This post is specifically stimulated by a comment on a previous post from Cory of the Madville Times.

Einstein defined insanity as repeating the same thing over and over again, and expecting to get a different result. By that definition, at least the Chief humbly submits that the above stated proposition concerning liberalism has validity, as illustrated by the following dialogue from American Thinker, shamelessly borrowed:

Let’s say my liberal friend Bob asks me: “Why are you a conservative, Chris?”

“Good question, Bob. In America today, conservatives believe, government is cruel, corrupt, unjust; and it just costs too much. And we conservatives just can’t stand there and do nothing.”

The current welfare state for which, usgovernmentspending.com tells us, the American people cough up $900 billion a year for government pensions, $950 billion for government health care, $875 billion for government education, and $470 billion for government welfare, every year, is an abomination. Never mind the corrupt patronage system so brazenly operated by Gov. Blagojevich and pals; let us think about the cruelty of a system that has destroyed the family in the underclass, the injustice of screwing the working poor and rewarding the non-working poor.

Again, at the risk of redundancy, the Chief again points out that these programs have been implemented starting back in the 30’s, and since then…and the problems they “attack” have only continued, or gotten worse. (Remember Dr. E’s comment about repeated behavior & the same result?) But to continue the dialogue:

“Liberals created this monster, Bob. Liberals believe that compulsory government programs are the way to help the poor and comfort the afflicted. But they are wrong. Government is not compassion. Government is force. You cannot solve social problems by force.”  (Emphasis added.)

This is the basic conflict between liberals and conservatives. Liberals believe you can solve social problems with government programs. Conservatives believe that you must solve them person-to-person, face-to-face. Compassion means, literally, “suffering with.” Getting paid to run a government program to help the poor with tax dollars isn’t “suffering with.”

This is the keystone point. DEPERSONALIZED compassion, is no compassion at all. And what’s worse is that the ONLY way to run it by government, is at gunpoint (the threat of the police power for failure to comply).

“Conservatives believe in society not as social force but as social cooperation. That’s why we must reform the welfare state into the welfare society. In the welfare society the American people, not liberal experts, will be in charge of their health care, their children’s education, the comfort of the afflicted, and the decent provision of pensions.”

Liberals believe in the welfare state; conservatives believe in the welfare society. That issues out of the basic conservative belief, initially voiced by Edmund Burke, that “To love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of publick affections.”

Conservatives want to appeal, wherever possible, to our better angels rather than fight with inner demons. Conservatives believe that “social problems” must be solved by people in their little platoons–family, neighbors, friends, associations, and charities–people influencing other people for good. That means no more of Mark Steyn’s adult adolescents. We can’t just pay our taxes and complain about the government. We have to get involved and help people, from the inside out. First you help family, then neighbors, and then your co-workers, fellow union members, fellow church members.

Again…to keep trying to achieve a good result by bureaucratizing the effort, is doomed to continual failure.

In this at least, continuing efforts to continue and expand the governmental approach to deal with these problems meets Dr. Einstein’s definition, and therefore, returns us to the proposition that “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”.