For the sake of the nation…
As we go into another night of filibustering in the senate it occurs to me that perhaps we’ve gone too far. That there is perhaps no turning back. How do we heal this? How do we go back to politics as usual?
First off I’m a Texan. I live in Austin which is fairly liberal - for Texas. Here I am generally labeled either as a socialist or a communist. That’s fine because I realize from their perspective I am. It’s been getting worse lately though. Why are Democrats using procedural measures to block judicial nominees? Why did Democrats flee my state?
I can answer these both quite succinctly. The United States was founded to protect the rights of minority groups. I know that’s hard for people to understand, and that it goes against much of what we’re told, but it’s everywhere. Every single process, every single institution in the United States has a myriad of procedural steps. Is this simply because our founding father’s liked red tape? Is it because historically the U.S. government has had nothing better to do than to pass procedural rules? No. Simply put it’s to protect the few from the best intentions of the many. If the current Texas redistricting map passes I will live in the largest U.S. city without a representative in the House. A large number of the parents who led their kids up to my door to trick-or-treat in late October are now in a separate voting district from me. But I am the bad-guy Democrat. Because I simply want my community to have a voice.
That voice is the reason I feel that I need to write, and that we all need to come forward and start talking.
Do the Democrats have all the solutions? No.
Do the Republicans? No.
Do either of them have even a few solutions…?
If you listen to either party you would think it was true. Many Democrats want to band together in the next election and form a cohesive voting block like the Republicans have. But I don’t think any of us want that sort of Democratic party. What would we have to give up? The Republicans have given up any sort of debate on important issues such as Privacy, Small Government, Fiscal Responsibility, and the Role of the U.S. as the Worlds Police Force. They have decided to focus solely on Abortion, Anti-Terrorism, and Tax-cuts. I can’t even imagine how that list would read for the Democrats. So what do we have to do? If we are going to proceed at all we must start talking and dealing with the issues below:
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The War in Iraq/Afghanistan was right/wrong.
At this point public opinion is obviously wavering, but it doesn’t escape an idealogical truth that both parties like to ignore. War is wrong. Ultimately, the entire point of civilization is to keep us from warring. So whether or not you support Bush/troops or withdrawal/troops ultimately we are in a situation that must be solved. We cannot let Iraq and Afghanistan collapse. We cannot keep pretending that these are “wars” that we can win. We must stop blaming. Obviously, an overwhelming number of Americans supported the war. Many now are saying they were duped by the Bush Administration. Aside from pointing out that you are perhaps one of the greatest dunces to ever live to be duped by the Bush Administration, this misses the entire point. War is not politics. People’s lives are on the line. You can’t fix the problem by saying you were tricked, and you can’t fix the problem by saying that if there was just a little more public support the troops would be able to finish there mission and come home. Those are both ridiculous fantasies. So what do we do now?
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You can(not) attack terrorism
This is the most fundamental flaw in world thought right now. You cannot attack terrorism. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been an incubator for showing why this wasn’t possible. When you attack terrorism you attack normal people. Normal people then feel attacked and fight back. Normal people are not an army and thus resort to what is called terrorism, because they don’t have the resources to fight an army. Cycle of violence is created. And we keep going, forever and ever and ever. Or we have genocide. Take your pick. At this point all the conservative readers are saying, “Oh he just wants to go out and love all the terrorists into surrendering,” and all the liberal readers are nodding their heads in agreement with me. Stop that. I didn’t propose a solution here by pointing out a fact. Discuss this seriously. How do you stop terrorism? How do you change people who generally have very real, very serious grievances into people who want to work for peace? The only violent solution is killing everyone on earth. The only completely placating solution is giving people everything they want. Obviously neither is feasible, so come up with something that is.
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It is (not)acceptable to give up some of our civil liberties in a time of war
Absolutely not. If you want safety go to China. It’s one of the safest countries going. No one’s going to attack them because of their population. If on the other hand there’s something you like about the United States other than safety you might consider staying here. And you might consider how we give law enforcement the ability to find terrorists in the United States without reading library records and tracking our every bowel movement.
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No new taxes
Pay your taxes. Enough said. Trickle-down has again not worked. Can we put this to bed? Lets get back to the work of building schools and build roads and stop playing these games. Wonder why your property and sales tax rate is so high? Could it perhaps be because you’ve stopped paying most of your federal tax? The money has to come from somewhere. Stop being such a baby about taxes and start thinking about what you want your money and your government to be doing for you. Taxes are important because they give us what we need. We are not being robbed. I can’t afford a road or a school and I’d bet that neither can you.
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The majority rules
The majority does not rule. The United States was founded by numerous groups fleeing majorities that were not fond of them. Republicans should have their way more often than Democrats when they are in the majority, but they should stop trying to destroy the Democratic party. And they should stop saying when Democrats disagree that they are being babies. This is politics, you are supposed to disagree.
This has to come from both sides. No more destruction. Talk to each other. And stop spouting rhetoric you heard on your AM right of the dial or your FM left.
If the United States is going to overcome what is quickly becoming one of the worst financial, political, and military crisis it has ever faced, it is going to need people thinking. So start thinking. The Internet has provided us a wonderful forum to explore ideas and to band together towards common goals. So stop the rhetoric and offer solutions, please. We have serious problems here. Thank you non-U.S. citizen readers for indulging us and please offer your input, we’re going to need all the help we can get in turning this behemoth around.
