Reason would indeed be welcome

I read in the March 14 Herald Opinion Page that Sid Schwab proposes we “base actions on rational thought.” One could hardly disagree. He then goes on suggest Republicans’ support for Israel is predicated on a biblical story of “the burning of Jews for all eternity if they don’t admit their evilness and convert.” I think his train of rational thought just jumped the tracks, exploding in a little fireball of sulphur and confusion.

There’s a lot in the current GOP deserving of a skeptical eye, especially the faction that only finds patriotism in seemingly endless warfare, but I’d say the same about the Democratic leadership as well. Let’s reject any politician who supports “an agenda that favors only the already favored.” Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush appear to be the two dismal frontrunners of the moment. I doubt either one has any real objection to the structure of participatory fascism (to borrow a term from Robert Higgs).

President Obama’s intentions, just like those of most of his Republican rivals, are probably good. His logic, conclusions and policies are mistaken. These individuals (from Boehner to Clinton, from Bush to Schwab, and so on) all share the blind faith that government bureaucracy, in the hands of those who are so much smarter than “average voters” (suckers like you and me who get burned), will save us. They are wrong. Yes, a dose of reason would help us all.

Michael Fischer

Everett