God help me – I think I’m becoming a Republican.
All my life I’ve taken a bit of pride in my liberalism, but lately the party I gravitated toward in my youth is rubbing against my grain more often than not.
I have never wanted to be a Republican, I guess I still don’t. But I find myself more in line with the basics of Republican political philosophy more often than I align with the Democrats. I tend to believe that people need to take some responsibility for themselves before the government gets involved. People need to be a little more self sufficient than Democrats would have them.
You need to understand that this is a painful process for me. Not that the philosophical part of it all is bothering me. I don’t mind that at all. It is that most of the individuals that I have known who claimed to be of the right wing persuasion, always seemed to have a tendency to also be slick and oily. You know, on the shady side. They always scared me because they were so willing to give away everyone’s constitutional rights in order to expedite an issue.
The Religious Right frightens the hell out of me. They have no room for compromise, they are right and everyone who doesn’t subscribe to their thinking is damned. They want to trash the Bill of Rights because it allows people to harbor beliefs contrary to their own.
Here’s another scary group - I spent a few years working in law enforcement. Ask any cop, game warden, FBI agent or any other form of law enforcement officer where his political views lie, it is certainly not with the pinko, commie horde of liberals (their description, not mine) that I called colleagues. No matter, I could live with the philosophical differences, but I was always greatly outnumbered in any debates. In fact I usually stood alone.
What I really find difficult to accept is people with badges are the same people who advocate trashing the Bill of Rights because it makes their job cumbersome. They do not want to be bothered with things like warrants, Miranda Rights, Habeas Corpus and the like.
The Republicans I know spit out the word “Liberal” as if it were a venereal disease. They have no use for a difference of opinion nor will they tolerate anything that resembles one. “Liberals” tend to be a little more lenient in that regard. I was never ashamed of being a Liberal as they suggest I should be.
Nope! I don’t really think I am becoming a Republican (thank God!).
I just need to check some other parties, like Dane’s Libertarians.
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9 comments:
Good choice, Dan. Don't jump ship and become a Republican! I wish we abandon this party system and just vote on how well the person would run the country! Afterall, George Washington wasn't part of a party and he did just fine!
Yeah – just don’t write any of this in the newspaper! There might be freedom of the press, but depending where you live, sometimes there isn’t really freedom of expression of thoughts. It would be nice to have some anonymity sometimes, wouldn’t it?
I consider myself more liberal than conservative. However, I, too, know that I’ve become somewhat more conservative on some issues as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger, I was pretty idealistic – most issues were liberal or conservative for me, with not much wiggle room. Obviously, life has taught me otherwise.
I, too, think that people are too quick to find out who or what will take care of them when something bad happens. I think that the financial fiasco occurring in our economy is a good example of that. “Who’s going to bail me out?” I get kind of tired of it.
On the other hand, I simply cannot tolerate another 4 years of what we have had during the past 8 years. I’m sad that the world thinks of the U.S.A. in such a negative way. The U.S. used to be the beacon of hope for people and a voice of reason. Now we are viewed like the playground bully; feared, loathed, and somewhat envied, all at once. We’ve lost a lot of credibility.
The religious right gives Christians, of which I am one, a very bad name. They seem to forget that Christ was ‘inclusive’, not ‘exclusive’. In fact, I have a feeling that most ‘rightists’ would not be very welcoming to Jesus if he were promoting his philosophy today.
I agree. If I take a ‘liberal’ stance on an issue, most conservatives that I know immediately attack my ideas. However, when the roles are reversed, and I take a more ‘conservative’ take on an issue, my ‘liberal’ friends generally don’t attack me in the same way.
Every election, I struggle with the eternal dilemma of voting my ‘conscience’ or voting to get a candidate elected. Not voting my conscience goes against everything I believe in. However, in this instance and this election, I just might have to vote to keep a Republican out. I simply can’t continue to condone the policy of “bomb first – figure it out later” ideology. So, now Iran is in our sights as our next target? Our country has lost 4,000 loved ones. I just can't take any more.
Libertarians are wackos. But I, over time, could not ignore the fact that I am one. Liberty first. That is what made me a "liberal" as a young person. Personal responsibilty is the basic prism that I view all issues.
