The Ranting of a (former) Kansan: or How I Became a Conservative Libertarian Communist.
Well Adam asked for some sort of social-political post, so I?m going to rant on my political background, as a sort of foot in the door for future political rants in this space.
First let me say that I am socially fairly conservative. This immediately seems to get me labeled as a Republican. Which is something I tend to hate, because Republicans are way too rabid toward abortion and the death penalty for my taste. This is where my strong libertarian streak comes in. I don?t believe that the Government should insert itself into our lives. Which is to say that while I believe that abortion is wrong, I?m not going to go out and bomb a clinic or make a big push to make it illegal. I also am opposed to gay marriage, but only in the sense that marriage is a religious institution. I believe that the government can make a legal ?union? but not a marriage. So I think that if you are homosexual and you want to ?marry? then you just need to be a part of a church that believes in that sort of thing and you can get married and the government should recognize the union in the same way that my marriage is recognized by the state of Kansas (and all other states via the due faith and credit clause of the constitution). It is easier to say that I live a conservative lifestyle in general and I do not preach myself as superior (but yet I preach thus the post), nor do I wish to impart my beliefs on anyone (outside of my family of course).
The Libertarian aspect has already been touched on in the above paragraph, but I?m going to expand on these beliefs a bit as well. I believe in freedom and liberty as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. I think that a large, centralized government is a bad thing. The Federal government should devolve much of it?s power back to the states and the local government. I feel that the people should be free to express their ideas, practice their beliefs, and be involved with their community. I believe that governmental control of people?s lives is almost always a bad thing.
The one part of the my political agenda that runs contrary to my other beliefs is the communism part. By communism, I am not talking Stalin, Lenin, the Red Menace, and commie pinko bastards. When I say communism, I?m meaning it in more of a true commune sort of way. The gap between the truly wealthy and the rest of the people has stretched beyond belief. The poorest people in this country cannot hope for a change in their situation for several generations if they are lucky, they are beat down upon by a very broadly defined middle class. Middle class in this country starts at being ?fairly comfortable? (i.e. food on the table, roof over head) and runs all the way up to ?fairly wealthy?. This includes people who say they are ?upper middle class?(Doctors, most lawyers and other professionals). The middle class people can move a bit either up and down the ladder, but it is much, much easier for them to fall into the ?poor? range. To be truly wealthy you must also wield a great deal of power. I?m not just talking about political power like the Bush family, but also power to control the media, and the power to keep politicians in their pockets. The last 24 years have seen a schism in how the ?liberal? democrats and ?conservative? republicans do business. The democrats (Clinton) did more to reign in national debt and out of control spending, while the republicans (Reagan, Bushes) have been irresponsible and increased spending and cut taxes on the rich.
If Adam lets me come back to do another appearance, I will point out how, while 20 years later than predicted, many of the items in Orwell?s 1984 are closer than you think.