Its Time We Retire The Invented Distinction Between Political Belief And Personal Character

[applegrove]

Michael Darer, Contributor, the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/its-long-past-time-we-retire-the-invented-distinction_us_595695c2e4b0326c0a8d1003

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If we acknowledge that the personal is political (that one’s individual identity is a question of political importance) then we must also accept that the political is personal (that one’s political choices are reflective of their personal choices). This means separating ourselves from the conveniently non-confrontational sense that you can vote for monstrous political initiatives while still being a good person. Because you can’t. And you never could.

This tension sits at the heart of our national struggle right now, but it’s also the reason we got here. When people complain about how heated discourse has become (like those who argue that saying a healthcare bill that will cause thousands if not millions of deaths will, well, cause thousands if not millions of deaths, is somehow inappropriate), they are really complaining about the fact that politics are no longer being discussed on a solely political level. They are complaining that they are now being personally associated with the moral machinery of their political choices. They are uncomfortable with the fact that they are being held accountable for their behavior.

This discomfort also explains the post-election push-back against the idea of so-called “Identity Politics.” To acknowledge the importance of Identity Politics, their legitimacy, and ultimate centrality is to acknowledge the personal import of political action. Identity Politics demand that the system be viewed as a function of the people it affects. Such a political approach restructures social, economic, and other discussions, and forces them out of the abstract. It demands that we reckon with the personal meaning of our political actions.

Denying the linkage between the personal and political and providing those who do political evil with an imaginary buffer zone between their political beliefs and their moral fiber is fundamentally dishonest, and—I would argue—fundamental to understanding why we are where we are, currently. Utilizing this artificial framework allowed Americans to preserve a level of political civility that necessitated the erasure of certain ugly truths: that large swaths of the population were voting in favor of systemic bigotry, that Republican economic austerity and its ideological rationales were underpinned by personal greed, that willing hurting other people for your own benefit is just as bad at the ballot box as it is everywhere else.


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[Fluke a Snooker]

1. Good article in general, applegrove

The problem is simple to define: The Republican Party has for too long allowed the populace to accept anti-democratic policies as normal, especially with regard to their negating President Obama's executive orders and the wishes of the vast majority of not just Americans, but global citizens. The answer is to keep doing what we are doing; denounce republicans at every opportunity, ensure our progressive justices keep laws in check, and finally, to understand that for our Democracy to last, we need to ensure that the oppressors never get a foot in the door to turn it back. We've come too far to be denied.