Gov. Bob McDonnell’s recent request for federal “disaster
aid”[1]
to reimburse the costs incurred by state and local governments for their
response to the wind storm that slammed Virginia June 29-30 and the
thunderstorms that wreaked havoc in the commonwealth June 30 and July 1st
adds another line to the hypocritical narrative of many conservative
politicians and private citizens[2]
who decry the role of the federal government while conversely accepting federal
aid[3].
McDonnell wants to reimburse 47 counties and 15 cities
through federal funds routed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA).
To add insult to this hyper-narrative of duplicity, the McDonnell
administration noted that the aid request was not intended for individuals and
families with uninsured losses, just those vehicles of tyranny, governments.
The absurdity of this “great deceit” on the part of many
conservatives across the country is so mind-blowing that it feels as though we
are living in George Orwell’s world of 1984,
where words and ideas are shaped merely for political gain.
It is difficult to imagine how individuals can claim one
idea while contradicting themselves with the next. The world of many
conservatives seems shaped by distorted truths and myths that if objectively
scrutinized, would quickly fall away.
Under tyrannical forms of government across the globe,
government or the ruling elite(s) is made to appear as benevolent. It is ironic
that the “great deceit” in the U.S. has formed a kind of tyranny over many
conservatives in the U.S., a tyranny which disallows these individuals from
seeing the good that the federal government can produce, along with the bad.
[1] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jul/24/tdobit02-mcdonnell-seeks-federal-aid-for-recent-st-ar-2078431/
[2] http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/23/star_of_romney_ad_did_receive_government_assistance.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PoliticalWire+%28Political+Wire%29
[3] http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/states-federal-taxes-spending-charts-maps
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