Rare political post
Aug. 6th, 2004 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emmagrant01I usually try to restrict my posts here to fluffy fandom things, but I feel compelled to do this. I'm angry. I'm disillusioned. And I'm really motivated to do anything I can to get W out of the White House.
I know there are people on my f-list who are Republicans, and who support Bush. If you like, you can skip the stuff behind the cut. ;-)
I was raised as a Republican. I was also raised as a Southern Baptist, and I think part of my issue with the Republican party is its alignment with the religious right.
I'm an atheist, but I'm pretty quiet about it. In general, I don't like it when anyone pushes their religion in my face, and most people don't, to be fair. One of my best friends is a minister, so I don't have a problem with people being religious. I think my big problem with the religious right is their assumption that it's perfectly fine for an entire country's laws to be based on their religion's holy book. I'm tired of being forced to pray at public functions (including the state Democratic convention, where I was a delegate), and I'm sick of the continued attempts to oppress people who are gay, bisexual, or transgendered. I'm pro-choice, I support gay rights, and am deeply offended that anyone would use the Bible to justify discrimination against any group of people in the form of controlling their bodies. (I know many Christians who agree with that sentiment, of course.)
I also have major issues with the war in Iraq, and Bush's horrid ignorance of the world outside our borders. It makes me sick to my stomach that my government has kept hundreds of people locked up in an internment camp in Cuba for two years, without charging them for any crimes or allowing them any defense. Geneva Convention? What Geneva Convention? It doesn't apply to us, you know. (And I don't count this latest attempt to satisfy a Supreme Court ruling, thank you very much. That's a farce, IMO.) It's un-American, and if any other country in the world did that, we'd probably invade them. We're holding these people based on what, our intelligence? The same intelligence that told us there were WMDs in Iraq? Yeah, I trust them.
Another part of my reluctance to support Republicans comes from my up-bringing, again. I grew up in the south, and many of my family members are Republicans because they see the Democratic party as belonging to African Americans and other minority groups they view with suspicion. In my family, being a Republican is definitely associated with being racist. I realize that represents a small minority of Republicans, but I can't separate my family's small-mindedness and racism from the issues they talk about. For example, they're against welfare and other public aid because of the stereotype of an unemployed black woman with eight children getting a monthly check. Telling them that welfare accounts for a miniscule portion of the budget in comparison to social security doesn't seem to make a difference. None of them have ever been on welfare. Those people are just lazy, they say. This is America, after all. The land of opportunity! You just have to work hard enough!
Of course, my own stories about working with battered women and teaching in gang-infested urban schools don't garner any sympathy for people who don't have the same opportunities as middle class folks. My family doesn't have any concept of the playing field not being level, because they won't even drive on that side of town for fear of being mugged. They just believe the stereotypes, and don't bother thinking for themselves.
I'm a big supporter of many causes the Democratic party traditionally champions, even though I disagree on free trade. (I think globalization is inevitable, and we'd best find a way to deal with it.) I'm all for tax cuts, as long as they go to the middle classes, where the people are actually likely to spend the money and contribute to the economy. (I'm a little tired watching people get trickled down on.) And as long as children don't go without free lunches or after-school programs as a result, or firefighters don't lose their health care, or senior citizens don't lose their access to medication. I'm more than willing to pay my share of taxes to help people who need it. I don't like my money going to support an invasion of a country based on a lie, so I totally understand where they're coming from. I just think they're wrong! ;-)
So I'm not a Republican for all of those reasons, and I hate W for others I won't bother detailing here. Mostly, I'm tired of being ashamed of the actions of my country. I really want to fly the flag outside my house again without feeling like I'm a hypocrite.
So that was more than you wanted to know, I'm sure! I do wonder about slashers who are Republicans, though. I mean, this president just tried to amend the Constitution to discriminate against gay people! How do you reconcile the anti-gay and anti-"porn" rhetoric of the party with participating in an internet community that embraces gay rights, women's rights, and free speech?
I really want to know, so please comment here. I'd love to have a thoughtful and reasonable discussion of this topic.
I know there are people on my f-list who are Republicans, and who support Bush. If you like, you can skip the stuff behind the cut. ;-)
I was raised as a Republican. I was also raised as a Southern Baptist, and I think part of my issue with the Republican party is its alignment with the religious right.
