katie mare's column 2010
TRANSCRIPT
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 1/44
Katie Mare’s Column
January-April 2011
“I advocate a platform of freedom for all,
both in terms of negative and positive
freedom. I also advocate for things like cleanliving – but only in ways consistent with the
platform. You see, either we have freedom
for all, or we are all threatened by tyranny.”
Us vs Them, and Friendly Debate
One of my missions in life is to build a
community of libertarians on social issues,
people who will stand up for each others'
freedom, despite not agreeing with each
other's views and lifestyles. This community
will include both traditionalists and people
who live alternative lifestyles. It has been
said that everyone has an 'us' and a 'them' -
for me, my 'us' would be the whole of this
community (including people who live
alternative lifestyles), and my 'them' would
be anybody who is anti-libertarian (even if
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 2/44
they live a similar lifestyle to me). And it is
important to me that this greater 'us' win thecultural war against 'them'.
Within the 'us', obviously we can have
friendly debate. It is like the way every
mature nation should behave, that all its
citizens fight for the welfare of their country,but in everyday life within the said country
people are still divided into different lifestyle-
based sub-cultural groups and have debates
with one another. This does not decrease the
solidarity of the people, it merely increases
diversity. One good example is my ongoing
debate with people who live alternative
lifestyles. I generally don't agree with the
supposed merits of those lifestyles, and I am
also very keen to ensure that (within the
framework of the greater 'us' of
libertarianism) I will be able to keep my
community of traditionalist culture alive and
well (and hopefully pass it onto the next
generation), but that doesn't make those
who live alternative lifestyles the 'them'.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 3/44
A Community of Libertarians
I believe me, my friends and generallypeople in my cultural group will mature into a
community of libertarians in the coming
years. A community that will stand together
for the freedom of all, and to support each
others freedom in all social issues. We may
have different lifestyles and differentpersonal beliefs, but we believe freedom for
all protects us all.
We will stand together on issues such as
freedom from discrimination for private
lifestyle matters, freedom in relationships
and how to define marriage, and freedom of
religion in a broad sense. We will stand by
our own practices and rules, and refuse to
assimilate into the anti-freedom mainstream
culture.
In this community there will be those who
adhere to traditionalist lifestyles like me (I
would say that I am more traditional than
70% of GenY at least), and those who adhere
to 'alternative' lifestyles that I personally
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 4/44
won't touch (and won't allow my children to
touch in the future) but fully support thefreedom for people to follow if they so
choose. To build my political movement for
freedom I need all of you, and in return I will
do my best to bring my fellow traditionalists
out of the folly of believing in excessive
government power on social matters, andtherefore help create a majority agreement
on society leaving everybody alone to do
their own thing.
The Way of the Social Libertarian
I am a proud libertarian on social issues, and
have been since 2003. Why? I believe the
concentration of power and its use against
individuals will lead to discrimination (and
hence social disadvantage) and loss of
peace. It was the Bush years that taught me
this lesson, but now that we are out of there I
believe we should not forget it.
I am indeed a traditionalist personally on
most cultural and lifestyle issues. Last time I
checked, I loved country music and ballads
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 5/44
and hated most hip-hop and heavy rock. Last
time I checked, I prayed every day. Last timeI checked, I was pro-life (but anti-
criminalisation of abortion), pro decency,
abstinent on alcohol, anti sexualisation in the
media, pro-family, anti divorce, and firmly so,
and was promoting my agenda everywhere
to the upset of modern hippies. In short,everything that the right wing supports
except racism and homophobia.
However, I detest the right wing's method of
using government power to regulate
everything. I do believe there should be laws
preventing unwanted exposure to offensive
things in public (like people being naked in
public), and protection of couples and
children against unilateral divorce, but
there's where it should end. Anti-abortion
legislation has not achieved its desired result
(just look at Georgia), and ancient
institutions like marriage have been
destroyed by political squabbles and the
enactment of 'no fault divorce'. Our tax
money has also unwillingly gone to pay for
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 6/44
the Iraq war, church 'faith based' initiatives
that promote homophobia, and the like.
