October 23, 2008
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Exo-politics!
I am about to talk politics. You have been forewarned.
There are a couple of things I play at being. One is someone who is not interested in politics. The second is someone who is not a liberal. Both of these are lies. Of the first I will say this; I don’t like politics. It’s a dirty game full of corruption and scandal. It brings out some truly horrible sides of human nature. But it affects everything and, as such, is something everyone is involved in. Everyone who has an opinion about anything at least dips their toes in the politics-pool. I often feel myself drawn to politics like a knight, sworn never to touch sword again, but suddenly finds himself reaching for his trusty blade when his village gets attacked by, I dunno….. Nazis. I certainly didn’t pick Global Politics for my degree because the only other course on offer was International Business (though I woulda picked Basket Weaving over Int. Business!) Second, I am a liberal. I only pretend I’m not because I’m tired of Trendy-Liberal Students (henceforth known as TLSes) who just want an excuse to complain. Tired of people thinking (and acting like, sometimes) Liberalism equates to Nihilism or Hedonism. Tired of labels, tags and allegiances in general. I actually feel very strongly about my moral compass and believe in it. I am a liberal in the same way I’m emo; I am what it is (or, at least, should be) rather than what a media-saturated populace and reactionary hate-mongers perceive it to be. OK, now I’ve established those things, I’ll get to the point.
Occasionally I read the Featured Content on Xanga’s homepage. Sometimes it’s interesting. Sometimes…. it makes me want to stick a rusty fork in my ear and pull out my brain. Recently I mentioned on my pulse two entries from Revelife (Christian Blogring) and Momaroo (Parents’ Blogring) that had me reaching for NaziSlayer again…. “My Salvation Questioned Because I Voted Democrat” and “Outrage Over Pro-Islam Doll.” So…. lemme get this straight. Republican = Salvation. I get it. Christians “have” to be conservative so “have” to vote for the conservative party, right? Wrong. At least it should be wrong. Very, very wrong. First, politics and religion should not mix. Especially in a multi-cultural, multi-faith country like the United States or the UK. If a President is of a certain faith, naturally that faith will influence his/her decisions. Nothing wrong with that. However government has no right to infringe on the freedoms of other groups or people who may not adhere exactly to their own beliefs, so long as they do not promote antisocial behaviour. That is the very essence of a free and democratic society. The second blog detailed a kid’s doll that supposedly said pro-Islamic phrases. First, by all accounts, the doll did no such thing. Second, it was detailed as saying “Satan is King.” How is that pro-Islam? What we have here is another example of ignorant, paranoid people demonising Islam. Yes, I was outraged by 9/11. Yes, I questioned what role the Islamic faith played in the terrorist’s actions. But I actually asked Muslims about it and they were totally condemning of the bombers. There was nothing they knew of in the Qu’ran that condoned such actions.
Now, as though to bring the two topics together, my heart was warmed by Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama. The endorsement itself was nice, but it was Powell’s speech rebuffing the “Obama is Muslim” crowd that I really respected. “Obama is not Muslim… but so what if he were?” was the gist of it. Basically Powell covers both points I was seeking to make in this update. 1) Religion is not a matter for politics and politics is not a matter for religion. In a free country anyone should be able to be President and people are free to vote for who they wish. 2) Islamophobia (or whatever the buzz-word is) is really fucking idiotic and people who still think Muslim = Terrorist should grow up! I want Obama in the Whitehouse precisely because I hope America will move away from issues like these, issues which have dogged the previous administration. I think America desperately needs to start off on a new foot and Obama can do that. I’m sure he won’t be perfect. I’m sure there’ll be problems. But, if for nothing else, I want to feel like my time in Global Politics spent defending America from the TLSes was not all for nothing.
End Transmission. “This is a public service announcement this is only a test…“
Comments (18)
もしかして。。。First Post?
Well, I can definitely relate to your reaction concerning the whole Obama / Islam business, especially as I get 90% of my information about American politics via the Daily Show. Being a comedy program they really go out of their way to turn over the rocks of the rural US and examine the squirming bottom-feeders underneath.
