BorderWest
Moderate: Old American Word for Commence the Flogging
By Rebecca Powell, 9-08-08
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“The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Inevitably, after I post on social or political issues, I receive kind emails, thanking me for representing the “other” view. “Other” means conservative. Sutton Stokes, a fellow NewWest blogger, even * said I sounded like a “new conservative” after I said a comment of his hinted at misogynism and condescension.The label always surprises me. My family would say, “Rebecca is a flaming liberal.” Except, they would call me Becky, and I would be instantly reduced to a ten-year-old, demanding to be called by my given name.
The truth is my political views do not align with either party. Like 18% of Dona Ana County, I consider myself an Independent**, which may go a long way in explaining why Las Cruces feels like home. I favor fiscal conservatism and social progressivism. From my vantage point, Republicans and Democrats are equally prone to corruption and short-sightedness. While I admire Sarah Palin as a human being, I do not share her social views. I see strengths and weaknesses in both Obama and McCain. All of this means I inspire outrage on all sides. As fun as it is to be pummelled from every direction, I do not flatter myself that I am alone. People run the political spectrum, though it sometimes seems the extremes tend to talk a little louder.
I am as prone to identity politics as the rest of the nation. A boy I dated in high school reminds me of Obama, surely coloring my view. McCain reminds me of my grandfather. Like most of America, I will vote from a complex stance of logic, background, and bias. American politics is as much about gut feeling as a stance on the issues. I may be alone in this, but I do not consider the last statement a negative. However, I do think our propensity towards identity politics places a huge responsibility on the individual. We must examine our biases, our gut feelings, and strive towards logic. Examination may prove our gut feelings right, or it may uncover fallacy. I am still undergoing my own examination.
As a moderate, I am completely liberal in my view of humanity. See, I think intelligent, worthy people can hold different political views for a variety of reasons—none of them include I.Q. Thus, I will not be calling names, demeaning people, or insulting anyone’s intelligence. You can support Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Barack Obama, or John McCain and I will still think you are a pretty swell human being. It’s the least I can do after spiking everyone’s blood pressure. Indulge me in some sappiness—we are all Americans, sharing a great country, engaging in the great debates of our time—let’s engage without malice and with respect for all we share.
*I did and do not consider being called a conservative “name-calling,” only an interesting observation that has led me to question where I fall on the political spectrum.
** Please read this as “mongrel” or “mutt.”
As another of that 18 percent in Dona Ana County, I couldn't have said it better. You're awesome.
Comment By Y Choate, 9-08-08I'm registered Independent too, and I assure you that I know what it means to not fit. At all. And I too am the flaming liberal of my family despite my inclinations toward a balanced budget and sensible tax structure. -sigh-
Comment By Justin, 9-08-08Again, I'm in the same camp as you. Of course my family likes to consider me a liberal and my friends like to consider me as conservative.
Comment By E Shaw, 9-08-08I'm just gonna go with my gut and skip the examination. That might make me ignorant, but on the other hand, it might make me smart.
Your final paragraph conveys an immense amount of... maturity.
Perhaps, if you were able to explain--to each of us--just what a swell human being actually is, your independence might be more interesting.
Comment By Rebecca Powell, 9-08-08Good point, Jedediah. If I can the boy down for a nap, I'll give it a stab.
Oh, and heads up, everyone -- Sutton Stokes has asked for a correction, which I will give if and when the boy goes down.
Jedediah,
First, I should preface this by saying, I see my "Independence" as more of a mongrelism than an independence, meaning politically I'm a mutt. My ideas are not as independent as a conglomeration.
When I say swell human being, what I'm alluding to is that I know hard working, honest, and intelligent people on the far right and the far left. I respect them. They make significant contributions to their families and communities. I do not think their political affiliations dicatate their intelligence and worthiness. That's all.
Thanks for the correction, Rebecca. Just to clarify a little further, I never intended to "call you" a conservative. I was just comparing your rhetorical technique to the one that has been adopted relatively recently by the right in this country, to wit, appropriating the language of civil rights and the right-wing shibboleth of "political correctness" to cry about racism, sexism, etc. — whenever anyone criticizes a CONSERVATIVE woman or minority, whether on substantive grounds or not. (See non-swell-human-being Steve Schmidt choking back crocodile tears on CNN the morning after the nomination, in response to all the "attacks" on Sarah Palin; then see http://www.hulu.com/watch/33335/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-sarah-palin-gender-card)
Though I'm no fan of name calling myself, I just have to add that anyone who reads Rebecca's (very good) blog posts and takes her for a right winger would have to be, well, a moron, which is why I've been at such pains to prevent anyone having the impression that that's what I did.