Therefore, I believe in a combination of
advocating and voting for pro-freedom
socially policies on the political level, and
promoting traditional values and morals (less
the bigotry) in the social and cultural setting.Anyone with me here?
The Real Fix for Reactionarism
It seems that nowadays there are more and
more reactionary people around. You really
can't disagree that extreme ideologies like
racism are on the rise. Having done a lot of
study in why this is the case, I have come to
the conclusion that the way the world has
changed recently has been too much for
many people.
And indeed it has. First of all, 1980s style
Thatcherist economics are stupid and a
complete return to Keynesian economic
policies are in order. The economic miracle of
the 1950s West was based on Keynesianism -
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 7/44
when you are onto a good thing, you don't let
it go easily. Sadly, the recession in the 1970sbecame an excuse to try out extremist, anti-
human type policies. People have suffered
too much because of the rise of the
economic right, and I believe it is the
responsibility of the major centre-left parties
of the world to take us back onto the righttrack. A return to a pre-80s model of
economics with no ifs, ands or buts is not
radical, it is pro-human.
Secondly, I believe the right to live a
traditionalist moral life has been eroded.
Hence a lot of traditionalists have decided to
wage war on all things progressive - which I
believe is misguided, but sadly we must face
the fact that this is happening. You see, us
traditionalists really don't appreciate the in-
your-face sexualisation of society, the putting
down of the clean living ideal, the blaring of
vulgar hip-hop music everywhere you go,
and pressure applied against families that
wish to be stable. Responding to us by calling
us conservative (even I have been called that
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 8/44
a few times!) and upping the action is not
really going to help - we will not convert tothe hippie agenda unfortunately. Obviously
the multi-million dollar media business has
its role here, and they should be our main
target, but what we can do is to reaffirm the
right of everyone not to be offended by
oversexualisation and the lack of respect insociety.
I am a social libertarian and I believe in
freedom. Hence I support extending anti-
discrimination to polyamorists (even if I don't
agree with their lifestyle), and the
decriminalisation of abortion by legislation
(Roe vs Wade needs to be overturned
because it is improper in and of itself, but
whilst I am pro-life I do believe in the state
not interfering in matters so personal) for
example. But to help people like me make
the case for these amendments in the wider
world to make your life easier, you have to
give us, the traditionalist majority, some
respect too. Shoving it in our face doesn't
help.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 9/44
After All, I'm an Individualist - for a GoodReason
Supporters of marriage equality have been
quoted that they believe civil unions which
nevertheless grants equal rights to couples
are 'separate but equal' and hence unequal. I
really don't buy that line - I have explicitlystated civil unions with equal rights, with no
exception to family and parental rights, are
equal indeed (which means that schemes in
the UK and several US and Australian states
count, but those in many European countries
don't).
But I am a strong supporter for marriage
equality, right?
Right, because I believe that any group of
people should have the freedom to define
their culture and mainstream society has no
business in stopping them. Marriage is now
the standard idea of relationship in the gay
and lesbian community just as it is in the
straight community - therefore, unless you
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 10/44
think it is OK to discriminate against gay and
lesbian people, there is now no excuse not tosupport marriage equality. And I don't believe
the opinions of the conservative anti-equality
camp even need to be heard in this case - I
am an individualist, and I believe rights of an
individual come before the importance of a
consensus. It's a position I take consistentlyacross many issues - like a strong support for
state rights and localities being able to set
their own laws as long as it does not violate
human rights statues, and strong support for
multiculturalism.
Some people have said that I am collectivist -
but that's because they look at my economic
standpoints and decide that's me. Actually, I
have to say that my economic standpoint
derives from my ideas about how to run the
economy, but it is my social issues
standpoint that really defines my values. And
on that, I can confidently tell you that I am a
traditionalist-leaning libertarian.
A Solution for Unemployment
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 11/44
As a result of the global financial crisis, many
people around the world have beenchronically unemployed and are soon going
to run out of unemployment benefits. I
believe society should make sure that
everyone can live without too much difficulty
- this is the mark of civilization as I believe it.
