We’ve been told since the days of Ronald Reagan that our government is our enemy. Even though we’ve chosen our government officials through the democratic process, a process which is supposed to create the best government, many now see it as evil.
The idea that the government is the enemy largely defines the Tea Party. By now firmly entrenched in all levels of government, the Tea Party believes that everything from social programs to protecting the environment is morally wrong. Tea Partiers believe that eliminating government spending and regulations will result in a utopia in which every man, woman and child competes in an unregulated economy to provide for themselves rather than depend upon the government for healthcare, a pension or safe food and water.
Many Nebraskans share this belief. We’ve already sent one Tea Party-backed senator to Washington – Deb Fisher – and are poised to send yet another – Ben Sasse – in the Fall.
A cautionary tale of where anti-government sentiment leads recently unfolded in Thomas County where residents in the village of Seneca voted in May to unincorporate their community. At a time when most small rural communities are fighting to stay alive, Seneca residents decided (by a vote of 17 to 16) to turn off their streetlights, stop watering the park, mowing the roadsides and removing snow. They’ll be forfeiting tax dollars and $26,000 they have in the bank. They’ll also be auctioning off the community center, the same center they put countless volunteer hours into restoring and maintaining.
They have taken this dramatic action because they don’t want government telling them what to do.
So just what terrible thing did the local government tell Seneca residents to do? Last winter the village board took steps to enforce a decades-old ordinance against keeping livestock within the city limits in order to deal with six horses who were being kept knee-deep in muck in a small corral at the edge of town.
Village board member Larry Isom remarked in a June 25th Omaha World-Herald article that “Look, there are speed limits in the world. There are stop signs. There are county laws, state laws, federal laws. Without a shared set of community rules, those rules that we have as a society, what you have is anarchy. And that’s just silly.”
“Silly” is putting it mildly. Seneca offers a stark example of what today’s extreme-right voters believe should be done when they object to any programs or regulations – get rid of the government.
Voters in Mississippi recently thought twice about the Tea Party’s vow to vastly reduce the power of the federal government. Mississippi receives more federal benefits than any other state, and Tea Party congressional candidate Chris McDaniel lost a controversial primary runoff to somewhat less conservative incumbent Thad Cochran, who had the courage to point out just what Mississippi stood to lose if McDaniel succeeded in eliminating the federal safety net.
One wonders if those voting to dissolve Seneca may someday regret their decision. There’s more than a little truth to the saying “Be careful what you wish for – you might just get it.” Though it may feel good when problems arise to criticize the government we ourselves created, it isn’t just silly – it’s insane – to seek to destroy it.
Yet by supporting Tea Party candidates that’s exactly what conservative voters are advocating. And if more level-headed voters don’t stand up against these modern anarchists, these “throw the baby out with the bathwater” ideologues may well get their wish.