I’m not excusing the Republicans. I’m in awe of their skill in gauging the concerns and frustrations of the American people. The problem is that they exploit this, without any intention of providing relief. They get people worked up over government overspending, over taxes, over “death panels”. Then they head into the Senate and House chambers, and it’s business as usual. And I don’t buy into the “Tea Party” at all. Not only aren’t they organized worth a damn, I believe that many of them are right-wing extremists trying to force the Republican Party they belong to into ultra-restrictive far-right views. And force-feeding us Sarah Palin in the process.
Allan, please tell me there’s hope. You can lie to me, if necessary. I’m used to it – I’ve been voting for many years.[/quote]
I often wonder if there is hope as I feel this country is going to commit suicide from within. The ying and yang of a two party system is that most people can identify with either party and they are represented but they also fail to accept or recognize the fault of their own party. This stubbornness will ultimately doom us as people fail to see reality. Such is the case with members like Brian. According to him, Obama, liberals and progressives can do no wrong. This is scary because each end of the spectrum has faults. It is unfortunate because this train of thought can only be changed with catastrophic events like planes flying into buildings or massive environmental catastrophes. This leads to reactionary thinking when we need to be proactive and truthful with ourselves, even if that truth hurts because it conflicts with our individual biases. After the Gulf spill I am unsure how I feel about off-shore drilling. I say unsure because obviously it can lead to disasters like this but I also recognize the fact that we need sources of energy and I would like not to depend on other countries for this energy. So, what is the answer when we don’t have renewable energy sources? My left side is recognizing the earth in which we need to preserve and the right is recognizing the fact that we need oil to live. Herein lies the frustration. I am guilty of the reactionary thinking I mentioned above but at least I recognize both sides of the issue and would hope to find a happy medium instead of spouting off left or right talking points to justify a stubbornness. If we had renewable energy I would say shut down oil right now…but we don’t.
In the past decade the pendulum has been swinging with stronger force than usual. Bush’s idiotic administration was the driving force in creating momentum to the left, where as now, Obama’s administration is creating discontent and force through the tea parties, etc. to the right. I only hope that it will somehow settle in the center/center-right in which I consider reality.
The founding fathers created a country in which they hope would fall in the center or center-right. The “right” in center being limited federal government intervention. I am not going to lie, I am a conservative when it comes to limited powers of federal government’s ability to be involved in my personal life. However, don’t mistake me for a republican as I feel both parties are one in the same and only care about the survival of their political career/party. Government is government and once they create a tax, law, coalition, organization, branch it is pretty much the closest thing to eternal life on this planet. Based on their track record of Medicare, Social Security, etc. I don’t have a lot of confidence that they can create efficient, productive solutions.