Recently, on the aforementioned show, I saw footage of a group of white middle-aged folk giving their opinions about Obama (resoundingly negative). One of them came out with, ‘I just don’t trust the ‘Hussein’. I’ve had enough of ‘HUSSEIN’!’. Guh….
That Revelife post was a little disturbing. I can say from experience that such a view is not the norm. It’s true that the majority of Christians are conservative, but generally, it’s less “Republican = saved” and more like “Christian morality has more in common with conservative stances than liberal stances.” I can see where the idea comes from, but I don’t agree with it, and there are plenty of Christians who aren’t republicans. Conservatives and liberals just focus on different moral issues. Neither side is inherintly Christ-like in its values or stances.
As for the Islamophobia…. just a sad mixture of ignorance and mob mentality.
I’m rooting for Obama, but I’m not going to get my hopes up about him winning. Nor am I going to get my hopes up that if he does win he will actually bring on the kind of change his campaign is all about. Even if he wins and turns out to be a terrible president, I still think it’s what our country needs right now. If we have a republican in office for another 4-8 years, I imagine things will get pretty ugly for a variety of reasons.
@the_greatest_pip - ”Neither side is inherently Christ-like in its values or stances. .” Nicely put Matt. As for Obama, I agree with you. I don`t think ANY politician will ever bring about the changes they promise. It`s just not possible in the world of politics. But the change Obama at least represents is definitely what America needs. 8 years of Republican governance has turned America into the world`s pariah, in part unjustifiably, in part justifiably. Some kinda change is needed, whether it`s the promised change or not. I agree with you totally
@invisiblebalex - My 3nensei at chugakko are about to do some work on Martin Luther King. I`ve been proof-reading my JTE`s sumary of the topic and it got me thinking, “this was just 50 years ago. People actually held these opinions and behaved this way just 50 years ago!!!” Then it struck me, some people still do! It saddens and angers me that people can be so unbelievably ignorant, egocentric and hateful….. Makes me consider more and more my own particular brand of liberal facism. Showing love an acceptance to others, regardless of difference (so long as those differences don`t promote hate or anti-social activity in themselves) will be enforced by my elite personal militia and anyone who refuses to be nice will die!!! I will bring peace, freedom, justice and security to my new Empire…..!
@moss_icon - ”YOUR new empire?” sorry, I just had to. I would have felt incomplete if I didn’t. Incomplete.
This is a very important topic obviously, and I think we are all on the same page. They are almost always based on faulty logic, which inherently leads to discrimination (overt and covert), etc. Just like someone thought Satan is king = Islamic statement = Islam is bad will then go on to believe this, talk to their peers (the less educated of whom would agree with them without investigating the matter for themselves), then have children and pass it on to the next generation.
I like Dave’s notion of liberal facism. We can all be nice to eachother because we all know and agree what we want others to do unto us. And if others don’t always agree, then they should be made to… by, I don’t know, someone…
Conservative = scared of change. That’s all it adds up to. McCain’s campaign has recently been about connecting Obama to terrorists, he never openly admits it but you go to his conventions, geez, that’s a crowd of racist if I’ve ever seen them! It’s a horrible tactic but watch how he wins because of it. I really hope my vote for Obama counts for something but ,given the situation, the fear that McCain’s team has created might win it in the end.
@sarven - I was waiting for it, Sarv
@theender1 - Conservative = scared of change. Agreed, Mike. Of course change for the sake of change, blindly making things different for its own sake, is bad. But conservatives are generally clinging to their own selfish systems of thought since they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Nothing in life ever stands still. I once heard life compared to music; hold the same note long enough and it’s no longer music, just noise. Conservativism is fueled by fear of difference, which is fueled by ignorance. Ignorance is based on the faulty logic Sarv spoke of. Liberals certainly don’t have all the answers but at least they try to look for them instead of sticking their heads in the sand.
I spent half my time in politics class defending the US from the reactionary branch of liberals you often find at university. To them America was entirely populated with (apologies, guys) ignorant, bigoted, religious-zealot Neo-Cons who care only about their own interests, own country, and are mind-blowingly ill-informed. Even before meeting you guys I fought back against this. But after 8 years of Bush and the threat of 4 more years of Republican governance, (especially in light of this stomach-turning race angle) I can’t help but feel my efforts were wasted….. (Well, I’ll always stick up for you guys, if nothing else!)
