Peter Hitchens, the brother of the late and much lamented Christopher, put it this way in the thoughtful journal First Things, and they are worth repeating: "Words are congealed thought--in some cases, very congealed indeed. Some words are congealed lack of thought. When we use words badly, it is because we are too lazy, or too hurried, to think about what they mean. This is most of the time, which is George Orwell's greatest point in his matchless essay on 'Politics and the English Language.' If the words that come out of your mouth or your keyboard do not make a picture in your mind, then they will certainly be dull and will probably be wrong. But if we pause to let words unfold and grow, then we understand and use them better--or abandon them, as we abandon clichés and exploded theories."
The biggest problem with the words "tax cut," as the phrase is used in Little Rock, Washington and capital cities the country over, is that it replaces thought with a slogan. Conservatives seldom serve their principles better than when they rise above them. For conservatism is not a matter of a specific political platform but of a general attitude of mind, one that values custom, prudence and hard-won experience over any party line.
The president of a supposedly conservative lobbying outfit, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, let loose with a generous load of billingsgate in response to various Arkansas legislators' changing around some taxes and moving to levy others on online items that had been too long ignored. While acknowledging that "a number of good tax-reform proposals are being discussed, it's important that lawmakers first do no harm by rejecting calls to impose new and higher taxes. Some misguided tax hikes have been proposed targeting soda, candy and digital downloads. I urge you to reject those proposals, which are problematic for a host of reasons, and instead focus on ways to improve the tax code."
Poor old Hippocrates' dictum--first do no harm--surely has been misused before, but this would seem an exceptionally blatant case of distorting the ancient physician's meaning. Those lawmakers who backed his No Tax Increase Ever pledge might as well have donned blindfolds and offered to sign anything put before them. One is reminded of German field marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who in his dotage was said to have been willing to sign his breakfast if it were set before him.
Those legislators who had second and better thoughts about their blanket pledge are to be congratulated, not condemned for their change of heart and mind. To quote Senator Jane English, on the efforts to raise some taxes, and lower others, like the income tax on military retirees: "Sometimes you just have to do what is right. For the longest time I have believed we have to be competitive with the states around us because there [are] a lot of Arkansans stationed across the world . . . and they are looking at the choice of where they are going to be when they retire after 20 years. We want the people at Little Rock Air Force Base to stay here and work. It's always been an economic-development thing. They have lots of skills already." Why not make use of their skills here in Arkansas rather than let some other state lure them away with a favorable tax schedule?
When circumstances change, tax policies should change with them. And why stick with a pledge that, if followed, would just lead our fiscal planners right over the nearest cliff? Wise men understand that words are but the counters of thought, not their substance. And when those words are inflated, just as when the currency is inflated, all sense of proportion--another good conservative value--is lost with them.
Liberals might do well to follow the same admonition, and instead of marching 'round and 'round to nowhere, hiding in safe spaces here and there, redeem their old-time faith in reason and be true to their conscience, too. Arkansas, like the rest of the Union, needs a strong two-party system in which both contenders follow their conscience, not just political expedience, and thrive anew.
George Orwell steadily drifted from left to right as he grew older, a not uncommon experience for all men regardless of political persuasion. But he was always true to the inner voice that guided him, and not about to hide his views. He would change them over the years, but never conceal them for fear of being unfashionable. His was the conscience not just of a conservative or liberal, but of a writer and a man. Let us all follow his still shining example, and there's no telling what we might discover--especially about ourselves.
Editorial on 02/08/2017