I'm an atheist, but I'm pretty quiet about it. In general, I don't like it when anyone pushes their religion in my face, and most people don't, to be fair. One of my best friends is a minister, so I don't have a problem with people being religious. I think my big problem with the religious right is their assumption that it's perfectly fine for an entire country's laws to be based on their religion's holy book. I'm tired of being forced to pray at public functions (including the state Democratic convention, where I was a delegate), and I'm sick of the continued attempts to oppress people who are gay, bisexual, or transgendered. I'm pro-choice, I support gay rights, and am deeply offended that anyone would use the Bible to justify discrimination against any group of people in the form of controlling their bodies. (I know many Christians who agree with that sentiment, of course.)
I also have major issues with the war in Iraq, and Bush's horrid ignorance of the world outside our borders. It makes me sick to my stomach that my government has kept hundreds of people locked up in an internment camp in Cuba for two years, without charging them for any crimes or allowing them any defense. Geneva Convention? What Geneva Convention? It doesn't apply to us, you know. (And I don't count this latest attempt to satisfy a Supreme Court ruling, thank you very much. That's a farce, IMO.) It's un-American, and if any other country in the world did that, we'd probably invade them. We're holding these people based on what, our intelligence? The same intelligence that told us there were WMDs in Iraq? Yeah, I trust them.
Another part of my reluctance to support Republicans comes from my up-bringing, again. I grew up in the south, and many of my family members are Republicans because they see the Democratic party as belonging to African Americans and other minority groups they view with suspicion. In my family, being a Republican is definitely associated with being racist. I realize that represents a small minority of Republicans, but I can't separate my family's small-mindedness and racism from the issues they talk about. For example, they're against welfare and other public aid because of the stereotype of an unemployed black woman with eight children getting a monthly check. Telling them that welfare accounts for a miniscule portion of the budget in comparison to social security doesn't seem to make a difference. None of them have ever been on welfare. Those people are just lazy, they say. This is America, after all. The land of opportunity! You just have to work hard enough!
Of course, my own stories about working with battered women and teaching in gang-infested urban schools don't garner any sympathy for people who don't have the same opportunities as middle class folks. My family doesn't have any concept of the playing field not being level, because they won't even drive on that side of town for fear of being mugged. They just believe the stereotypes, and don't bother thinking for themselves.
I'm a big supporter of many causes the Democratic party traditionally champions, even though I disagree on free trade. (I think globalization is inevitable, and we'd best find a way to deal with it.) I'm all for tax cuts, as long as they go to the middle classes, where the people are actually likely to spend the money and contribute to the economy. (I'm a little tired watching people get trickled down on.) And as long as children don't go without free lunches or after-school programs as a result, or firefighters don't lose their health care, or senior citizens don't lose their access to medication. I'm more than willing to pay my share of taxes to help people who need it. I don't like my money going to support an invasion of a country based on a lie, so I totally understand where they're coming from. I just think they're wrong! ;-)
So I'm not a Republican for all of those reasons, and I hate W for others I won't bother detailing here. Mostly, I'm tired of being ashamed of the actions of my country. I really want to fly the flag outside my house again without feeling like I'm a hypocrite.
So that was more than you wanted to know, I'm sure! I do wonder about slashers who are Republicans, though. I mean, this president just tried to amend the Constitution to discriminate against gay people! How do you reconcile the anti-gay and anti-"porn" rhetoric of the party with participating in an internet community that embraces gay rights, women's rights, and free speech?
I really want to know, so please comment here. I'd love to have a thoughtful and reasonable discussion of this topic.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 10:32 am (UTC)Actually, I find it very unclear. Only once, in your list of reasons you're not a Republican, did you say "I realize this represents a small minority of Republicans", and that was when you were stating outright that you associate being a Republican with being a racist. But you didn't give any consideration to the fact that there are Republicans out there who don't support Bush The Younger, that there are Republicans who dislike Bush's foreign policy as much if not more than you do, that there are Republicans who did not vote for the Patriot Act, that there are Republicans who don't support welfare not for the stereotypical "greedy bigoted Republican" reasons but because they have genuine concerns about its effectiveness and long-term effect on those who are on it.
Basically, you go into great detail in saying that you're against this, this, this, this, and this intolerant, bigoted behavior, and then state that that is why you are not a Republican. But wait -- the inverse of that, the natural conclusion, is that Republicans are by default all those things. Ouch. It's not even my political party, and ouch.
