The grinding weight of crooked politics
It is a novel day when I don't read about some political shenanigan that will make life just a little harder, or reduce our freedom a bit. Those of us who follow politics, especially libertarians, are often angry and frustrated at the seemingly unceasing attack on the citizenry by special interests and corrupt politicians. In the face of that constant bludgeoning, it gets easier for us to give up the fight and turn away in disgust. It is painful to submit oneself to the naturally emotional reaction that inevitably comes from really paying attention to politics. The closer you watch, the uglier it appears, and your reactions accumulate within you.
Keeping a close eye on politics is not unlike being drawn to watch, again and again, films of Nazi concentration camps. It hurts every time I watch, but I am compelled, by my own sense of justice, to NOT turn away in resignation... to never allow myself to become accustomed to it. My horror at what I'm watching demands keeping that horror refreshed... never diminished. I also watch with the faint hope that I will gain some understanding of how such insanity could have happened, or to gain clues that will keep it from happening again.
Libertarians often speak of the "slippery slope", meaning a series of wrong actions, each of which seems small, but which will be used as justification for more and similar wrong actions. Often, the wrong actions also create a mess that causes an even worse action in a futile attempt to fix the mess, rather than simply trying to undo the original wrong action. Undoing would require admitting that the previous action was a mistake, and politicians will do anything to avoid admitting a mistake. What makes a "slippery slope" slippery is that, once you've justified a small wrong action, it becomes easier to justify an action that is just a little more wrong, which then justifies one that is still more wrong.
How did eminent domain become a danger to all of us? How did cities ever get the idea that it was OK to just take your property and give it to someone else? It didn't happen overnight... it happened gradually, on a slippery slope, starting with a borderline case somewhere, and gradually expanding, being fueled by greed, and a desire to remove "undesirable" neighbors, and competition between cities.
The proposed new stadium for the Minnesota Twins is the latest step on a major slippery slope... governmental support for professional sports. It's been going on for a long time, but it represents the grossest sort of corruption that takes advantage of our love for sports. It isn't easy for a sports fan to say NO to whatever it takes to have a pro team here. Fans become invested in their team(s) and disparage the thought of losing what they've invested in. Owners of teams are all too aware of that, and they continually take advantage of it with veiled threats of moving the team unless they get what they want... be it a new tax-paid stadium or huge tax breaks. Fans understand that the more money the owner has, the more may be spent on good players, and that will hopefully produce more winning seasons, so fans develop a big blind spot... justifying actions that will produce better sports results. It's infectious... thus we in the Twin Cities have THREE stadiums in the works right now. The Minnesota Vikings want their own facility (they've shared with the Twins since arriving here) and the University of Minnesota wants their own new stadium (for football, they've shared with the Twins and Vikings). If the Twins get public financing for their stadium, it will grease the way for the other stadiums, so they're lobbying for each other.
So... on this slippery slope, what the citizenry wants is no longer important. The people who will pay no longer count. That is perfectly clear in this case. A referendum for the tax to build the Twins stadium would NOT pass, which is precisely why the legislature is voting to bypass a referendum vote, even though they passed legislation that calls for such a vote in a case like this. This is a case of taxation without representation, only much worse.
This stadium tax that is being pooh-poohed as insignificant, is larger than the taxes that caused our ancestors to rise up in revolt against their King.
We all know what the future holds in store, don't we? We know that the Twins will get their stadium, then the Vikings and Gophers. We know, don't we, that we will then be so invested in those teams that they will continue to increase their demands, sickening the citizenry more each time, but, each time, we will be faced with losing all of the accumulated amount we will have invested to that point.
Minnesotans have, in their minds and hearts, called a STOP to the madness. For years, polls have shown that we do NOT favor a tax-financed stadium of any kind, even to a willingness to see teams go elsewhere. The teams have not gone, but instead have GONE AROUND the public to politicians who can be bought, and they HAVE bought them, both Democrats and Republicans... enough to get the thievery in place.
Who is more corrupt... the teams who want to steal from us or the legislators who help them do it? Together, they comprise a colluding, conspiring group that should be hung from the nearest yardarm. Sports are just that... games, entertainment... nothing more, no matter how psyched we may get about them. Sports should be the LAST place that corruption takes hold... the very last thing considered for "public" support.
