A wonderful philosophy that could make it a much different world

I know someone who hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1980. He voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984 and still considers the Geezer, er, Gipper, to be a great man.

He didn't think much of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, and the only possible candidate worse than Donald Trump was Hillary Clinton, who he called "the embodiment of evil."

So where would you figure a person like that would be politically?

"Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

Maybe not. He won't vote for Democrats, but this is what he tells his conservative friends:

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I advocate nationalizing all the banks, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and the energy companies -- and having a not-for-profit regulatory board operate them.


I advocate complete free access for all people to medical, dental, and vision care.

I mention that simply making doctors and nurses and hospitals competitive would increase productivity and quality of care.

I suggest outlawing political parties and eliminating all corporate lobbyists.

I advocate universal car and rental and home insurance that would be less than people now pay in a year.

I suggest adding another branch of federal service -- training and rewarding people to train with weapons, learn EMT and firefighting and disaster reaction skills.

Then add pilots and helicopters and giant flying tankers -- and then use this force to battle fires, earthquakes, floods and tornadoes.

(You would've thought I advocated for mandatory cannibalism.)

I suggest campaign reform where candidates who get at least five percent of the vote get their campaigns fully reimbursed -- up to a maximum spending limit of $250 million.

I suggest that most jobs shouldn't require a college degree -- and that skilled blue collar jobs should be esteemed. After all, once someone invests 10, 000 hours into a career -- they are an expert of sorts.

I suggest allowing everyone to live their own lives. With the exception of public safety-related jobs (cops, bus drivers, airline pilots, etc.) whether or not someone smokes dope or drops acid shouldn't be a crime.

I want people to make their own choices -- and to bear the responsibility for those choices.

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I'm reminded of the quote from "Inherit the Wind," when the H.L. Mencken character hears the Clarence Darrow character expressing some rather spiritual thoughts"

"We're growing a rather strange crop of agnostics this year."

He doesn't say anything about abortion or gay rights, and my guess is he would be more likely to favor the latter than the former.

Unfortunately, nearly everything on his list is almost ridiculously idealistic. With the possible exception of smoking dope, I see nothing else on the list with even a 1 percent chance of being enacted.

Unfortunately.

At least half of the items on his list sound wonderful.

If only they could be enacted in this world. It would make it a much nicer place.