@Y Choate: let's stop doing the Republican Party the favor of continuing to play along with their con that they are somehow the party of "balanced budgets," considering that Reagan and W. are the two biggest deficit spenders in history. As we have seen over the last 8 years, fiscal responsibility is not a component of one or another political ideology. It seems to me that those interested in a return to budgetary sanity would do well this fall to give the Republican Party one of those "accountability moments" they love to impose on grade-schoolers and welfare recipients, but not the leaders of their party.
Elaquantly put Rebecca, you are obviously a very wellrounded free thinking individual that is able to formulate your own opinions without regard to partisanship, something that is increasingly rare in this country and desperately needed.
Comment By Rebecca Powell, 9-08-08E. Shaw, if I had your gut, I'd trust it.
Justin and Y, interesting that we move along the spectrum depending on the audience.
Sutton, I don't mind being called conservative. In some ways, I am, but I am also in some ways liberal. The label conservative sometimes fit, even if it surprises me.
What is the Palin social agenda? All I have read is that she took on
Big Oil when she was on the board that governed that aspect of Alaska life, and demanded that someone resign due to chargeable corruption issues, which evidently landed some in jail. She has done a very left thing in some views and a very right thing in other views, but she returned $1200 to every Alaskan from oil royalties to help them pay for winter fuel bills. That smacks of socialism, but was an economic act. But I have not read about any social agenda as governor or her acting on her personal religion or values while governing a diverse population.
She does walk the walk, so can talk the talk about conservative social values in her family and home. But I have not heard her say that she would somehow force all Americans to live her life, believe her beliefs. I think some might be reading things into the political conversation that are not there, or not there at this time.
In a short time, she has some serious accomplishments. She is young and apparently smart. You can see the energy. And the diamond in the rough can speak, not in Haaaarvaaaard tones, but in a very folksy real way and communicate to her audience. I cans see that she is a huge threat to the left, and that will certainly bring out the worst in some. That is how it works.
But the one thing I know is that this election is no longer DULL. This is a charged, high voltage deal now, and a real good deal for democracy and the United States of America, no matter who wins or loses. This is a winner of an election for this country. This is just now an old fashioned hootenanny of an election.
@ Sutton:
Since my blogs are less than public, you haven't seen my latest admiring Obama's plan for fiscal conservancy in contrast to McCain's and Bush's. I don't admire how the Bush administration handles our finances, and if I recall correctly, the Clinton administration had managed a balanced budget. When I say that I'm a fiscal conservative, that does not in any way reflect that I swing with the Republicans.
Just wanted to clarify. Thanks for bringing it up.
I'm sick to tears of everyone praising the "folksy" speech of the latest round of Republicans. While I recognize in a very real way the necessity of being able to communicate with a varied audience, are we really that critical of eloquence? I spend my days pursuing eloquence in business writing while conveying the very real financial needs of my community college. In addition, I make every attempt to teach fledgling writers to find style in their own communication attempts.
Please, please, let's not give further credence to the goofy notion that being able to speak to the public clearly is something reserved for the elite.
Good points, Y Choate. Yes, let's remember that it's just as easy to fake folksiness as it is to be a fake with a non-folksy accent. Have you ever seen tapes of Bush speaking to "the commoners" compared to how he talks to, say, the Press Club? Let's remember his whole accent is a bit of a put-on, coming as he does from Connecticut and one of the most connected, inside-Washington, NE WASP families in American history.
Comment By sutton, 9-09-08However, Y Choate, you did set up "flaming liberal" and "balanced budget," etc., in semantic opposition to one another in your comment. That's the only reason I suspected you.
Rebecca, I don't mind being called conservative either, I guess, if only because there are quite a few good conseratives I know of who recognize what a travesty -- and an affront to original conservative values -- the current Republican Party has become (at the mainstream, national leadership level; I'm not talking about voters) and are advocating "burning it down and starting over." (I'll be the first to admit the Democratic Party is in no great shape, either.)