I've given up the Twins and professional baseball. It has become too stained by corruption for me to overlook it any longer. They've corrupted my love of baseball... taken advantage of us too long. Here is my new symbol for the Minnesota Twins.
Keeping a close eye on politics is not unlike being drawn to watch, again and again, films of Nazi concentration camps. It hurts every time I watch, but I am compelled, by my own sense of justice, to NOT turn away in resignation... to never allow myself to become accustomed to it. My horror at what I'm watching demands keeping that horror refreshed... never diminished. I also watch with the faint hope that I will gain some understanding of how such insanity could have happened, or to gain clues that will keep it from happening again.
Libertarians often speak of the "slippery slope", meaning a series of wrong actions, each of which seems small, but which will be used as justification for more and similar wrong actions. Often, the wrong actions also create a mess that causes an even worse action in a futile attempt to fix the mess, rather than simply trying to undo the original wrong action. Undoing would require admitting that the previous action was a mistake, and politicians will do anything to avoid admitting a mistake. What makes a "slippery slope" slippery is that, once you've justified a small wrong action, it becomes easier to justify an action that is just a little more wrong, which then justifies one that is still more wrong.
How did eminent domain become a danger to all of us? How did cities ever get the idea that it was OK to just take your property and give it to someone else? It didn't happen overnight... it happened gradually, on a slippery slope, starting with a borderline case somewhere, and gradually expanding, being fueled by greed, and a desire to remove "undesirable" neighbors, and competition between cities.
The proposed new stadium for the Minnesota Twins is the latest step on a major slippery slope... governmental support for professional sports. It's been going on for a long time, but it represents the grossest sort of corruption that takes advantage of our love for sports. It isn't easy for a sports fan to say NO to whatever it takes to have a pro team here. Fans become invested in their team(s) and disparage the thought of losing what they've invested in. Owners of teams are all too aware of that, and they continually take advantage of it with veiled threats of moving the team unless they get what they want... be it a new tax-paid stadium or huge tax breaks. Fans understand that the more money the owner has, the more may be spent on good players, and that will hopefully produce more winning seasons, so fans develop a big blind spot... justifying actions that will produce better sports results. It's infectious... thus we in the Twin Cities have THREE stadiums in the works right now. The Minnesota Vikings want their own facility (they've shared with the Twins since arriving here) and the University of Minnesota wants their own new stadium (for football, they've shared with the Twins and Vikings). If the Twins get public financing for their stadium, it will grease the way for the other stadiums, so they're lobbying for each other.
So... on this slippery slope, what the citizenry wants is no longer important. The people who will pay no longer count. That is perfectly clear in this case. A referendum for the tax to build the Twins stadium would NOT pass, which is precisely why the legislature is voting to bypass a referendum vote, even though they passed legislation that calls for such a vote in a case like this. This is a case of taxation without representation, only much worse.
This stadium tax that is being pooh-poohed as insignificant, is larger than the taxes that caused our ancestors to rise up in revolt against their King.
We all know what the future holds in store, don't we? We know that the Twins will get their stadium, then the Vikings and Gophers. We know, don't we, that we will then be so invested in those teams that they will continue to increase their demands, sickening the citizenry more each time, but, each time, we will be faced with losing all of the accumulated amount we will have invested to that point.
Minnesotans have, in their minds and hearts, called a STOP to the madness. For years, polls have shown that we do NOT favor a tax-financed stadium of any kind, even to a willingness to see teams go elsewhere. The teams have not gone, but instead have GONE AROUND the public to politicians who can be bought, and they HAVE bought them, both Democrats and Republicans... enough to get the thievery in place.
Who is more corrupt... the teams who want to steal from us or the legislators who help them do it? Together, they comprise a colluding, conspiring group that should be hung from the nearest yardarm. Sports are just that... games, entertainment... nothing more, no matter how psyched we may get about them. Sports should be the LAST place that corruption takes hold... the very last thing considered for "public" support.
I've given up the Twins and professional baseball. It has become too stained by corruption for me to overlook it any longer. They've corrupted my love of baseball... taken advantage of us too long. Here is my new symbol for the Minnesota Twins.
posted by Robert Ronald Smith at 11:04 PM
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