Here's a solution I propose: anybody who is
unemployed or severely underemployed can
apply for government loans of up to $300 per
week. This has to be paid back once they get
employment, with the income threshold for
repayment being $350 per week. This loan
should last for about 26 weeks - thus is for
the short term unemployed only, and the
government would quickly recover the
spending.
To address the problem of chronic
unemployment, government should offer all
chronically unemployed people a full time job
at $7.50/hr. This would not really cost that
much, $7.50 per hour being pretty low and
although many of these people may not be
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 12/44
highly skilled, the government can employ
more of them, thus potentially cutting coststhrough employing less of the more
expensive workers. This will also stimulate
the private sector in the long run as
government will be setting free more coveted
talent for the private sector.
What do you think?
I would never support a burqa ban
Ever since France's parliament passed a ban
on the burqa, much of the Western World's
racist residents seem to be pushing on their
own governments to do the same.
Let me say this: I would never, ever support
a burqa ban, for any reason. This is anti-
freedom, specifically anti freedom of religion,
and very statist of them indeed. And you
know I oppose anything that is anti-freedom,
except when to protect the freedom of those
who wish to live a happy family-based life.
And this is not even a 'liberal' stance - it is
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 13/44
just plain old conservative principle arguing
against marching towards fascism.
I am NOT changing into one of 'them'
Recently a website made by a fan suggested
that I may be changing into one of those
narrow-minded conservatives that I have
always said I don't particularly admire.
Let me say this: I am never going to become
one of them. Never.
I am more open to engaging with self-
identified 'social conservatives' however
because I believe we may have more in
common than I previously thought. Hence I
have been adopting more of their language
recently.
Separation of Church and State is Rule No 1
In my previous article, Love Religion But
Defend Secularism, I outlined why I am an
avid supporter of secularism. And I am not
alone in being religious but supporting
secularism - take France for example, a
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 14/44
nation of religious Catholics who strongly
defend their secular state.
Separation of church and state exists for a
reason - otherwise each church will compete
for a portion of the state and use it to
disadvantage those who don't agree with it.
Religion will then resemble politics at itsworst - power struggles, majority oppressing
the minority. The wall must be maintained at
all cost - for the sake of religion.
I suggest that those of us who seek to
maintain this separation follow this rule:
refuse to deal with arguments that stem from
purely religious dogma without suitable
reasoning. This is sufficient to provide
enough space for arguments against abortion
for example (everyone can see a fetus on
ultrasound not just members of a particular
religion) but still exclude ridiculous things like
teaching somebody's version of creationism
in schools.
This does not mean that we are not engaging
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 15/44
religious people. I am a religious person
myself. The idea is that we are open to allreasonable people who wish to talk, just not
people who will fight for their dogma by force
rather than persuasion.
The Real Liberal Media - Not Playing by
Conservative Rules They say that the media out there is liberal.
Let me correct this - Hollywood, not the
media, is liberal. I'll say that whilst Hollywood
is liberal, Hollywood is not the real world
either. In the real world, a lot of the media
out there is conservative, or at least play by
conservative rules. Just in the country I am
living in I am seeing a lot of media spin
against the centre-left PM we currently have.
The same could be said of Obama in the US.
It has actually become very dire: every
liberal act is now being judged by
conservative standards in the media. The
real liberal media needs to stand up if we are
to have any chance to progress and not be
tied by chains to conservative rules. We need
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 16/44
to make our own rules in terms of judging
people and things.
Give Domestic Partnerships a Chance
Domestic Partnerships are simply this: a
partnership that is 100% designed for family.
Nothing else, not political arguments, not
religious dogma, and not relating to age oldtraditions about wives being property.
Recently it has been hijacked and twisted
into a form of same-sex marriage lite. That's
very unfair - it is NOT marriage lite, it is an
institution similar to but also different from
marriage. Another argument for equal
marriage rights, I guess.
But back to the point. Domestic partnerships
are stable family building blocks, and should
be honored as equal to other stable family
building blocks like marriage. In a time when
we really need to encourage stable family
building blocks, all such arrangements
should be encouraged - including domestic
partnerships. Many states around the world
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 17/44
have started to grant full couple rights for
domestic partnerships - hopefully more willfollow.
