the politics of wonder

[threeplusfire]

So when people I know vote for the other guy -- I don't think they are evil, or stupid or anything dumb like that. They're being Americans -- Hell, at least they are voting, that's awesome! But it's very hard for me not to think of them as self-interested, and even harder for me not to think of them as unsafe for me to be around. Certainly, it's nearly impossible for me to consider that they could view me as their equal, and it presents without a doubt a fairly plausible barrier to friendship, as I'm not real down with people who think it's cool or comfortable to hang out with or play with the marginalized groups, but aren't real comfortable with the marginalized groups not wanting to be marginalized (this goes for people that want "crazy creative bi-chicks" to date but not marry, as well as fandom people who write slash and don't support gay rights, and white people who want hip hop played at their parties as long as the crowd isn't "urban" -- to list just a few trite and hideous examples of which I've seen a bit too much).
--RM, in a recent LJ post

Every time I say I'm never going to talk about politics, I end up back here. It's not so much that I don't want to talk politics as I don't want to deal with the utterly absurd shit that gets thrown around in the name of politics. I've made it clear I don't subscribe to any one ideology, any one party or ideal. That makes it harder sometimes because I don't have a unified theory. But as much as I might have once craved the safety and comfort of a Party, I can not follow anyone but myself in this area.

This is one of the most important elections America has ever faced. We are at a critical juncture in our history, and this election will determine the course of our history in a way more profound than anything since the Cold War. We're fighting for our rights, our lives and our children here.

There is so much that needs to change. I don't know if Kerry is capable of all that. But I think we've clearly seen what Bush is capable of in the past four years. An economy that went to hell, handouts to the rich, tax loopholes that sent my job overseas, disappearing rights, vanishing health care, a drive to legalize discrimination against Americans because of who they love, nearly the entire damned planet uniting to despise us for our foreign policy, benefits cuts for the same military that is currently dying every single day in the Middle East, the continuation of a foreign policy that only incites hatred and the desire for more terrorism- this is his legacy. I won't even go into his legacy as governor of Texas.

Kerry is not the perfect solution. But he is a choice to pursue a different path, to try to find a better answer than what the past four years have given us. There is a climate of fear now that criminalizes dissent, and I can think of no more appalling thing to happen in American discourse. We have a right to disagree, a right to voice that disagreement and an obligation to find the best path for our country.

I have coworkers and friends who are voting for Bush. Some of these people are nice people, but in light of this I really have to wonder about them. I have to wonder what it is they see, or what it is they don't see. I have to wonder about who they are inside, and what it is that I see. I think about the quote above, and I think about these people. Do they only respect me because I married a man? Do they only play nice with me because they don't know I've slept with women and I watch gay porn and that I have gay friends? Am I really only as good as my skin color?

Politics shouldn't change my friendships. We should agree to disagree, and keep our dicussions civil. At least, that is what I have always thought. But I wonder, are you really my friend if you support policies and legislation and political platforms that threaten me and my friends? I don't have an answer to that question yet.

For the love of all that's green and good in this world- take the time to educate yourselves, the time to think and the time to vote. There's no one else to do it but us.

Comments

[newbabel.livejournal.com]

My brother makes a lot of money. Four years ago, when we were discussing who he was going to vote for, his answer was, "Whichever one is going to lower my taxes."

My father... geezus... my father is one white sheet away from being a Klan member.

People don't view politics through a political lens. They don't sit there and consider the intentions of the Framers, or the real purpose behind the separation between Church and State. They look at everything through a personal lens.

"Well, this Bush feller seems to be a close-minded homophobe. Just like me. That's who I'll vote for."

I'm about ready to give up on this country and go live overseas.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

To an extent, politics are very personal. Especially when it comes to civil liberties and economics. It's getting people to think beyond their own little bubble that is the challenge.

What happens to America if all the thoughtful people leave? I understand your frustration, believe me. I've fantasized about the same thing. I can't help but think though that I need to stay and make my voice heard, to try and help those who are fighting for the things I believe this country needs to do.

