Today's Political Rant

[billroper]

I 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.

Comments

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

I'd say that the trouble arrives when one group thinks a system is hopelessly broken, while another group thinks it is working reasonably well and only needs tinkering.