Fundamentals: , Opinion:

Irony arising because the world is turned upside-down

The thesis posited here, "Liberalism is not a death wish", highlights exactly the issues we should be discussing, and the solutions we should be debating.

I disagree with the thrust of the paper extensively quoted, because upon first reading it seems to put far too much trust in the benevolence of government.

That is the irony today, conservatives in the United States, who once mistrusted government to an almost pathological extent, now advocate laws, restrictions, and regulations that place an immense amount of responsibility upon government that if abused, which is a probability rather than a possibility in light of past behaviors shown by governments throughout history in a host of infamous egregious acts, could create the most repressive system yet known in the tragic narrative of civilization.

"Conservatism" in the United States in this respect is coming to resemble the far-right brand of "conservatism" in Europe, which would be much to the horror of those US conservatives if they but realized it.

I need to consider further the full implications before writing more on this topic, but I still strongly believe what Benjamin Franklin said two centuries ago holds true even today:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.