@moss_icon - Your liberal fascism sounds like it could get a little close to California Uber Alles!
Now it’s Nineteen Eighty-Four / knock knock on your front door / it’s the suede denim secret police / they’ve come for your uncool neice!
@invisiblebalex - That’s why my Liberal Fascism will only happen if I actually fall to the Dark Side. Though there will be no suede denim police. I see them more as Cyborg Ninja. Or Sith Assassins.
Nice post Dave. I agree.
But… after reading all the comments and the conservative bashing, I feel a sudden need to be contrary and defend the conservatives. Conservatism in it’s true form tries to “conserve” those things that we value in society. These things are usually things like family and morality, but can also include things like the environment etc. (conservationism and conservatism both start with ‘conserv’) I would like to differentiate this ‘good’ form of conservatism from Bush’s neo-conservatism which seeks to screw everyone to pursue the narrow minded goals of a few nutcases. Unfortunately, these nutcases have been very successful at linking this neo-conservatism with the image of true conservatism, and that is one reason for their success. The other is of course hate and fear mongering.
oh… I almost forgot… I now have this wonderful image of suede/denim wearing sith ninja cyborg assassins.
@Robinsama - true, Rob. very true. I hadn’t forgotten all that. I just like to run with my rants!
Yeah, conserving good things is good. The thing is what is good for some is not always good for others and certain conservatives seem unable to see that. Their view, their life experience, their own narrow view, is all they take into account when life is broad and complex and no-one ever truly knows the mind or experiences of another. As such I find conservatism brings out some very negative traits (judgmentalism, narrow-mindedness, egocentricity, intolerance, etc.) Liberalism has its problems too, with people using it to avoid responsibility for their actions and argeu the toss…. but by and large we would do better to try to understand people and show tolerance and acceptance of differences, so long as they don’t actively hurt others. As such I find conservatism more of a disruption to peace and goodwill than liberalism.
hmm, well, i don’t know much about politics myself. So i really don’t have a comment on that. But anyways, how are you?
Neo-Liberal-Fascism.
I see myself as a true liberal in the sense that I think people should be free to make their own choices and that the atmosphere we should be striving for is one of acceptance of diffrences, open mindedness, mutual respect and community.
People often usually form comunity on the basis of religion. You go to church, have your church community that holds events and everyone helps each other, etc… Now thats all good but, when you think about a comunity is made by the inclusion of a group of people and the resulting social structurisation. And if theres inclusion, then, naturally, theres exclusion. Its human nature for people with similarities to gather and form comunities, and the same feelings of closeness that bind them together and make them help each other often translate into callousness, xenophobia, indifference to strangers or a desire to make strangers part of their group.
The most tightly-knit groups are the most stringent to newcomers and strangers.
So i think that to have a global community, we should base it not on culture, religion or language, but on more global silimarities and values; we are all human, we all have our own worldviews and dreams, helping each other makes everyone stronger, etc…
If others do not aggree to those terms, we cant just go around breaking our own philosophy and forcing them to our worldview using intimidation and violence, that would just contradict all that we stad for! We cant just have them live in fear of the government.. That woud just be Tyrany!
…We CAN, however, set the table, so to speak, for negotiation. Encourage a spirit of open-mindness, insure that dissident parties are in a receptive state for the creation and maintaining of said community. This would, of course, start at the earliest stages of education.
Its easy, all it takes is a world-wide, step-by-step restructuring of human values over a few generations, with the use of certain dietary supplements for the harder places. Your own culture should be conserved, but a feeling of wonder, curiousness and open-mindedness should be promoted toward foreign cultures and languages. At school one foreign language would need to be learned, but two or three should be encouraged. Teaching of cultural relativism should also be the norm.
