The Politics Hour

Disclaimer: I was raised in a military household. Both of my brothers attended a military academy. Both of my sisters are married to men with successful military careers. I attended the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, RI, until I awoke one February morning at 5:25 and asked myself, “What am I doing here?”

As a result of this upbringing, I began life as a Republican before I even knew what a political party was. I was drilled with a conservative, Respect your Elders, Don’t Question Things, We Know What’s Best for You mindset. Then I grew up. And I questioned everything.

First it was the things a young man can easily grasp: sex, drugs and rock & roll. I embraced these things, some of them more than others. Eventually, though, my scope broadened and I started to look at the people that inhabit the landscape where I live, just outside of Washington DC. I began to look at the abject hypocrisy that flourishes here. With some regularity, a Republican is discovered to have his or her fingers in the cookie jar or is discovered to have an unusual attraction to boys. A Democrat is found guilty of shady business dealings, usually the bailiwick of conservative business-types.

In my adult life the Right has moved further to the right and the Left has moved further to the left. The base of each party loudly proclaims that they are the true core of the party; the Conservative Christians on the right, the socialist tree-huggers on the left. Each proclaims its superiority loudly and vehemently, indicating that the other is not only wrong, but possibly psychologically unbalanced.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most of America lies somewhere in between. Red, blue… how about purple? So I’m renouncing both parties and joining the libertarians. I haven’t decided whether I’ll join the Capital “L” Libertarians, but I can‘t in good conscience remain affiliated with either of the big parties.

Here’s where I stand now: Do what you want, just don’t hurt anyone else. And stop yelling at me like I’m an idiot. I don’t need to be sold. I can think for myself. Politics should never be comparable to used car sales.

“Where do you stand on the burning issues of the day?” you ask. Well, here are some of my responses.

• Abortion: They should be safe and legal. Don’t believe in it? Then don’t have one. Really, really against it? Then provide an alternative. Adopt some children. Put up or shut up.
• Gay marriage: Marriage is something that happens in a church. If your church doesn’t condone it, that’s cool with me. But our government needs to recognize unions beyond the traditional man-woman nexus. We’re a big, weird country made up of lots of interesting people. Recognizing relationships will not bring us nearer to the apocalypse.
• Gun control: Hit what you aim at. But expect very harsh penalties if you use weapons against another human being. This falls squarely under the “Don’t hurt anyone else” banner.
• Drug use: I’m personally not a user, but what you do in your own house is your own business.  However, don’t expect me to save your ass when you’ve lost everything as a result of your addiction. There are plenty of non-government programs to get you clean. Go find one.
• The War in Iraq: I have no freakin’ idea. This one is too convoluted for me. If the world is a corporation, then Saddam Hussein was a bad middle manager in a small department with some important resources.  He needed to be replaced. But somewhere along the line, it went very wrong. This one is too big for me. Fortunately, I’m not running for office, so I don’t have to fix it.
• Social Security: I don’t believe the baby boomers will leave anything for me so I’m packing my own parachute.
• Income Taxes: When the government demonstrates that they can spend my money responsibly, I’ll consider griping less about my taxes. We, as a nation, need to get our fiscal house in order. I’d go to jail if I treated my finances the way our government does.

At the end of the day, I personally am a fiscal conservative and social libertarian. I believe we all have the right to pursue happiness. If your version of happiness means a gazillion dollars, then get yourself educated, come up with an idea and work like hell to make it happen. If happiness means surfing every day in Hanalei, then move to Kauai and do it. If happiness means a three bedroom, two and a half bath cape cod with a white picket fence, 2.2 children, a golden retriever and a Volvo, then figure out a way to get there. But don’t expect anyone to hand it to you. Figure out what you need to do, then do it. No excuses. But don’t expect either political party to assist you.

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats will do a thing to get you to your desired place unless your desired place is within the political machine. All they are interested in is your vote; all they want is a way to remain in power. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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