[newbabel.livejournal.com]

To an extent, yes. To an extent, politics are personal. But we need to better educate this society when the issues go beyond our personal preferences.

If you vote this year to say that we should be able to make that guy stop talking, then it's gone beyond simply disliking what he has to say. You're attacking the Bill of Rights. You're attcking the Constitution. The First Amendment.

If you tell me that the government has a right to say who can marry who, then that applies to ALL of us, not just the people you don't like. If we had set this precedent in the 40s or 50s, do you think we'd have marriages of mixed races today? It's not about gays. It's about freedom.

We're supposed to do that pretty well around here.

Bush has done more in four years to destroy our civil liberties than any president I can name. Even if he loses, the fact that so many ignorant, apathetic Americans will vote for him makes me sick.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

It's all about education, I believe. We need to encourage and build up an educational system that doesn't just teach to tests and score charts. Teaching kids to think objectively, argue rationally and do research seems to have gone out the window. I know my education was certainly lacking in those areas, and I was fortunate enough to go out and find those things for myself. But not everyone is so lucky.

If we teach kids to think globally, to think more about their groups as a whole and how the individual impacts the group and vice versa, if we teach them how to see the impact one group has on another, if we teach them to be concerned with more than what they have and their own personal desires... well, I think the world would be a better place.

With the exception of saints, people are not born unselfish. It's a learned, socialized behaviour.

[rockstarbob.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

If you would like to read the post that inspired this one, check it out here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/rm/253576.html

[kokopopo.livejournal.com]

It would be a lonely state for me if I had to turn my back on those who are Bush supporters. (Granted, fortunately, I would get to keep most of my close friends and relatives.)

Because Texas is Bush's state and very comfortably in Bush's column, the issue of who to support will never be joined for many--they won't see the ads, debate the issues, or even really care. Bush leads here by about the same margin as Kerry leads in Mass.

I have given Kerry money, put his sticker on my car, and his sign on my lawn--until it was stolen!

I have now lived through a lot of elections that I thought were very important, critical at the time. I feel the same way about this one, I guess. But the reality, with a few key exceptions, is that the two parties are not that far apart--some consider them one party with two names. Even if Kerry gets elected, he will have two Republican houses to contend with--forget about him accomplishing even half of what he promises. And even Kerry has not stated he will differ from Bush in the conduct of the war; he certainly will not pull out and leave the new Iraqi government in the lurch. He will be inheriting a bad situation, but it's unclear how his approach will differ in getting out of that bad place. He will try to internationalize the effort, but it seems so unlikely our erstwhile allies will offer up innocent lives to take the place of Americans after Bush got us into the mess over their objections.

The key shift in voter dynamics will not occur until the mass of voters who support Republicans realize that the GOP does not represent their class interests. Rich people do not need health care, head-start programs, college loans, job training, job protection, a higher mainimum wage, or social safety nets; the vast majority of people (including rural white males) do. The GOP gets a lot of its support from people who vote their "values," altyhough for the life of me I cannot see what is so Christ-like about cutting taxes. In any event, this is why the president talks about banning gay marriage--does anyone really thinks the guy cares otherwise? (By the way, Kerry also opposes "gay marriage" but supports civil unions, not necessarily a position at odds with Bush's.)

When that shift occurs, we will see the re-emergence of the "moderate" Republican wing that seems to have withered away almost completely.

On the whole, I will be glad if I never have to see Condi Rice on Meet the Press after November, and that is reason enough to strongly support Kerry.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

That's the thing that bothers me - there are so many people supporting the Republican party line even though it seems directly against their own interests. Harpers had a very interesting article about that recently.

I can't believe someone stole your lawn sign. That's so childish.

[kokopopo.livejournal.com]

I somehow don't think they stole it to put it in their yard. My wife responded by putting two Kery signs in our windows. She is so rabid, I fear she would have killed the thief if she had caught him in the act.

There is a new book on the same subject--I think it's called What's Wrong with Kansas?