STRANGELAND.NET

Our political climate has become so awash in muck in the last chunk of years that I don’t think we know who we are anymore. Political parties are corporations with old names and candidates are simply the highest bidders in crazy farm auctions where we, the people, are the livestock. There was a time when I looked to my ancestors and my country and knew that I was proud to be a Democrat from a short but stubborn line of New England immigrant Democrats. I’m no longer sure what a Democrat is anymore. The Democans (or are they The Republicrats?) have sullied the waters of a good revolution and too many people are arguing for nearly the same things, but from different sides of the schoolyard hurtling insults at each other. And have you noticed that no one really listens to the arguments anymore? Everything is Us-Them, Blue-Red, Good Guys-Bad Guys. Whatever happened to a good discussion, an exchange of ideas, risk-taking? What happened to progress?

Grassroots democracy. Ecological wisdom. Social justice and equal opportunity. Nonviolence. Decentralization. Community-based economics. Feminism. Respect for diversity. Personal and global responsibility. Future focus and sustainability. Given the choice, I’ll vote Green-Rainbow any day of the week. But I’m a registered Democrat because I live in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, if you aren’t a Democrat you don’t get to vote much, at least in the primaries. Most of the time around these parts, we’re a one-party state. That’s irritating.

I’m socially liberal, fiscally liberal, philosophically liberal. I like big government, and I’m not afraid to say so. I think the haves should take care of the have nots, and they should be proud to do so. I think we’ve forgotten that we’re almost all immigrants, and we all deserve rights. I think that Americans, all Americans, should be treated equally in the law – in every state. I think that people should be able to marry whomever they choose. I think that religion and government are important, but separate, entities. I think we should be giving more money to social services and less to the military, unless we’re going to start actually paying and treating our soldiers well. I think our society exists in such a way to keep the down folks down and the up folks up. I try to be the voice of the poor, the voice of the young, and the voice of the disenfranchised. I am against war, and I don’t believe that means that I hate America.

I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the issues through the eyes of my fellow writers and engaging in dynamic discourse. Admittedly, I don’t spend as much time as my colleagues analyzing books or quoting philosophers because I’m often too busy talking to actual human people. I read a lot of policy. I write a lot of letters. I vote. I march. I mobilize young people and try to dispel apathy. I try to save the world at the same time. But I don’t purport to speak for all of the Left; my simple, little piece of it will have to do.

jude Random Thought

Argumentum ad hominem… argument to the man… this is the most common logical fallacy that one will hear in politics. It can be formed to be a cunning appeal to emotion or used to poison an electorate’s opinion of a politician even before his policy has been presented. And it is the crutch up on which bad policy hobbles through the congressional bodies of our nation. You have probably seen plenty of ad hominem arguments in your life, you have probably used them because they are easy to fall back on and they are effective at swaying the opinion of an unaware audience. An ad hominem is replying to an argument by addressing the person presenting the argument instead of the argument itself. The Soviet Union used a rather infamous ad hominem during the 50’s and 60’s whenever we criticized them for human rights abuses by responding, “And you are lynching Negroes”.

Our current habit of labeling and categorizing along solidly defined partisan lines is in and of itself an invitation for debate to devolve into a contest of negative slogans and pejoratives. People like myself who refuse to choose one side or the other because we examine the policy behind the slogans and find it wanting are still lumped into the catchall group of moderate… or undecided… or any number of other titles. That we who are standing in the center of the political landscape hold a definitive plurality of the electorate should give both extremes pause. It should temper their extreme positions to more moderate compromises. Instead it inspires them to out vanilla each other in wan attempts to find a place in the “mainstream” the rest of us call real life.

In many circles I cause people to scratch their heads in wonder as they try to identify me in one group or another. I speak at one point of a need for gun control but at the next rail against federal mandate in such realms. I support free-market ideals but at the same time call for an abolishment of corporate personhood. I believe in religious freedom but also the right to be free of religious influence in ones life. And I have been accused many times of being duplicitous or hypocritical because of this… but there is rhyme to my reason and it all comes down to a single moral ideal… I shall choose what is in my best interest and in best interest of those around me.

This moral choice places me in the realm of leaning to the left side of the political spectrum for now. Though I predict when I am old and chasing kids off my lawn my egalitarian ways will be seen as the conservative position of the politics of the day. Progressive ideals have always eventually won the day to become the new mainstream and eventually the fortress of conservative inertia. But I am in no hurry for the future to be now; it will get here in its appropriate time. I want people to be informed and to understand what it is that is going on around them; I want people to see the facts behind the rhetoric and eventually come to the same conclusions that I have.

I am a proponent of transparent government, they are in effect employees of the electorate and I would like to check what they are doing from time to time. I am very distrustful of lobbyists as they use money to subvert the will of the electorate and inspire the creation of legislation that is often not in the electorate’s best interest. I am a critic of much of our nation’s foreign policy, and have been since I started really paying attention to the news in the late 80’s. And I am very suspicious of politicians of any stripe who wear false piety on their sleeve to get a few extra votes.

I am not registered as any particular political party, and my voting record goes all over the place. Republicans in my home state though have in their endeavors come close a number of times of turning me into a yellow dog Democrat, which is usually cured when some local Democrat acts like a bone-head. I would like to see a viable third or even a fourth party but the current electoral system does not allow for more than two major parties for more than a couple of election cycles.

Philosophically Kant and Spinoza influence me but I cannot really be considered a strict adherent to either rationalism or Kantianism. I will endeavor to find links to back up facts and figures that I quote; failing that take them with how ever much salt you need… no need to give me any slack for a moment of intellectual laziness. If you like something I am saying, please comment. If you don’t like it, then please comment. Discussion is the only way we can possibly break the current malaise on political discourse in this country.

code_archaeologist Random Thought

It seems in the world of political thought today, the voice of the moderate gets lost in the rush from the extremes. Also, far too many people want to paint with a broad brush and paint people completely into one corner or the other, ignoring those who choose to pick and choose from various portions of political philosophies. Some people describe those who don’t want to be in those corners as moderates, centrists, or even Purple Americans (blue and red combine to make purple for those playing at home).

That’s the category in which I find myself.

Politically, I’m a registered Libertarian. Philosophically, I tend to be an Objectivist. Socially, I’m about as liberal as they come.

I like my finances conservative, my government small, and my freedom unhindered (so long as it doesn’t hinder someone else’s freedom). Government is a necessary evil that should be watched like a hawk. You should not look to the government to provide for your every need.

When it comes to the United States in particular, I do not believe the Constitution is a mutable document. I tend to lean toward the originalist camp when it comes to Constitutional interpretation. I believe that politicians should represent their constituents, not special interests (be they private concerns or their political party). I think elections laws, as currently written, foster the two party system and hinder the development of other choices in the political arena. I also believe the campaign finance reform laws currently on the book are a needless hindering of political freedom.

I currently reside in a state of disgust with my US Representative and the two Senators from my State. Unfortunately I don’t see that changing anytime soon, but I don’t intend to sit back and let it drift by anymore.

I’m a firm supporter of the Fair Tax (HR/SR25, put forward by John Linder of Georgia) and I support most things that lead to a reduction of the size of government (both in whole numbers and in its level of intrusiveness in our lives).

All of that being said, there may be times where my positions don’t seem to line up with my general philosophy. To that I simply note that there are exceptions to every rule and I’m only human. Each of us dives into hypocrisy at times and there are always times where our personal beliefs will not necessarily line up completely with our political beliefs.

stranger Random Thought