Republican Virtus
Mitt Romney’s division of the US electorate into “contributors” and “takers” is ironic because it is far from clear what taxes Mitt himself has been paying and what tax breaks he has received.
The underlying Romney message is that those who fit his definition of takers exploit the system and are essentially deadbeats. How else do you explain “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”? Per the GOP groupthink, “takers” are also quite likely regarded as so improvident as to not have jobs that include healthcare or 401-Ks.
There are many taxes that moderate income earners pay disproportionately: social security, Medicare, personal property, sales, usage, and excise on goods like gasoline. More than two-thirds of Americans own their homes and real estate taxes are in many states like New Jersey at punitive levels. So nearly everyone but those in the underground economy pays taxes.
But I would also like to suggest that if Mitt and company want to restore republican (small r) rigor they might adopt the citizenship standards of ancient Greece and Rome. Only property owners had the full franchise. In Rome, the voters were organized in tribes and the more property one had the more one’s vote meant as the tribes voted in sequence from the richest to the poorest and once a majority was reached the voting stopped. It is unlikely that the numerous Roman urban poor, the headcount, ever actually got to vote.
And the other aspect of using property as the measure of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship which really is appealing in the context of Mitt Romney is military service, particularly as Mitt has branded himself as a foreign policy hawk. The Greek and Roman front line soldiers who were fully armored had to buy their own very expensive panoplies and were therefore drawn from the wealthiest classes. It was believed that those who had the greatest stake in the survival of the state would be highly motivated to lead the fight to defend it. They also could not run away in all that armor. Adhering to the ancient model should mean that Mitt’s five sons would find themselves in the front lines in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, not running around doing their patriotic duty by helping with Dad’s campaign. And it also means that Mitt himself would have gone to Vietnam rather than on a Mormon mission to Paris.
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Philip Giraldi is a recognized authority on international security and counterterrorism issues. He became famous for claiming in 2005 that the USA was preparing plans to attack Iran with nuclear weapons in response to a terrorist action against the US, independently of whether or not Iran was involved in the action. He is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer who served eighteen years overseas in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was Chief of Base in Barcelona from 1989 to 1992 designated as the Agency’s senior officer for Olympic Games support. Since 1992, Phil Giraldi has been engaged in security consulting for a number of Fortune 500 corporate clients. He is currently President of San Marco International, a consulting firm that specializes in international security management and risk assessment, and also a partner in Cannistraro Associates, a security consultancy located in McLean, Virginia. Phil was awarded an MA and PhD from the University of London in European History and holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the University of Chicago. He speaks Spanish, Italian, German, and Turkish.
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Virtus = virtue (synonyms.net)(etymonline.com)
1. (Latin:) virtus primarily manly strength or courage from vir a man a hero
2. admirable quality or attribute
3. a particular moral excellence
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Article published here: American Conservative
URL: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/09/19/republican-virtues