And please, don't fall prey to sarcastic, rhetorical statements like this one:
The rest of it is genuinely what I see as the Republican party's stance on those issues. Please, correct me if I'm wrong! I'd actually be relieved to know that W isn't anti-gay, if that's the case!
First of all, I'm not a member of the Republican party, so I can't speak to that; and even if I could, there's a strong difference in my mind between "being a Republican" and "being a supporter of the modern-day Republican Party and those members of it who are in power". It's a bit like the difference between "being an American" and "being a supporter of the modern-day American government and the actions it's taken over the last four years".
Second of all, the line about Bush the Younger -- come on. That's a taunt, not an invitation to discussion.
Basically, what I'm driving at is this: You describe the reasons you're not a Republican not because you even know what people who identify as Republicans do believe, but because in today's society, you disagree with the actions and direction the Republican party takes. However, you describe the reasons you are a Democrat not based on the actions and directions of the current Democratic party, but on what the Democrats believe in theory.
The reason I see little difference between the two political parties is not because I can't see a difference in the theoretical gist of what they believe in and what they want to push for; of course I can. But once they're in office, both parties vote for the same thing. Both parties want more government interference in our personal lives, even if the way they want to interfere is different. Both parties want more taxes for more government programs, even if those programs are different. Both parties believe the solution to our country's education problems is to take more money away from parents and non-parents, and throw them at government-supported educational programs, even if the programs they want to support are different. Both parties voted for the Patriot Act, both parties fought over the recent stupid-ass marriage amendment, both parties supported the Defense of Marriage Act, both parties voted overwhelmingly to affirm the use of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Neither party is all that great, and neither party is wholly evil.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 11:06 am (UTC)That said, I'm less than thrilled with the Democratic party's support of the Patriot act, the war, the DMA, etc. I agree with much of the sentiment in your last paragraph above. Perhaps the reason why people feel compelled to align with one party or another is because of their fear of the extremists on the other side? I'm terrified of the Christain right; that's for damn sure.
Thanks again for commenting!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 11:19 am (UTC)It's also interesting to me to see just how cynical I am when it comes to politics and politicians! I'm the poster girl for optimism; you'd think that I could have at least a little bit of hope for the government. And the thing is -- I do think politicians believe they can make things better for people, or they wouldn't be in politics. I just don't think they recognize how many cascading effects their programs and policies have. Politicians in general are not very good at recognizing the possibility of unintended -- but very obvious -- consequences.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 12:18 pm (UTC)Yes and no. Yes, I'm not coming into this open to hearing something that will change my mind. Does that mean I don't want to hear the opinions of other people? Of course not! It actually makes me feel better to hear why people hold opinions I disagree with. I want to believe that everyone has actual reasons for taking the positions they do, and that they're not just parroting back what their leaders have told them is the "truth". (Going back to my family again, there.)
And I'm not sure how I can start a discussion without putting my position out there first. What else could I have done? Why should I expect people to go out on a limb and give me their opinions if I haven't given mine first? In the current political climate, it can be difficult to express what one really thinks about many of these issues. My mother has already labeled me as "un-patriotic" because of my opposition to the war. And all of the above is most definitely my opinion.
I'm still not sure why you think I've defined what it means to be a Republican, since everything I've said is about my own family. I stated that I have a hard tme disassociating those things from my family to underline that I recognize this is not representative of eveyone in that party.
I'm passionate about my beliefs, and I realize some might find that intimidating or off-putting, and choose not to participate in a conversation with me because of it. It's a good thing I'm not a politician, because I wouldn't be very good at it!
This election is going to be a very close one precisely because people in the US are so very polarized. There isn't much wiggle room, and a very small percentage are undecided voters. I think the election will be determined more by voter turnout than anything else. I'm not sure any of us will be able to "meet in the middle" anytime soon.
It's also interesting to me to see just how cynical I am when it comes to politics and politicians!
I'm far more cynical than I like, too. I was so idealistic back in '92, when I was a fresh-faced college student pounding the pavement for Clinton/Gore. *sighs* I don't support Kerry so much as I oppse Bush, to be honest. And that's why this rant was called "Why Emma is not a Republican". It was not called "Why Emma is a Democrat" or "Why you should not be an evil, nasty Republican either." ;-)