If you really want to see the utter depravity of the individualist mindset that dominates the Republican party, look at the video of Sharron Angle, the Nevada Senate candidate. In it, she lashes out at having to pay insurance premiums for things she is never going to need. Why should she pay for “autism”, she says? And since she is never going to have another baby, why should she pay for maternity coverage? If the pro-life movement had any integrity, they would lambast Angle for these statements. For these policies are directly encouraging abortion. But I don’t expect them to say anything.
I believe tha Angle and her ilk represent the nadir of the baby boomer mentality (Angle was born in 1949). This is the generation that adopted selfishness as a religion. This is the generation that rebelled against social norms in the 1960s, and elevated individual self-expression as the greatest virtue. This is the generation that came of age during the “greed is good” 1980s, when the dismantling of the postwar social model began in earnest. This is the generation that oversaw the end of the postwar consensus, and a return to rates of inequality and social dysfunction not seen since the Gilded Age. This is the generation that is today the backbone of the tea party, and is still pushing the policies of selfishness – refusing to contribute to anyone else’s healthcare costs, refusing to conserve energy to protect creation, and demanding the combination of the lowest possible taxes and the highest possible benefits for themselves. Indeed, the tea party movement might well represent the dying gasp of the worst elements of a base and discredited generation.
Update: In the comments section, Cindy points out that Angle is heavily endorsed by Catholic Vote, another tawdry outfit associated with Thomas Peters. She is deemed “pro-life and pro-family”. Except when it comes to handicapped children and supporting maternity, that is.
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