Ruuminations...

[ElboRuum]

Well, fellow malcontents, it seems that another election season is upon us. The meats of questionable origin but unmistakable flavor are charring on the grill, the cooler is opened and the brew is flowing, as we tailgate before the grand game that is the American election. We've got our scorecards out and we are prognosticating and pontificating about what results we can expect. Like any good athletic supporters, we want our boys and girls to win, and we hold out this hope no matter what the odds, for or against.

Ah, as the heady aroma from the brats waft lazily through the air and the brew starts to fill me with warmth, I get caught up in reverie. It's at times like these I like to think back on what it means to be both American and a liberal in a time when both are terms of ridicule and disgust to some, both within and without the country I call home.

Firstly, let me question my own liberalism.

If you had asked me if I was a liberal 10 years ago, I'd have said no. I'd have said left-leaning moderate, and I would have been correct.

I believe in social and sexual freedom; I believe that what goes on in the bedroom between consenting adults should not be subject to the narrow judgment of bluehairs and smarmy preachers.

I believe in equal rights for all, and that all "pragmatic" distinctions made are conveniences for those who harbor racist tendencies, and for which they scramble to find rationalization.

But I also believe that if we are going to pay taxes, that those who end up with it in their hands have a duty to spend it wisely, treating it as if it were their own. I believe that you can't have a good economy without fiscal responsibility, a traditionally conservative view.

I believe in the sovereignty of nations, and that our military is for protecting our nation and our people, not interfering in the affairs of nations, also a traditionally conservative view.

I am not averse to the concept of warfare in the abstract or the practical, so long as it is warranted, just, and necessary. Also, typically conservative.

I do, however, have respect for the environment, a typically liberal interest.

I don't believe that diversity and respect for cultures that did not originate on these shores is anathema to our national character, I believe it IS our national character, even if some people in this country are determined to claw their way away from that reality for as long as they can get away with it. This also tends to fall on the side of liberalism.

See? Moderate. A little on the right, a little on the left. Is there anything wrong with that?

Ask me now, and I'll say yes, I am liberal, largely because everything has become all muddled. Those things that are liberal are still liberal, but even those things that have been traditionally conservative that I do truly believe in are now also liberal.

Fiscal conservatism? Liberal. Today's conservatives have no problem spending what money they get from us selfishly and foolishly, and have absolutely no problem spending money they don't have. A generation of politicians raised on credit cards, revolving debt, and bankruptcy law? You betcha.

Respect for sovereignty? Liberal. Today's conservatives are adventurist nationalists. And you will never find one of these who looks into the mirror every morning and doesn't see himself or herself as the chosen. They think that because of the location of their birth and corollary citizenship in the United States or its territories, that somehow, they're good, just, righteous, and the rest of the world, poor bastards, should take note. If they don't, well, we'll just lean on 'em a little. Nevermind the fact that most have done nothing with their life of any note to deserve such self-idolatry. That just gets in the way. Iraq? Well, clearly if it were like America, it would be better, and that Saddam is an ass. Fire up the tanks! Fuel the jets! Time to go a'huntin'! Nevermind that the culture is just plain different over their so US rules don't necessarily apply...

Even things I used to support I now question because I'm seeing who really does support it and why.

Like the death penalty. I used to support it because my views on punishment for crime hinges on payment of societal debt. It is very easy to see that for some offenses, there is no atonement, thus no suitable punisment except the most extreme, which I believe death certainly qualifies. However, life in prison without parole is probably pretty extreme too, so I've been open to the debate. To me, the point is an abstraction... or more for purposes of accuracy... a distraction. At least of late. The death penalty is championed by people who seem to want to pull the lever themselves, and they're as Republican as they come. That smacks of revenge, and it is an ugly, ugly way to view justice itself. I'm against the death penalty, not because I believe it is inhumane, but because it does not represent any real deterrent to people intent on criminality. That's the pragmatic view. But I also am against it because I don't believe that our society is served by people seeking personal vengeance against each other, which I believe in some people's hearts is what the death penalty really is. Put another way, the death penalty is just another reason for the hateful to hate and the vengeful to revenge, so I want no truck with it.

In short, liberalism is more like a wind that blew across me while I was in the parking lot waiting for my burger to get just that right shade of medium rare over a beer than a calling force which I strode towards. I haven't changed, but everything else kind of did. So be it. It's just a label, and one I don't mind wearing in the slightest.

Of course, the wind is a political one... one that, prior to 2000 I would not have even noticed as more than a gentle breeze. Prior to 2000, politics was a gray interest for me, one which I only induged as an argumentative person when I couldn't find something more interesting to argue about. Then it turned into a gale, and I could ignore it no longer.

The face of America, which I'd always seen as benificent or at least innocuous, changed a little, and I was angered by it.

I've kind of understood for a long time that there are those among us Americans who don't get what this country is all about, or do get it, and just can't stand it. They have always been there and will be there for a long time to come. They're just vocal about it now that they've equated political power with social acceptance. I look forward to the day when they look up and the majority they foolishly think they are simply evaporates overnight and are faced with the realization that they were kidding themselves. Maybe then, the shrill voices will die down, and at least a period of calm will descend upon national discourse because it will no longer be dominated by people who think the loudest voices win the argument. Oh how sweet it will be.

I preferred life when I was unconcerned politically, when the people in charge were at least competent to do the jobs for which they were hired. Oh, sure, they're politicians and given to fits of corruption, but at least the business of government was slow and sluggish and in the hands of people who still kind of understood that their bosses were going to be peeking in on them occasionally (the people). It was really nice not to have to turn on the news every night to examine what coral reef or shoal that Good Ship America was about to run aground on, or to have to personally find out why its compass was apparently busted, or why the price of the tickets on the middle decks had gone up even though first class was paying less for its sumptuous suites.

I don't believe in micromanagement. I don't like it when I'm subjected to it, and I don't like being forced to engage in it just to nursemaid incompetents.

So I look forward to this election season to a few key new players, and hopefully they'll be some plays which can restore my faith in the game. If only so I can devote a little less time thinking about it because I know it's in capable hands.

As I swig down a few more beers, and pound down a couple more dogs, I focus back into reality from my reverie to note that the lot's getting really full. The game's about to start! I truly hope the Dems have all come to play ball. If they have, it should be a real exciting show.