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When I first came to DU I was fleeing a message board primarily inhabited by self-proclaimed conservatives and Libertarians. Allegedly "freedom-loving" folks who saw our government as a potential threat to freedom and liberty UNTIL Bush came to power and 9/11 happened and he started in with his War On Terror.
The board had a couple token liberals and *I* was the centrist. Yeah, me. Hard to believe, isn't it? But both sides generally accepted me as such...I could argue both sides of certain issues. Like Free Speech. I ALWAYS support free speech. Always. Even when people say criminally stupid things. It's easier to avoid dealing with people who you'd rather avoid if you know (through their own words) how they feel about things. I loathe White Power people with a passion. I don't like Gay bashers any better. But I sure as hell prefer them to stand up and announce what kind of idiot they are than to have them slink around conspiring with people like themselves in the deep darkness of secrecy. Now THAT'S dangerous.
I am not a pacifist. I believe that in certain circumstances, pacifism is suicidal. The notion that violence "never solved anything" is simply ludicrous. If someone comes at me with a baseball bat (or a pair of nunchaku) and I plant my foot in his sternum, that problem is solved. Until the next one arises, at least.
It's my belief in the right of self-defense that makes me a defender of the 2nd Amendment. No one gets to whittle on me or anyone I care about with impunity. And no one should feel comfortable thinking they can.
I came to DU looking for like-minded folks, people who respected freedom of thought and expression, and weren't all hung up on conformity. The hypocrisy of all the "conservatives" and "Libertarian" types when the power came down from BushCo, when I knew damn well they'd have gone into convulsions the first time a Democrat had've done anything remotely similar, disgusted me to no end. To me, abuse of authority is one of the worst crimes anyone can commit. That goes for world leaders, ministers, teachers, parents, bosses, and every other type of person who holds power over another in any capacity.
That means I have little tolerance for petty tyranny and bullying either. I don't give a DAMN what a company's policy is, no pipsqueak manager has the right to restrain someone who has done nothing wrong on nothing stronger than company policy. Period. I know there are many here who disagree--we've argued the case into the ground and it's still being brought up by the apologists who think that that sort of thing is A-Okay because they think the guy was being a jerk about the whole thing.
Fact is, I don't give a fuck. I don't think it's appropriate to 'hop-to' just because someone says we should. I don't even necessarily believe they get to make us jump to obey just because they have guns, badges, and tasers and the force of law that gives them the "right" to enforce their will.
If I lay my hands on someone with the intent to do them harm, THEN physical reaction is appropriate on the part of that person, or anyone else in the vicinity with the ability to stop me. Being a loud and obnoxious jerk (something I'm not known for, but certain circumstances might conceivably generate such a response from me) does not fall under the category of a reasonable excuse to exert force.
No, cops don't immediately deserve respect. They deserve civility, wariness, caution, and occasionally suspicion, but anyone who happens to be armed deserves THAT much, at least. I realize some people may see things differently, but I'll be willing to bet dollars to donuts that they've never been singled out for harassment for no reason other than the way they looked. They've never been threatened simply because it was amusing at the time, because it could be done and no one could call them on it.
I expect a certain amount of leadership from our leaders. Funny, that. I expect them to stand up and oppose those who are pissing all over the Constitution, turning American citizens into suspected enemies of the state, and terrorizing their own people. I expect them to stand up and say that just because someone wears a uniform doesn't mean they're immune from criticism. Oliver North was a decorated veteran. He was also a fucking criminal. I expect that sort of knee-jerk reactionary bullshit from the Republicans in Congress, but I damn well expect better of Democrats.
Maybe that's my first mistake.
And, no, we don't need a "savior." I've been accused of looking for that and that's the dumbest fucking thing someone can say to me. I believe mankind has the tools we need to deal with the problems we face as a species, but we're too fractured to do it right. We need someone with the gall and the strength of character to stand up and call things the way they are, to unite us in a common goal to deal with all the major problems we face. We're all flying to and fro trying to put out brushfires--global warming, racism, homophobia, animal rights, drug policy, gender equality, free speech, the iraq war, poverty, consumer protection, peak oil, overpopulation, religious extremism (here and abroad) etc...etc...etc...
We're making very little headway on anything. Partially because we're up against some of the most stubborn, intractable, close-minded, and generally stupid fuckers on the face of the planet, but also because we can't work together worth a damn. What's important to US isn't necessarily as important to the next person. But, when you get right down to it, it's ALL important. Maybe vital.
Case in point...look who's in line to be the next "leader of the free world." Someone who doesn't seem to take issue with the war, but how it was waged. Never mind we should NEVER have been there in the first place, that it was driven by the need of one man to be a "war President" and the overwhelming greed and duplicity of a bunch of flaming assholes with a hard-on for power. Pretty damn sad, really.
Our only reasonable alternative to the top three candidates, who seem to be pretty much on the same page in many regards, is a guy who can't effectively communicate his message to more than 05% of the potential Democratic voters. Also not a good sign.
Face it...we're screwed. We're going to go down fighting amongst ourselves because some of us don't seem to get what the stakes are here. It's about what freedom means, and what kind of message we really want to send to the rest of the world. A Democracy is only as good as its sources of information, but our media can't seem to be bothered to separate fact from spin, and FAR too many of our elected representatives can't be bothered to listen to the very people who put them where they are. And some of us don't really seem to care about THAT either.
Let me put it in terms that are short, sweet, and to the point. If you think that the only problem with what's going on in this country is that it's being done by Republicans, you sure as hell ain't part of the solution. If security is more important than freedom, then you will have neither. If your happiness or comfort depends on sticking it to the "other guy," whoever he is, you're doomed to be one miserable motherfucker.
The thing the RWers and their ignorant (not stupid, hopefully) followers don't seem to get is that we're in this together. All of us. That means Americans, Iranians, Iraqis, Chinese, Japanese, and the residents of Fiji, along with every other human soul on the planet. Every single human has a stake in what kind of future we build for the human race.
As Americans, we're going to have a choice. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Right now we're not positioning ourselves as leaders. Not in the least. And as long as we have hawkish folks in charge, who believe that we can "lead" through force of arms rather than by setting the kind of example we have it within us to set, we're not going to be seen as leaders by ANYONE. We're actually capitulating the race to some of the people we'd LEAST want to be running things for the rest of the next Century. China, anyone?
I'll admit it. I'm running on empty here. I'm tired. I'm tired of some of the stuff I see around here. The pro-authoritarian shit, for one. The really, really stupid judgments passed on perfect strangers for the most shallow of reasons. Because they wear a goddamn bluetooth ear-piece? Or a mullet? Or have a cellphone clipped to their belt? Because they're talking to their husband or wife while they're trying to shop because both of them are too damn busy to actually be able to spend real quality time together more than once a week?
Fuck me. Maybe we DON'T have enough to worry about. Maybe we NEED a world-destroying war before people catch on to the important shit.
Shit. Maybe we DO need a savior. Or at least a prophet. Someone who can say, like every single religious leader in the past, "Don't be an asshole."
Assholes have been running things on this planet for long enough. It's about time someone else got a shot at it.
As long as we can figure out if we want to lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way.
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