The struggle over the direction of Social Security will be played out not only over the next four years, but for as long as our free and just society works to diminish the problem of poverty in the elderly and disabled, who can not work to earn income to live. That problem is at the heart of this political question: what belongs to an individual, what does an individual owe to society, and what can society justly take from the individual? This debate is about values and convictions, so it serves each of us to question what we believe.
Truthout.org posted an article reaching the same conclusion that the debate is about Values and Convictions. In addition, the site posted the Democratic Senate Letter to the White House. Both Wisconsin Senators signed this document and reading the two items together makes clear the tone and initial tactics of the Democrats and their allies.
First, advocates for the status quo will depend on emotional rhetoric. The article uses the following words: Abolish, Assault, Bluster, Destructive, Drastic, Overwhelmingly, Peril, Propaganda, and Radical. Personally, I am putting these on a Democrat word list and will try not to use them. Emotion is a great way to gain short term action from people. Emotion can persuade young men to run into machine gun fire and young women to turn themselves into bombs. Values and convictions, however, are learned from the history of human endeavor and the ongoing yearning to find logic, reason and justice in life.
Second, the initial tactic will be defining the emotional value of the word privatization as a negative. The article uses variations of privatization six times in one page of writing. The letter signed by 42 Democratic Senators invokes the word seven times and ends by urging the President to “... publicly and unambiguously announce that you reject privatized accounts funded with Social Security dollars ...” Privacy is a good thing in the minds of most people, even the in extreme left, so there is no reason to let the word be turned into a negative. The administration should publicly and unambiguously announce that no reform will allow an individuals tax dollars go into another persons private account. Private means your contribution remains your money.
Truthout.org posted an article reaching the same conclusion that the debate is about Values and Convictions. In addition, the site posted the Democratic Senate Letter to the White House. Both Wisconsin Senators signed this document and reading the two items together makes clear the tone and initial tactics of the Democrats and their allies.
First, advocates for the status quo will depend on emotional rhetoric. The article uses the following words: Abolish, Assault, Bluster, Destructive, Drastic, Overwhelmingly, Peril, Propaganda, and Radical. Personally, I am putting these on a Democrat word list and will try not to use them. Emotion is a great way to gain short term action from people. Emotion can persuade young men to run into machine gun fire and young women to turn themselves into bombs. Values and convictions, however, are learned from the history of human endeavor and the ongoing yearning to find logic, reason and justice in life.
Second, the initial tactic will be defining the emotional value of the word privatization as a negative. The article uses variations of privatization six times in one page of writing. The letter signed by 42 Democratic Senators invokes the word seven times and ends by urging the President to “... publicly and unambiguously announce that you reject privatized accounts funded with Social Security dollars ...” Privacy is a good thing in the minds of most people, even the in extreme left, so there is no reason to let the word be turned into a negative. The administration should publicly and unambiguously announce that no reform will allow an individuals tax dollars go into another persons private account. Private means your contribution remains your money.