The Wrongs We Must Distance Ourselves
From
My last article was about the past wrongs of
certain liberal-related movements, i.e. thosewhich advocated loose sex morals, disregard
for the family and the like. And I have, for the
record, spoken out against those things
probably even more than against, for
example, the religious right. Why do I do
that, and should you be doing that too?
I understand how indebted we are to the
1960s-70s generation which brought about a
new wave of liberalism. However, their
mistakes were plentiful, and to this day it is
the negative things they ushered in that
have been blamed upon the whole liberal
movement, giving religious fundamentalists
their credibility. It is not doing us any good.
Therefore, we must denounce those past
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 18/44
wrongs and distance ourselves from them
completely. We must do so even moredecisively than the right, for it is we who are
going to be harmed the most if these ideas
continue to haunt the world.
Wake Up, It's not the 1960s Anymore
In the 1960s and 70s there were weirdmovements like 'free love', hippies, radical
feminists rejecting the family and hating
men, and the like. And we all know what the
results were. The AIDS crisis of the 80s killed
many from a generation, and had the most
severe impact on vulnerable minorities like
the LGBT and certain ethnic communities.
The hippie communes have largely
disappeared without making much impact.
Radical feminism has been rejected by most
of our generation, and seen as actually
conservative in many circles too. The family
still won out as the best institution to live
your life in.
I thought everybody had accepted that whilst
it is good to have freedom and equality, the
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 19/44
white picket fence lifestyle is the best
without peer. I thought that we had agreedthat whilst we continue to rally against
discrimination, injustice, war and poverty, we
aim to make the family lifestyle available to
everyone.
Which is why I am surprised that recently Ihave encountered a few people who think
that this is still the 1960s and that people
like me are still considered ancient. No, we
have found out the best way to live. And it's
you, not us, that are ancient in 2010.
The Limitation of Freedom: There Are Only
Two Choices
The recent Rand Paul scandal made me
think.
Society must accept either one of two moral
choices: complete freedom to everyone, at a
great cost, or freedom on all things except
excluding freedom of personal judgments in
market transactions, which comes at a much
lower cost.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 20/44
Let me explain. Everything is based on thepremise of freedom being only fair if there is
freedom for all (or freedom for none, but I
don't agree with this).
Complete freedom means freedom to
discriminate at will, for example. This is whatRand Paul asked for. However, government
has a responsibility to protect all its citizens -
it is just not moral to protect some but not
others. Therefore, this must include
protecting the freedom of all citizens to live
as they believe. To do this, it must both allow
and counteract private sector discrimination,
by using budgetary means. This means that
lots will be spent in the public sector to this
goal, and taxation will rise quite significantly,
meaning that whilst freedom of conscience
lives, economic freedom is virtually gone.
The other alternative is what we currently
have - we accept limiting the freedom of
people to use irrelevant cultural judgments
whilst they are performing otherwise purely
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 21/44
economic functions because this is a way to
still allow freedom of conscience ineverybody's personal lives without the
government having to fork out a lot more.
The maximises freedom, both social and
economic, whilst minimising the need for a
huge government.
Which one makes more sense? I guess most
people can tell me.
My Vision for an Ongoing Shared Culture
Culture makes us strong. Culture made the
civil rights movement strong in the 60s, and
made the religious right strong in the 90s. If
the Inclusive Family Values Movement is to
be strong and strong for a long time, it is
required that we have a strong shared
culture.
The shared culture should be inclusive to all
lifestyles compatible with family values,
inclusiveness and equality. Therefore, it
should emphasize family friendly content,
equal rights for all minorities and a equal
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 22/44
chance at a good life for everybody, but put
behind us other issues of divisiveness.
It will transcend both politics and
entertainment. As with any culture, creativity
and entertainment is a big part, but it will
also necessarily be political as all successful
movement cultures have been. It will start asa small subculture but will blossom into a
force to be reckoned with. It will start with us
building the basic building blocks now, and
years down the generation it will be the
background culture our children grow up in,
as they grow up to be defenders of the cause
through the culture.
