to be completely rejected, they are using the fear card in almost every way possible: The Republicans, they say, will take away your social security, they will reduce taxes on the rich and make you pay more, they will do away with your food stamps, they will increase your medical costs, they will terminate the fight against climate change and leave us at the mercy of smoking factories and gas guzzling automobiles spewing out carbon dioxide and other poisonous gases; And the list goes on-all in the negative.
Closely related to the fear campaign, they are using smear tactics as never used before: the Republicans, they say, are using illegally gotten funds to support their candidates. They are too extreme, they want to destroy all of your rights; they support sending jobs overseas; and that list goes on also.
Although in the long run Roosevelt could not meet his own expectations, he at least did offer something positive. The current batch of Democrats, however, have nothing positive to offer. So their only recourse is to be completely negative. The reason being of course is that their programs, their governance, their ideas are bankrupt. It is clear that their efforts have led the country into an economic quagmire. Unemployment is high, and they cannot reduce it. The country is deeply in debt, and they continue on a path that only makes it worse. The currency is in the tank, and all they have to offer is inflation. And they proudly look to enacting more laws that will only worsen the situation.
It appears that they are going to reap the rewards of their ruinous programs; they are soon to become a minor element in the governance of this country, and it’s about time that we begin an upbeat approach to dealing with our country’s problems.
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