Um...OK
So, I see that it's been less than a week since the election (and my last post), but somehow it seems much longer. I could say that I believe everything will be okay, and that the leadership of my own country doesn't really make a big difference, however, that would be untruthful. I believe that we've collectively just made a monumental mistake in judgement, and I'm not sure how to come to grips with that.
My first impression is to think of all of the stupid people out there, but I don't think that's fair. I don't think people are evil or stupid generally, so this election shouldn't change that. That leaves me with very few options...either the other side was wrong (and knew it), was wrong (and didn't know it) or was right. Of all of these, I think that the second option is most likely, but I have to at least reflect on the thought that the last option might be true.
1. To believe that the other side was wrong and knew it, I would have to assume that people are generally uncaring. There was too much at stake for that to be a palatable thought...
2. To believe that the other side was wrong and didn't know it, I have to assume that people are easily mislead. This, to me, is not a very difficult step to make. I've often had conversations about politics where people will complain about the "lack of good leadership." I usually laugh at this, because I honestly believe that we lack for good followers much more than we lack for good leaders. That Bush supporters tend to believe that WMD were discovered in Iraq and that Saddam helped plan 9/11 kinda supports this posulate.
3. To believe that the other side is right, I have to assume that I am wrong. Don't get me wrong, I don't really have trouble admitting when I'm wrong (just ask my students, they'll tell you how often I'm clueless - or better yet, ask my wife), but I have difficulty accepting this stance. Having a pretty clear sense that my views are well thought out, I'm not prepared to accept the idea that gay marriage is evil or that tax cuts for the wealthy is a great way to help out the middle class. The biggest problem with this is that I also believe strongly in personal responsibility, and so it is a bit enathema to pass that responsibility on to un-named masses of uninformed Bush supporters.
So, what does this all bring me back to? I'm not sure...it might take a while to figure that out. I'm starting to think that the Democrats haven't done a good enough job of standing up for what they believe. Americans, by and large, are looking for optimism, and the Democrats haven't really offered them that...at least not in the recent past. If we can start to talk about progressive ideals in a defensible manner. For example, the whole gay marriage thing could be defused really quickly if Democrats stopped trying to be like Republicans while splitting hairs about being against gay marriage while being for civil unions...if the majority of Americans don't believe in gay marriage, then the Democrats should start talking about how government shouldn't have any role in relationships...government can provide everyone - gay or straight - partnership and other civil union-type benefits while churches have control over the marriage ceremony - effectively, government would make partnership a legal arrangment between two individuals, and churches make it a match between a man and a women. With this, any denomination that wantd to provide marriage ceremonies for gay couple could do so with no government interference and at their own inclination.
What I do know, however, is that if we can start talking about what we are rather than what we aren't, then we can go a long way towards talking about responsibility again. As long as we frame ourselves as "not republicans" then we'll always be second choice. Anyway, I have no intention of turning this into a political blog, but I will continue to work out what my personal message is...that's the only way that I can make certain that I am comfortable in my own skin and take responsibility for my own actions.
So, I see that it's been less than a week since the election (and my last post), but somehow it seems much longer. I could say that I believe everything will be okay, and that the leadership of my own country doesn't really make a big difference, however, that would be untruthful. I believe that we've collectively just made a monumental mistake in judgement, and I'm not sure how to come to grips with that.
My first impression is to think of all of the stupid people out there, but I don't think that's fair. I don't think people are evil or stupid generally, so this election shouldn't change that. That leaves me with very few options...either the other side was wrong (and knew it), was wrong (and didn't know it) or was right. Of all of these, I think that the second option is most likely, but I have to at least reflect on the thought that the last option might be true.
1. To believe that the other side was wrong and knew it, I would have to assume that people are generally uncaring. There was too much at stake for that to be a palatable thought...
2. To believe that the other side was wrong and didn't know it, I have to assume that people are easily mislead. This, to me, is not a very difficult step to make. I've often had conversations about politics where people will complain about the "lack of good leadership." I usually laugh at this, because I honestly believe that we lack for good followers much more than we lack for good leaders. That Bush supporters tend to believe that WMD were discovered in Iraq and that Saddam helped plan 9/11 kinda supports this posulate.
3. To believe that the other side is right, I have to assume that I am wrong. Don't get me wrong, I don't really have trouble admitting when I'm wrong (just ask my students, they'll tell you how often I'm clueless - or better yet, ask my wife), but I have difficulty accepting this stance. Having a pretty clear sense that my views are well thought out, I'm not prepared to accept the idea that gay marriage is evil or that tax cuts for the wealthy is a great way to help out the middle class. The biggest problem with this is that I also believe strongly in personal responsibility, and so it is a bit enathema to pass that responsibility on to un-named masses of uninformed Bush supporters.
So, what does this all bring me back to? I'm not sure...it might take a while to figure that out. I'm starting to think that the Democrats haven't done a good enough job of standing up for what they believe. Americans, by and large, are looking for optimism, and the Democrats haven't really offered them that...at least not in the recent past. If we can start to talk about progressive ideals in a defensible manner. For example, the whole gay marriage thing could be defused really quickly if Democrats stopped trying to be like Republicans while splitting hairs about being against gay marriage while being for civil unions...if the majority of Americans don't believe in gay marriage, then the Democrats should start talking about how government shouldn't have any role in relationships...government can provide everyone - gay or straight - partnership and other civil union-type benefits while churches have control over the marriage ceremony - effectively, government would make partnership a legal arrangment between two individuals, and churches make it a match between a man and a women. With this, any denomination that wantd to provide marriage ceremonies for gay couple could do so with no government interference and at their own inclination.
What I do know, however, is that if we can start talking about what we are rather than what we aren't, then we can go a long way towards talking about responsibility again. As long as we frame ourselves as "not republicans" then we'll always be second choice. Anyway, I have no intention of turning this into a political blog, but I will continue to work out what my personal message is...that's the only way that I can make certain that I am comfortable in my own skin and take responsibility for my own actions.
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