Everyone reading this now, I am inviting you
to participate in building this culture. You can
participate by putting your ideas out there,
putting your talent to use in spreading the
message (for example by music or art), or
just simply connecting with other believers
out there and start building your own big
family of faith in inclusive family values.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 23/44
Freedom Above All Else!
The number one thing we should be aimingfor and defending in a democracy is freedom.
No freedom, no democracy, fascism etc. can
rise up easily.
Forget about electing an efficient
government, if the choice is betweenfreedom and lack thereof. This includes not
just economic freedom but also the freedom
to believe and live as you believe. We must
stand up for that freedom, at any cost.
There are many lifestyles out there that I
don't agree with. But then, when it comes to
governance, freedom comes first, and I stand
by others' rights to live as they believe
without difficulty.
Judicial Activism is a Myth
Let me say this out loud: judicial activism is a
MYTH. In every nation with a bill of rights,
judges are there to make sure that every
piece of legislation is consistent with the
nation's commitments to those rights,
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 24/44
regardless of when it is applied to the
majority or minorities.
That some laws will and have to be struck
down are because they are inconsistent with
the constitution. Great statesmen would
never argue with the court in such cases.
They simply amend the legislation to makesure that it is consistent with the
constitution.
Some conservatives think that judges are
there to make things more libertine without
the populace's consent. But what they are
doing in every case is only to expand a right
available already to the majority to minorities
who have been excluded - rather than
creating a new right altogether. This is
making things more inclusive, not necessarily
more libertine. (Consider that, for example, if
nobody had a right to unilateral divorce as it
probably should be in an ideal world, no
court can change that. And there is nothing
preventing parliament from adopting such a
law either.)
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 25/44
The Idea of Prioritised Moderate ProgressIt has been argued that societies can only
take that much change before its essential
values are lost, and its fabric torn apart.
Against this idea is the one that change just
cannot come quickly enough for some
groups, especially long suffering minorities.
If there is only so much change that society
can take, say, every year, then logic would
suggest that we direct that change to make
things better for those who need it the most,
if we truly believe in the idea of social justice.
Those who live alternative lifestyles purely
because they think that's a better way - well
they have their freedom to - but to change
society to better suit them would have to be
a lesser priority. In our world we are
continuously trying to find better ways of
doing things and accommodating more
'lifestyle choices' as long as their is a way of
accommodating them that is not harmful.
But this is nowhere as an important a
process as social justice itself.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 26/44
Sadly, this is not what society always does.For example, the 'changes' of the last few
decades have changed society a lot to suit
those who live 'alternative lifestyles' - e.g.
the availability of no-fault divorce, the
relaxing of attitudes towards public
discussion of sex, but not changed societyenough to bring social justice quickly enough
to those who need it - racism is still alive and
well, and equal marriage has still not been
achieved (save for a small proportion of the
world). In fact, the former changes may have
encouraged resistance for the latter ones,
since they have put too much unnecessary
tension on society's fabric making it unable
to accept any more change in the meanwhile
(seen in, for example, the rise of the religious
right).
There may be a way to let people who live
their life by serial marriages or those who
want to marry three partners at once feel
more included in society - indeed, if there is
such a way that will not tear the fabric of
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 27/44
society apart, we probably should just do it,
as we should respect others' choices.However, this is nowhere as important as
providing equal marriage rights to gay and
lesbian couples, eliminating racism, and
making sure transgender people have an
equal opportunity at life, for example, as
discriminating against the former is merelydiscriminating against lifestyle choices, but
discriminating against the latter is
discriminating against people for who they
are and against the principles of social
justice.
Spite the Religious Right! But also win the
Moral Race and prove them Wrong!
Admit it - spiting a group that you don't like
can be fun. However, using it on people who
are otherwise fine but you just don't like is
plain mean. I believe we should preserve that
activity for groups that really deserve it -
groups that deliberately put misery into
others' lives. The so-called religious right, for
example.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 28/44
Have you done your bit to spite the religious
right today? I have. Indeed, my very lifestyleis somehow set up to spite the religious right.
