There have been a lot of respectful, round-about comments on the blog over the years implying that my politics are from the left wing. The comments are sometimes overtly and sometimes covertly made by proud conservatives and proud liberals.
I think folks from both sides of the right/left spectrum misunderstand me. I am going to make a political (or apolitical) statement so that there isn’t any mystery about where I stand on the subject of politricks.
While I believe America has become a corporatocracy (that has sometimes verged on fascism) I also believe it has socialized so much as to have created an incentive toward ‘entitlement’ that has become degenerative. I believe that those who capitalize (and many do as politicians and media) on these obvious problems and make a name for themselves by cleverly arguing that total elimination of either side of those competing evils is the only solution are perpetuating the problem. I don’t waive any flag, right or left.
I think we continue to evolve and survive as a species because of the unsung heroes in the middle who get it hard from both sides while trying to push things ahead a little bit for everybody. And I think those on either side of the spectrum who earnestly push for reforms (as opposed to those capitalizing on making people anti-this or anti-that) are a lot of times, when they are focused, worthy of support.
A line by Spencer Tracy from an old classic we recently watched, A Bad Day at Black Rock, resonated with me. His character answered about his political affiliation to a threatening, inquiring redneck (in the stereotypical sense – I have nothing against rednecks and have many times been called one myself):
I’m a rock ribbed Republican who believes Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a great man.
From 06 through 08 I worked for two papers in the Corpus Christi Bay region:
a) We The People, the voice of working men and women. A newspaper whose sponsors considered Barack Obama was too conservative to be elected President.
b) Coastal Bend Herald, The Conscience of the Coastal Bend. A newspaper so conservative it runs a column by Ron Paul in every edition.
The publishers of both papers – on either extreme of the political spectrum – never once attempted to edit a single word in the hundreds of articles I produced.
Both publishers considered me an asset because of my investigative and writing skills, but more so because I wasn’t backed off from dealing with corruption – whether the perps were Democrats or Republicans.
My politics are that I don’t cotton to corruption and greed, and bullying and injustice to perpetuate corruption and greed. My philosophy is that if enough people could be brought around to that way of thinking to the point of doing something about it, politics would be a rather pleasant subject and the world would be a far more fair and enjoyable place to live.
Isms don’t pull a lot of weight with me.
After living in this region for more than six years my two most trusted friends and allies are:
a) The head of the local branch of the Tea Party.
b) The head of the Corpus Christi Populist Progressive Coalition.
Go figure.
I have. I reckon they both are trying to achieve the same thing, only via different routes. Both of them have hearts of gold. Both of them do what they do because they detest injustice. Neither of them are making any money for their efforts. Both of them would, and have, dropped everything to come to the aid of a fellow citizen in need.
I think the old man had it right when he declared Scientology to be apolitical.
Politics will sort itself out when enough good folks transcend politics.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 