Didn't we learn anything from the 20th century?

This all started a couple of days ago when I was reading a story about how a right wing party was being investigated as a criminal institution. And then the neurons started firing so fast I couldn't keep up with the tidal wave of thoughts running through my head. I started thinking about what all happened in the 20th century. It boggles my mind that we still are dealing with extremism day in and day out on this planet.

One thought I did manage to hold onto is there is a difference between being right wing and being conservative. Sometimes hard to tell the difference, but there are some things to review. Right wing ideology uses many conservative ideas in their platform. Right wing nationalists speak to patriotism and a strong national defense. Right wing politicians talk about preserving national identity under the guise of protecting jobs for its citizens. Right wing in the United States wants smaller and less intrusive government. And these are some of the same ideals conservatives espouse, but there are differences especially in approach.

Conservatives have ideals and will work to implement them. The right wing has uncompromising ideology that they use to ramp up their base. Conservatives are patriotic and believe in strong national defense, but understand especially in the U. S. to protect the ideals and values of the people and country. The right wing demands adherence to a dogmatic patriotism that relies more on symbols than substance. Conservatives work to grow their base and incorporate new ideas to further their agenda. Conservatives know educated electorate are healthy for their country. The right wing needs blind adherence to their party and does not want to share with other groups.

Of course there is more to the differences than this short discussion. The main point really comes from what we learned from the 18th century. This is when conservatives and liberals worked together, made compromises ( and stuck to their views), to create something called The Constitution of the United States along with the Bill of Rights.

So where does the "tea party" fall in all this? Hmmmm name sounds nice, but could this group of so called patriots actually been part of producing a document they state they love as flag waving Americans?

Our country was built on strong values, shared beliefs, and compromises to get it done. Where are we headed now?

A few questions as we stare into a very ugly political abyss.

God save the constitution, the constitution is dying.