Quote:
Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis
Well, this is an insight. I am curious, though. The Contract with America was ballyhooed in 1994. How did a 17-year-old Jewish girl come to say, "Yeah, that Newt Gingrich. He speaks for me."
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I was raised in a Rebublican household. I firmly believed that the Republicans were the party of lower taxes, smaller government, and more personal responsibility, meaning more freedom to make decisions about my own life. I was anti-gun control, anti-smoking laws, anti-seatbelt/bike helmet laws, anti-censorship. I was anti-welfare, anti-medicare....basically, I thought people could take care of themselves, and if they couldn't, they didn't deserve what they couldn't earn. I read lots of Ayn Rand. I was a big fan of Desert Storm, and was just fine with the concept of policing the world, because I thought America had everything correct, and the rest of the world was backward, ignorant, and in need of some ass-kicking to get on track and away from their bad systems.
I still hold some of these beliefs to some degree, others I have tossed. Mostly what I've learned is the world is not black and white, hence my anger at the two party system.
As the Republicans showed me just how much they loved big gov't, I got disillusioned and moved on. I was a real-deal Libertarian until 9/11 happened. That's when I realized that a) the Libertarians had no idea what real Americans were thinking, meaning they'll never be a successful party and b) real Americans actually loved being safe instead of free, which we're now committed to, forever and ever.
I have no further delusions about the future of America. Like every other country in the history of civilization, we've had our peak, and we're headed downhill. We've peaked in productivity, freedom of expression, and our affect on the world stage, and now we're not leading the world in any aspect of anything. Part of the reason for this is our political system, and our fears. Without the capacity for risk, we're an overblown joke.
I mean.......we bought blinds for our kitchen. Blinds. You pull the cord, they go up and down. These blinds have a yellow and black WARNING LABEL on the bottom. As if we bought something dangerous. Well of course it's dangerous - a child could strangle themselves on the cord. We no longer live in a strong, bold society. We live in fear of everything, we assume that people are stupid enough to let their child get strangled on a cord, and we feel the maker of the blinds is responsible if this happens. What kind of world are we living in?
This is why I do not debate politics at all anymore. In high school I was seriously considering creating a debate club at our school, and eventually becoming a political journalist. By the time I graduated I realized that was all over. If you want to make a difference, you can step up and be a true martyr - all the rest is blowhard armchair BS. I decided I didn't want to exchange my life for a political one, and therefore, I bowed out of the whole deal.
I do wish America the best of luck...it still is home, and I still think I'll stay, at least until I truly feel that my own freedoms are being strangled enough that I have to leave.