The Flaw of "Balanced" Good

Imagine that you were to come across a rather large man beating a much smaller and apparently helpless woman. When the police arrive to break arrest the man, he says "Don't bother. I intend to help out three other people today." Now imagine that, rather than haul the brute away, the police accept this explanation and go on to their next call. What's more, as you start complaining about this turn of events to people around you, you find that roughly half of the ones you speak to support this "balanced" approach to protecting the public.

If this sounds unbelievable, it shouldn't. The same kind of thing is and has been happening all around us. The situations are somewhat different, but the net effect is the same. We've reached a point in society where many will defend violations of law or decency if they perceive that a "greater good" will be the result of such behavior. What is even more disturbing, they are often unconcerned if the "good" actually appears, judging the intent as the most important factor.This type of dispensation is selective, of course. We still haven't reached the level of savagery for the situation described above, though that day may come. The beatings still have to remain a bit less obvious to maintain public support.

As of right now, hundreds of millions, possibly billions, have been spent passing and promoting the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare). The result has been the disruption of health care for millions of people, several of the greatest public frauds ever perpetrated on the American people, and an unbridled expansion of government power. These facts are incontrovertible. The "good" that was promised is a bit harder to pin down. The actual number of people who were uninsured, the effects on efficiency, and how effective this new insurance will be for most people still remain unanswered questions. And there are many others, perhaps chief among them is how long the program can even remain solvent under the existing structure. It has long been forecast that America cannot maintain the entitlements it had prior to the ACA. How long will the budget, even one as accustomed to deficits as we have become, can maintain the illusion of viability?

And throughout all of this, the administration and its supporters tout its success, and ignore the harm. Part of it is conditioning. The left has made a cottage industry of ignoring the damage it inflicts on those outside of its chosen coalitions. If gay "marriage" effects the speech and religious liberties of others, it is of no concern. If more benefits by the government means that freedom and opportunity must be curtailed, it is no problem. There is no sacrifice to great to advance the Progressive agenda as long as the cost is borne by others.

That's where we are right now. It's not a place any society can stay very long. The question that America has decide quickly is "Where do we go from here?"