First, I am a believer and builder of interfaith
coming together. To have the world wake up
to the fact that all faiths are compatible and
their one isn't the one true way - trust me,they fear this above all else, above gay
marriages and the lack of school prayer.
Secondly, I am trying to turn their worldview
and predictions of the world upside down, for
example by advocating a marriage boycott,
effectively rendering a decrease in the
popularity of marriage (note I mean the word
not the institution of two people being
together for life, they are only interested in
the word anyway) in those places without
gay marriage and the preservation of
marriage only in those places with gay
marriage, the exact opposite outcome of
what they have suggested. My persistent
pointing out that the welfare state is the best
preventer of abortion won't make their
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 29/44
worldview more secure either.
However, just to spite them and shoot holes
in their worldview isn't enough. To really win,
we have to do that whilst also winning the
race on morality. We have to be able to set a
moral example that is better than theirs. For
example, my ideal is that we will havehealthy, stable families and a lack of
inappropriate sex, drugs, alcohol and
abortions in my community. Winning the race
on morality, more than anything, is going to
put the nail in the coffin for the religious right
movement.
How To 'embed traditional objectives within
progressive frameworks'
An often stated goals in my speeches,
writings and websites is to 'embed traditional
objectives within progressive frameworks'.
But how do we actually achieve this?
Progressive frameworks are frameworks
which are derived from cutting edge
understandings of how we can improve our
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 30/44
relationships with each other and foster
equality in our communities. However, withinthose frameworks, we can still specify which
objectives are to be achieved. Progressive
frameworks lend themselves to the
possibility of achieving many different great
objectives that older, medieval frameworks
simply can't cope with. However, it is stillimportant that time-tried objectives like
stable family structures and public decency
are high on the priority list too. I would wish
to emphasize this point, just as much as I
would like to see the introduction of
progressive frameworks in our society.
Support the Family that Supports Liberty
United we stand, divided we fall. As in all
things, we need to be united in supporting
each others' decisions to live out our lifestyle
beliefs freely, or otherwise we will all lose
that freedom.
Keep in mind that there are a lot of forces out
there that seek to take away that freedom.
Wingnuts who think that every community in
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 31/44
the world should be made in the image of
their own, for example. Religiousfundamentalists who believe they have the
right to shove their beliefs down our throats.
However, when we, the diverse people and
communities who share one common thing -
believe in freedom - stand together, they
have no way denting our freedom. We willnot have to fear them.
Therefore, in regards to those who choose to
live apart from clean living, whilst I
personally will not consider for myself their
lifestyle choices and would do my best to
prevent my children from straying towards
their cultural turf, I will still stand shoulder to
shoulder with them in the battle to ensure
the lifestyle freedom of all of us, and hope
that they, even though they are often wary
of all clean living people, will accept my offer
to stand together to fight the real threat to
both of us.
The Problem with Populism
Put it simply - populism hurts. Ouch!
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 32/44
We thought it was ridiculous enough thatback in the 70s and 80s some self styled
experts suggested it was okay to smack
children against then-new advice from child
psychologists. Now former bullies are saying
that anti-bullying measures are no good for a
country's competitiveness. What a load of crap!
That somebody can find an argument against
something doesn't mean that argument is
valid. For example, I have yet to see a valid
argument against same sex marriage. I have
never, ever seen one indeed, even though
the anti-equality people have made so much
noise already.
However, such populist challenges, which are
designed to attract those minds who haven't
seen the whole picture yet, can succeed by
preventing such minds from actually seeing
the whole picture ever, thus impeding the
spread of important ideas. For example,
when I was young I was taught that anyone
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 33/44
who did not subscribe to traditional marriage
was not of family values. Obviously this isvery false. But it took me more than a
decade to find and accept the truth. Many
more would not even bother to travel that
difficult intellectual path.
A Real Step ForwardFor those of us who wish for equality and
acceptance for all in this world, change can't
come fast enough. However, we do have to
struggle with a lot of forces trying to contain
access to institutions, celebration and the
like from being more inclusive. And it often
feels like we are fighting on their turf, since
what they defend is almost always the long-
established, difficult to change status quo.
