by Dane Roberts
Daily Lobo columnist
Democrats are committed to using government powers to create both equality of opportunity and to strive for equitable outcomes. In principle - if not necessarily in practice - Republicans think citizens should be responsible for themselves, and regard these government interventions as ineffective and wasteful - an unjust use of hard-earned taxpayer money.
If Democrats envision a world where everyone has an equal shot at success and has at least some degree of physical and financial security, Republicans envision a world of reduced entitlements in which people work hard, earn what they deserve and are not dependent on government.
Whether you find the Democratic or the Republican vision compelling - or if, like me, you find aspects of both appealing - you are going to be disappointed, for neither will ever be achieved. And not only can I predict the certain failure of both political goals, I can isolate one group of citizens most responsible for this failure: children. Children will always frustrate the political agendas of both major parties.
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Let's start with the Republicans.
The Republican agenda is built on rhetoric of personal responsibility. All but the most saintly among us have limited patience with the perpetual vices and irresponsibility of adults. This puts a natural limit on the entitlement programs we are willing to sustain - at some point, we are willing to attribute poverty and other social problems to the bad choices of adults, not institutional injustice, and adopt a that's-what-you-get kind of toughness.
It's not unreasonable to expect adults to take responsibility for themselves, and as such to jump on board the Republicans' government-cutting bandwagon. There's just one pesky problem. Yes, the children.
In a country that's always been committed to equality of opportunity, most of us can't stomach a tough-luck attitude toward kids. We aren't often willing to accept huge disparities in the health, education and other opportunities made available to children. Thus, we will continue to approve huge government entitlement programs, including Medicaid, food stamps and public education. The Republican vision of a government limited to spending on defense, law-enforcement and infrastructure will never be a political possibility.
You might think this insistence on entitlement programs bodes well for Democrats, for it is more congruous with their vision of the role and goal of government, which is to create a more equitable society. But that goal, too, will always be elusive.
The fact is that while the government may be able to control many things, from the price of corn to the availability of education, it will never be able to control the most significant factor in a child's development: his or her home life.
Except in cases of extreme negligence and abuse, parents have the enshrined privilege of raising their kids however they please. It may be done with care or carelessness. It may be done with three books before bedtime, or it may be done with no exposure to books at all. Government interference in childbearing and child rearing, however, is symptomatic of totalitarianism and will also never be tolerated in America.
For better or for worse, then, parents are in control. That means Democrats will never achieve their goal of an equitable society - all kids will never have equal opportunities because they are at the mercy of adults, many of whom will never measure up to the task of parenthood. Children will never have an equal opportunity to receive an education, for example, because many will show up to school without the attitudes and experiences that will hasten success.
Children, in other words, are America's political conundrum. On the one hand, we desperately want to level the playing field to compensate for the disadvantages some children face from the day they're born, to give them everything they need to become healthy, productive citizens.
On the other hand, our toolbox is a small one. We don't believe we can or should abrogate the rights of parents to raise their children, so we are limited mainly to providing handouts. Both parties will pursue their agendas indefinitely but without success - all because of the children.