It is, at times, lonely not being in the mainstream, but there are perks. A few years ago, I had an email chain with a former Libertarian Presidential candidate, who told me that he became a Libertarian after having a discussion with Ronald Reagan. The soon-to-be President told him he didn't belong in the Republican Party. He told him he was too "libertarian", even though he didn't know what that meant at the time. That email conversation--and the fact that a former Libertarian Presidential candidate would take the time to indulge me--premanently influenced me to vote my consciense over expediency.
Having said that, I am seriously considering Obama if he gets the Democratic nomination. I disagree with him on most issues, but hope for a better future and a new direction looms large with me.
PS- Bubba- Your last newspaper column on your "teacher" may be my favorite thing you have ever written...
Isn't it funny? The positive aspect for you, Dane, regarding Obama, is a negative for me.
While obviously popular with the masses to give hope for the future and a new direction, especially in consideration of the current economic and foreign policy environments that we are in, what, other than his words, actually gives hope and a new direction?
I'm certainly not adverse to voting for Obama, but I observe from him saying to the "weary" masses that they should have hope. It is an easy crowd to sell to. I'm one of them.
However, I would like to see and hear better specifics. It is kind of sad that the state of our country has come to the point where we will hitch our wagon to the star of someone who merely says there is hope for the future, and he is treated like the coming of the messiah.
Not much unlike Reagan, who sold America on becoming great again...but I think it is naive to think that the "principles" of old man Maverick or the self-proclaimed "experience" of Hillary are of any better substance.
For me, it is much more about the "Pendulum". Politics swing back and forth from Left to Right, Right to Left, and back again. It is time for a move back to the Left. Clean house on the neo-cons...
Having said that, I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon than have to look at another Clinton for four years...
My "hope" in Obama has more to do with "hoping" he will beat the established candidates.
The problem with Obama's rhetoric is that is is just that, rehtoric. As it is with all three candidates.
But I have to agree with Budsy Jean on this one, I hear him espousing change but no specifics.
By the same token, Hillary lays claim to foriegn policy experience, but no one can figure out where she got it, and I am afraid McCain's support of the war is going to sink him.
Dane's view of the pendulum, is right on the mark. Being a member of that '60s generation whose politics almost brought about a left wing revolution I probably view things in extremes at times. Back then we came as close to socialism as this country has probably ever been. Then we slipped into the Reagan era and became nearly fascist.
With Obama I see the pendulum moving once again in the left wing direction.
But that is not neccesarily all bad unless you are an ultra conservative (he says with a chuckle).
As I said, I'm not adverse to voting for Obama. I'm just very sad that, once again, the selection of presidential candidates we have to choose from will force us to select from the best of the mediocre.
Rest assured that when Obama secures the position as the Democratic presidential candidate (and I think that he will), he will be pressured to put forth more specific ideas or he will likely be ripped to shreds. McCain's position on the war and his hard-line stance on bailout assistance in this soft economy will likely be his downfall.
Actually, at this point, Obama's vagueness in specifics and his "hope" platform may be a very shrewd political strategy that appears to be working in order to secure the nomination. Who knows, it might carry over into the actual presidential race.
I'm thinking that the pendulum can only swing back and forth because, in essence, we only have a two party system. (I do know what you are saying, Dane and Dan. Sometimes the pendulum swings faster and farther than at other times.) Like Marna said, I wish that there were a way for the pendulum to move in a circle with more viable choices.
Politics can be the most interesting, frustrating, and important issue. The saving grace about our nation is that whoever is elected can be terminated in four years if it isn't working out. The bad thought is that a lot of bad stuff can happen in four to eight year time span. We are living that right now.
I think Budsy's point on McCain is dead on. I agree with him most politically, but we fighting the wrong war.
As for the "Pendulum", it may be irrelevant. I highly recommend a book that came out a few years ago:
Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
It reads like a conspiracy theory, but I have been unable to find anyone who disputes the book's facts.
Both Dems and Republicans alike have sold out to oil interests. Name a prominent politician and they are probably in this book...
I believe what you say about the politicos selling out to oil. I see that as devastating
problem for this country.
Too many taxes are tied to oil. That leaves no incentive for government to find or fund a cure.
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