Maybe a better approach is to start by
establishing new institutions ourselves. They
can have the same spirit and purpose as the
traditional ones, but have inclusion,
tolerance and respect built into every one of
them. A society built on such institutions
would therefore have inclusion, tolerance
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 34/44
and respect built right into its foundations.
Doing this may sound like a lot more
complicated than just to convert a few
existing institutions. But then, that's the only
way that works maybe, especially if you take
the whole world into context. Take a look a
marriage equality (may fav subject). Whenwill it be a reality across the majority of the
world (not just the Western world)? 2100?
Even that looks optimistic. (Obviously the
equal legal marriage certificate movement is
still important and my number one cause,
since the only way to guarantee true equality
is to have equal treatment of all couples
under one single system).
One thing that may stop people from
defining their lives by new institutions rather
than the old ones may be the factor of family
approval. However, when each generation so
desperately needs approval from the one
above it, old bigotry and biases get passed
down generations too. Therefore, we must be
brave. In fact, if we are brave enough, we
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 35/44
may just educate the generations above
about the values we cherish. Just look atthose involved in the marriage boycott at the
moment for example.
Competition Isn't Necessarily Good
In this market driven world we are often told
that competition is always good. Which issomething that I find ridiculous.
Consider this. Worker A would be able to do a
certain job for $10 an hour. Now worker B
comes along and offers $5 an hour. Worker A,
though demanding a wage that is not
unreasonable at all, will still be priced out of
the market and left jobless. Now imagine a
whole nation of people surviving on $5 an
hour jobs, and all the social implications.
Would you like to live in that nation?
Now consider this. Worker B continues to
work on their job for $5 an hour, but worker
C comes along and offers to do the same job
for the same price, and is willing to be
humiliated and yelled upon every day for no
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 36/44
good reason and will return this with only
praise to their boss. Guess who gets the jobthen? As you can see, it is not only a matter
of economics, it is also a matter of equality in
human dignity.
A Theme for a New Movement of Progress
The progress that each generation can offeris often based on the circumstances they
started out in. For example, the 60s
generation in the West started out being
conscripted for war, and their reaction
against it was an anti-war peace movement
whose legacy still stays with us today.
Our generation needs to find such a common
theme, and produce a better world based on
this. Today a few people from the
generations above us seem to run the world
just because they have amassed a fortune by
one way or another during times of economic
change. The news is published and
popularised because of them. Anyone who
wants to run for political office need their
blessings. Any new-comer to the Hollywood
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 37/44
circle needs their approval to be successful
(as the mass-advertising needed to launchanybody up there requires a huge amount of
money). The overall effect is that they
control the culture.
The culture is thus, at least the majority of it,
not created by our generation - even if theyemploy people from our generation to get
the message out, it is their message, not our
message, that is heard.
There are lots of voices out there from our
generations that speak about the real issues.
However, they are not heard. That is because
the system is shutting us out. If the Beatles
lived today, they would not be heard either.
To even get a mention in the media, you
have to have connections to the industry
already in place. If you're not born in the
right place - there goes your chance to have
a star in the walk of fame for life.
The effect of all this is that we, as a
generation, have little power to create
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 38/44
change. The way we work and the way we
play is discriminated against in society. Themedia constantly promotes negative
stereotypes of us. And we can't do anything
about it.
The bottom line: We need to change the way
culture is controlled and produced.
Promises vs Results: Some Pro-Life Talk
It is well known that the biggest abortion
decline in recent US history came about
during the Clinton administration, with his
policy that abortion should be safe, legal and
rare. (The rate did continue to decline in the
Bush years, but I just can't see that it was
anything that Bush did - the Clinton policies
were simply continuing to work).
Now to the 'Big-C Conservatives' who
proclaimed themselves to be pro-life. They,
however, also want to make sure that poor
people did not have the means to raise a
child properly in today's world. Their strategy
is simple: just outlaw abortion. They don't
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 39/44
seem to need to take care of the backyard
abortion problem either. Just look at Poland:abortion officially outlawed, but a high rate of
backyard abortion persist. Looks like these
'conservatives' are playing out of sight, out
of mind rather than facing the reality.
