Snoopy – for a brief while leading up to and after the 2000 election, I became extremely disillusioned. I’m sure you know the addage, “scratch a cynic and you’ll find a disspointed idealist.” That was me, I was an idealist, and I simply couldn’t BELIEVE that people were voting for this Bush guy when essentially he was an inarticulate buffoon whose main qualificaions seemed to be that his daddy was President and God had told him to run. He scared the hell out of me from the get go, and I saw the election really polarize people right in front of my eyes.
I couldn’t believe how many people were just bringing gut instinct into the polling booth with them instead of critical thought or an understanding of the issues. The more I read about it, the more I observed it, the more I came to realize that a full 40% of this country does not vote, and a full 40% of those who do shouldn’t be allowed to vote, much less breed.
But I saw how mean they could get when they wanted to win. I saw what they did to McCain who at the time was an honorable man. I saw the rise of Karl Rove. I saw them convert the mayor of my city (St. Paul) from a 60’s era hippie Democrat, to a neocon Bush lackey (and now a US Senator – Norm Coleman). I saw raw, naked ambition which didn’t care about the truth or justice or the American way to paraphrase the cliche. And I saw so many people voting for it, either out of stupidity, or out of complete self serving disregard for anyone but themselves. It was appalling to me.
Then there came the outright election theft, and the more I read about that, the more I realized that all these conspiracy theorists maybe weren’t as crazy as I’d once thought. And I began to become very political, reading everything I could get my hands on, trying desperatetly to find the truth. And everywhere I dug I found one more example, then one more, then one more of how Republicans would sell their own mother for power. And I saw VERY few examples of honorable Republicans. I saw Congress vote on party lines almost 100% of the time, Republicans were lock step with everything the Bush Administration wanted to do, they had zero conscience.
I saw Bush rape our consumer and environmental protections. Then 9/11 happened and I saw the rise of facism in my own country. I saw Republicans everywhere exploit a national tragedy the way the Nazis exploited the Reichstag fire. I felt like I was going to split in two. I lost complete sight of the fact that the people in power did not necessarily represent the rank and file people on the street. And the 2004 elections, let me tell you, did very little to quell my fears that Republicans were by and large evil people who didn’t care about their country, or anyone but themselves.
But I started becoming more active on the internet. I started engaging with people. I started having conversations. And I realized, they’re not all like that. They’re not all mean spirited people who will go to the national convention and openly mock community organizing. They’re not all going on TV to say we should bomb Iran and take their oil. They’re not all big fans of borrow and spend economics. I listened to moderate Republicans…I learned what it USED to mean to be a Republican. I had conversations with people who didn’t try to just shout me down (though I’ve met more than my share of Republicans who think you win a debate by being the loudest).
And Obama’s candidacy sealed the deal for me, when I saw that something like 12% of Republicans could actually bring themselves to vote for someone as progressive as Obama because they too were rejecting the alternative, it made me realize that there is some hope. It also made me open to the idea that hey, there are people who just genuinely believe in small government, and aren’t out to turn this country into Jesusland and force their morality down my throat while raping our land and exploiting our resources for the goal of unfettered wealth for the haves and screw the have nots.
I had several conversations where I realized that many Republicans do care about those less fortunate, they just believe strongly that their way of getting there makes more sense than mine. I had several conversations with people directly affected by 9/11 who felt that the use of pre-emptive force was a matter of self defense. So yeah, for a time I’d lost faith in Republicans and most of humanity as a matter of fact.
The only thing that’s going to bring me back to the brink is another stolen election. After that I may have no choice but to radicalize.
Composing members:
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Composing members:
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