‘They do things diffrently than me, but I accept and resect that. I do things diffrently than him, but he accepts and respects that’
The multitude of cultures and ways of thinking is a testament to human ressourcefulness and its strength, by drawing from each and every one of them, we can improve uppon all of them. The dietary supplements would only last utill a widespread rework on the human gene-pool is done to purge certain unwanted defects, like tendencies towards aggressivness, and rebellion.
Of course that would require a sinle world government in power for a long number of years. I guess thats where the armies of Suede/Denim-clad Sith cyborg assassins come in =D
@ShinRaijin - Calex…. your talk of dietary supplements sounds almost as Neo-Liberal Facist as my cyborg Sith assassins. Surely trying to engineer people to accept certain viewpoints with dietary supplements is little different to fear and intimidation, just more subtle. It’s still undermining what freedom and liberty stand. Whether you force people by open fear or by sneaking drugs into their food it’s still, well, evil. I agree that our world needs understanding and and acceptance among groups who have different view points. And yes, the Dark Side in me get’s so frustrated at people’s ignorance and intolerance there’s a little part of me that would instate martial law to make people love each other. But…. in the end that is not really me because I am a true liberal, as you describe; ” I think people should be free to make their
own choices and that the atmosphere we should be striving for is one of
acceptance of diffrences, open mindedness, mutual respect and community.”
But, whether it’s Suede/Denim-clad Sith cyborg assassins or drugs in the food, it’s all a massive abuse of human rights. My vision for Liberal Facism is, of course, ironic. I know I would be destroying the very principles I stood for if I did that.
I’m not FORCING them to think a certain way, like with hypnosis or anything, just insuring that they are in a receptive mindstate
You’re getting all serious on me here though. perhaps my irony was too subtle, eh?
I was just picking up the ball
@ShinRaijin - irony is hard to pick up from just text. no tone of voice, no intonation, no body language. that’s why you need to make overblown statements and talk like a super-villain or something. i like to think i made my irony clear with the cyborg ninja/sith assassin secret police! be more…. dramatic!
As conspiracies unwind
Will you slam shut
Or free your mind
Or stay hypnotised
how did i miss this post?! this is most strange, but somehow i’ve only just noticed this. i think… i don’t know. weird.
i was just thinking about politics today. it’s kinda hard not to atm, but obama is also visiting our campus next week and i’m going to try to get out there to hear him if i’m able. my dad also sent me a political cartoon today via e-mail that showed a few kids trick-or-treating and a crazy-looking middle-aged gentleman with candy in his hands. the bubble above the older man reads “look how much candy you have! i’m going to take half and give it to the kids too lazy to go trick-or-treating for themselves!” while the kids look disappointed and a collective bubble reads “oh crap, a democrat.” in conjunction with that revelife post about christian=republican, that cartoon really left a bitter taste in my mouth, both because of the selfishness that it implied (certainly a christian trait, yes?) and the negative spin. dunno. i’m not a political activist by any means–in many cases i’m apathetic, in part due to those damned TLSs, in part due to the smack of power struggles and popularity contests, and also partly to inconsistencies in my upbringing. i don’t know much about the candidates beyond the rhetoric and stuff i hear in the media, but so far i tend to agree with you. unfortunately, i forgot to get an absentee ballot in time and won’t be able to make it back home for the election. psh.
still weirded out how this post snuck up on me.
@mercurialmusic - typical conservative response; assume that everyone who doesn`t do things your way is lazy/stupid/ammoral/sinful and punish them for it, despite the fact you are totally uneducated and uninformed on their position. What if it were “I`m gonna take half your candy and give it to underprivelidged children?” Not everyone the Democrats/Left Wing parties support are lazy spongers. But, of course, the right-wingers have to pile everyone together. Makes it much easier to judge and condemn people when you don`t have to actually understand or get educated about them. Yes, hand-outs ARE a problem, in the UK especially. The Nanny State has taken on a whole new ridiculous meaninga and there do need to be limits. But people DO need help and deriding that help in one generalised swoop is just an ignorant knee-jerk reaction by heartless, selfish people intent on serving themselves. Ironic how Social Darwinism is so often practiced by conservative Christians too.
Yes, I am conservative-bashing again. I am pretty intolerant of intolerance, is all.