I am not somebody who believes in abortion-on-demand. However, I favour approaches
that work. I can't endorse policy that comes
from pure doctrine and doesn't stand up to
common logic. Nor do I believe that we
should take away people's right to do
according to their conscience in controversial
matters that don't have a clearly agreed on
answer - for example, what to do in the case
that the fetus is severely deformed, or what
to do in the case that the mother's life is not
threatened but her physical health (not
emotional wellbeing) is irreversibly damaged
by the pregnancy?
For the USA, I have nothing against repealing
Roe vs Wade - but nor am I particularly
excited by this prospect. For most other
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 40/44
countries, abortion-on-demand probably
comes from loopholes in laws that cater tothe mother's wellbeing being abused - this
could be addressed by simple amendments.
However, beyond all this, we need to do what
is effective - a living income for all, adequate
childcare support, and all that. And this is
what 'Big-C Conservatism' cannot deliver.
The New Principles of 'Small Government'
Traditionally, small government has been
achieved with cost cuts, cutting programs to
provide welfare to the needy, and being
against basic health insurance for all. Yet
these measures can be harmful to many
people and hence the fabric of society itself.
I suggest a few other ways that small
government can be brought about without
using the above means:
-employing people who are already receiving
welfare as much as possible. This will
decrease the need for welfare naturally,
without needing to resort to providing below-
livable incomes for those on welfare. This is
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 41/44
also good for private enterprise as it frees up
more talent for the private sector to use.Since employing those on welfare is also
usually cheaper, this can result in natural
cost savings for the government.
-taking care of everybody's life so that every
citizen is on a living income. From there, we
can free up the market as much as possiblewithout needing to worry about tearing the
fabric of society apart. Cutting tariffs to zero,
ending all agricultural subsidies, and allowing
the natural fading out of unsustainable
industries in favour of imports should all be
relatively easy by then.
-encourage multiculturalism, with the
government a protector of peace and
freedom amongst all members of society
rather than an agent in culture itself. The
government then will be by default powerless
to control culture.
A New Approach to Government Employment
The government should try to employ every
single unemployed person in the nation. This
is what I believe.
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 42/44
This is not as hard to do as it seems. In mostadvanced countries the government already
has a welfare system to look after the
unemployed. The government can pay the
welfare benefits as a wage and ask for work
for them in return. This is important because
while it is natural for private employers tolook for what they see most fit to help them
profit, it is the government's role in society to
correct market failure, including to help those
that private enterprise do not find useful.
This will also free up more talent for the
private sector to choose from, which is also
good for free enterprise.
Conservatism Failed Because It Is False
Advertising
Conservatism says it is for freedom. They
love to say how conservatism is based on
libertarianism. Well, that seems quite like my
approach - all the things I support are geared
towards providing more freedom for people.
Except that we actually are not fellow
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 43/44
travelers politically. Why? Because
conservatism, at least in its early 21stcentury incarnation, does not stand for
freedom - not anymore. Not when it stand
against freedom of religion, as in the denial
of churches and religious organisations to
marry same-sex couples in accordance with
their doctrine.
I am told that I do share a few causes with
the conservatives, time and time again.
However, I would not trust that they would
do anything for me in that area either. Why?
Just look at their track record. Conservatism
fought drugs, and drugs won. Conservatism
fought divorce, and divorce won.
Conservatism fought abortion, and abortion
won. Conservatism fought crime, and crime
won. Conservatism fought casual sex, and
casual sex won.
Need I say more? Conservatism has never
delivered a bit of what they promised. Except
for one thing - religious dogma. Why?
Because for them, all the above are nice to
8/6/2019 Katie Mare's Column 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/katie-mares-column-2010 44/44
have, but religious dogma is their goal.
Conservatism in the 21st century is aboutone thing - the triumph of dogmatic, literalist
interpretation of religion.
No wonder conservatism, which promised so
many wonderful things indeed, still failed, as
seen by its support rate in the younggeneration today.