Today's Political Rant
Jul. 21st, 2004 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
billroperI retook one of those political quizzes that has passed through various mailing lists that I'm on at one point or another. It's the left/right, authoritarian/libertarian version and -- much like last time -- I tested out right near the middle on left/right and a few points toward the libertarian side of the scale. (This time I came out just to the left of center on left/right. But my mileage varies.)
Now, some among you may say, "Nonsense! You're way to the right of center." And -- if so -- I suggest that your perspective is somewhat similar to that famous map from the cover of the New Yorker where everything close to you is very, very large and the rest of the nation is compressed beyond recognition. I know a lot of people who are to the right of me politically. Most of them aren't in fandom (although some are). It doesn't mean that they don't exist.
I don't believe that Bush is the Platonic ideal of a U.S. President. I'm not convinced that Kerry would be either, although I think he'd be less destructive than Gore would have been. I wish we could have a President who was as ideal as Josiah Bartlet, although to quote Tom Smith, "All his buddies were writing the script."
I believe that the vast majority of voters in this country are woefully undereducated on the issues. I fear that most of them may not be capable of comprehending anything more complex than a sound bite. I worry that they are making their decisions based on statements such as -- and I am not making this up! -- the customers at Gretchen's bank who were against Bush because they'd heard that if he was re-elected, he would reintroduce slavery. And I find it equally worrisome that there are people voting against Kerry for some equally vile bit of slander.
I think that I'm a moderate. And I have very little patience left for the far-right or the far-left.
Now, some among you may say, "Nonsense! You're way to the right of center." And -- if so -- I suggest that your perspective is somewhat similar to that famous map from the cover of the New Yorker where everything close to you is very, very large and the rest of the nation is compressed beyond recognition. I know a lot of people who are to the right of me politically. Most of them aren't in fandom (although some are). It doesn't mean that they don't exist.
I don't believe that Bush is the Platonic ideal of a U.S. President. I'm not convinced that Kerry would be either, although I think he'd be less destructive than Gore would have been. I wish we could have a President who was as ideal as Josiah Bartlet, although to quote Tom Smith, "All his buddies were writing the script."
I believe that the vast majority of voters in this country are woefully undereducated on the issues. I fear that most of them may not be capable of comprehending anything more complex than a sound bite. I worry that they are making their decisions based on statements such as -- and I am not making this up! -- the customers at Gretchen's bank who were against Bush because they'd heard that if he was re-elected, he would reintroduce slavery. And I find it equally worrisome that there are people voting against Kerry for some equally vile bit of slander.
I think that I'm a moderate. And I have very little patience left for the far-right or the far-left.
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Date: 2004-07-21 05:49 pm (UTC)http://www.marmotgraphics.com/jim/journal/2004/07/journal_071604.html
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Date: 2004-07-21 07:14 pm (UTC)This rant is extracted (and lightly edited) from the e-mail that I was sending at 1 AM this morning. At least I slept better thereafter.
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Date: 2004-07-21 07:29 pm (UTC)Anyone who is a moderate and can figure out how to make the moderate position exciting, interesting, and emotionally fulfilling should be forever placed on the list of contributors to democracy.
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Date: 2004-07-21 07:52 pm (UTC)Anyone who is intelligent and can figure out how to make the intelligent position exciting, interesting, and emotionally fulfulling to the average couch potato should be forever placed on the list of contributors to democracy.
As soon as you try to actually explain the complex nature of the real world and back up a position with actual facts, the couch potato goes MEGO and tunes you out. So what do we do?
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Date: 2004-07-22 04:34 pm (UTC)The problem is not whether the positions are intelligent, it is that they are able to be stirred up emotionally in part because they are extreme - meaning a lot of people can get heated up against them, and the ones that are in favor of them are emotionally attached to them.
It comes to my mind that an emotional appeal can work with fanatical followers who agree emotionally, but it seems to flourish with emotional opposition (which then creates the defensive emotion in the followers even if they started out intellectual etc. etc. etc.)
After all, the stereotype of the hard-core leftist is the academic intellectual with lots of intelligence and ideas but no practical experience, while one stereotype of the hard-core right-winger is the highly successful businessman who wants to keep his money away from the filthy common people.
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Date: 2004-07-22 06:23 pm (UTC)The problem, of course, arrives when you have conflicts between varying systems in varying degrees of brokenness.
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Date: 2004-07-22 11:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-22 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-21 07:47 pm (UTC)I completely agree about the danger we face from a totally clueless electorate.