@Emjay I've read so many comments like this lately.
Where is the joy? The hope, the optimism; the willingness to work until you achieve the goal.
That's a pretty profound point that raises a bunch of issues. To answer it directly, I think it is because those arguing for all or nothing probably believe that means nothing, and are resigned to that. There is no joy because they are already defeated.
As a broader point, it makes me think that some people treat politics like
religion - that faith and purity themselves are virtues, and an end in themselves.
But politics is, and should be, different. We all (well, most of us) have lives outside politics, that include family, friends, hobbies, work, and religion. We should be able to be happy even if the nation's politics are not exactly what we would prefer. The goal of politics is to establish policies that maximize the potential for happiness, so it is a continuum, not an absolute standard. It is a
means, not an end in itself.
So okay, we don't live in a perfectly free, laissez-faire society.
But that doesn't make our lives without meaning or value otherwise, or that we can't still be happy. We can still try to live the best, more free lives possible, both for ourselves and our children. And that's the problem with the "all or nothing" approach, because if ideological purity for its own sake results in a society that is
less free than if you'd accepted something less, what have you gained? Your kids now live in a worse country, with less of a chance for success and happiness. And so do you.
If all we're doing is fighting a rearguard action, that is
still worthwhile, because it means our children will get to live in a somewhat better country than they would have if we just gave up. We still fight. We get big victories if we can, small ones if that's all we can get, and try to make our defeats as small as possible. And if we're really on the road that inevitably leads to serfdom, then isn't it best to resist that as long as possible, to preserve as much as can be preserved for as long as it can be preserved? We can still lead good lives, and obtain happiness. Even if our society is not as ideologically pure as some might wish. Politics is
not religion.
I'd add that the Declaration of Independence didn't promise us a state of happiness or perfection. Happiness is something we're supposed to pursue, to work for. Which means sometimes life isn't going to give us what we want, and we're going to have to struggle for the best we can get. But this whole defeatist mindset -- this "if we don't have perfect liberty we don't have any liberty at all" is simply madness. It is a blackness of the soul, and a recipe for misery for those who elevate politics to religion.
Screw that. I think we should fight for the best political environment we can obtain, even if it isn't perfect, and enjoy the hell out of the rest of our lives.
