“Left” and “Right” Confusion

We keep hearing the terms “left” and “right”. I doubt most people even know where those terms came from when applied to political ideology. The terms “left” and “right” wing are based on the seating arrangements in the French National Assembly, which directly preceded the French Revolution. Some believe those terms represent certain beliefs, and they did in the beginning. The aristocracy sat on the right side of the Speaker, which was traditionally the seat of honor, and the commoners sat on the left. This gave birth to the terms “right-wing” and “left-wing” politics. The left had been called “the party of movement” and the right, “the party of order.”

Government Command and Control Farming

Belgium dairy farmers dumping milk in protest.

As Europe clawed its way out from under the ravages of World War 2, the one thing they desperately needed was food. Farmers had to reclaim farm lands and put it back into production. In an effort to speed the process, European governments began giving financial support to farmers. Their plan worked and they managed to rapidly end hunger.

Seventy years later, and long after formation of the 27 nation European Union, the practice continues. Through subsidies and tight regulation the EU has been able to produce cheap affordable food. Enter 2013 and we find Belgium farmers dumping milk on fields in protest of too low milk prices. Unless something is done many EU farms are threatened by bankruptcy.

By the 90's EU farms were over producing. Reports of wine lakes and mountains of butter – as described by the EU press – made some think it was time to have a more free market approach to agriculture. When the world wide recession hit, and driven unnecessarily deeper by the US government created housing bubble, world food prices dropped dramatically because people were buying less.

Progressive types believe they can control the economy by thinking they know what's best for everyone. Simply because someone is elected to office doesn't make them effective economists. It is only when faced with disaster such as the one in Europe will government back away from certain practices. A looming disaster is forcing EU officials to rethink their policies and follow a more free market approach.

Knowing History—The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance is something I thought little about as I stood in my grammar school class each day repeating the phrase. My only thoughts were that my nation was something about which to take great pride. I feel no differently today. The only difference today is that I often have to seek out corrections to history as taught by our schools and perpetuated by the different political ideologies. The simple Pledge of Allegiance is one of those things.

Where did the pledge originate?

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist, Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. Years after the Civil War had ended the nation was still divided. This was an attempt to bring the nation together under one flag.

The pledge in its original form:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Who Are The Progressives?

For the past 100 years the progressive movement has pushed and clawed its way into control of the Unites States. Franklin D. Roosevelt brought the progressive movement into prominence. His progressive polices catapulted the United States into the worst economic period in history. While the rest of the world experienced a recession, or even a depression, only in the USA is it known as the Great Depression.

During the period known as the Great Depression, the USA witnessed the largest expansion of government in history. FDR perpetuated the depression so that he could push a progressive agenda. People looked upon FDR as if he was a savior when he began the jobs programs. Those people built parks, bridges and roads. While those things aren’t bad, they did little to provide permanent work.

It was only after World War II that the depression ended. For the next twenty years the USA saw prosperity never before experienced. That prosperity was kick-started by a drastic cut in taxes. Taxes needed to fund the war had been pushed even higher than the progressive tax of FDR. The war taxes were just, but the reduction of those taxes are what propelled us into the roaring 50’s, just as the reduction of taxes propelled the nation into the roaring 20’s.