Its been brought to my attention by people that I respect a great deal that, although its not my intent, I come across as angry and bitter when Im engaged in a debate on a topic that I feel strongly about. Being honest, this isnt the first time Ive heard that, but every once in a while I need to be reminded about that. Because that is certainly not my intent. Over the years, despite the fact that I love a good, hard and sometimes rancorous debate, where all is fair in love and war, and once its over its over, Ive learned the hard way that other people dont view things in the same way. As Ive said before, I play rough in every aspect of my life; I do have the words No Mercy tattooed in Gaelic on my body, after all. But I suppose its a holdover from my competitive days, where once the whistle blows, or I cross the finish line, all is not only forgotten, but forgiven. I have never taken what was said in the heat of battle personally. For example, in this last debate on Ted Cruz and the Tea Party, there were some things said about me that indicated I suffered from a lack of affection as a child, and my need for a puppy, among other things. Yet somehow, I didnt miss a minutes sleep over it. I didnt take it personally, even if it was meant that way, and in all seriousness, its because we were, for lack of a better term, on the field of battle. I try to make sure that I can take it as well as I dish it out, and I feel very confident that the one thing I cant be accused of is lashing out or holding a grudge because of what someone said when we were going at it. If anything, I try to laugh about it. For the record, I respect Mark as much as I always have, our differences aside. I dont believe that he is fully thinking through his support of Ted Cruz or affinity for the Tea Party. As he pointed out, there are aspects to the Tea Party that he does not care for, so if the perception is that I lumped him in with all that the Tea Party stands for, I want to apologize for that. Where I differ with him is in the specifics of their position on the idea that this government MUST have a balanced budget to function. What I do plead guilty to is being verbose: I am, after all, a writer. I view words much like the numbers of a combination lock. I have always believed that if someone can put those words in the right order, just like a combination lock, they will unlock the path to their particular goal, or secret that they are pursuing. Words have power, no matter what Twitter says, and there are things that are more important than a sound bite or pithy statement. I also know that its highly likely most people who read my statuses will not get this far, because its too many words. They have neither the time nor the attention to pay to what I am trying to express. But being completely honest, thats not really something that concerns me. I want, at the very least, to be clear and make my point, which no matter what others might say, doesnt fit in 256 characters. I, and the things that are important to me, are not sound bites, nor are they bullet points. Im not running for office, nor am I trying to convince Mark and those who believe as he does that they are wrong. Instead, I am talking to those few people who ARE willing to invest the time and effort in trying to find a solution to our problems that not only makes us feel good, but is in fact comprehensive and good for ALL of the people in this country. I am talking to people who DONT have the answers, nor do they think they do. In other words, Im talking to the vast majority of people who havent made up their minds about what to do. A very wise person once told me, Everyone is right in their own mind. This is one of those statements that, on the surface, is at the least a no-brainer, a duh kind of statement. But if one truly thinks about it, this is a profound truth, because it explains why people are screaming at each other right now. Here is what I not only believe, but point to history as one of the solid truths of our age. If you dont want to believe me, believe in Dr. Phil. Hes the one who preaches that past performance is the likeliest and most accurate indicator of future performance. While anger, disaffection and alienation are wonderful motivators, and are essential ingredients for launching a political movement, unless that movement can forge its own, ORIGINAL ideas, the anger that started the movement is not going to sustain it. Think about the Arab Spring. It got people in the street because they were mad as hell and not going to take it any more. How are things working in Egypt, or Libya? Neither of those countries have been able to stabilize themselves, because the anger that started the movement was never transformed into something else. There is still a struggle going on for the hearts and minds of people because the people who started that revolution hadnt thought that far ahead. The jurys out on the Ukraine. But our history is littered with examples where the movement that served to uproot the established order fizzled out because it was unable to transform itself by offering people truly new ideas and solutions. This, IMO, is the true weakness of the Tea Party, and why I believe that it is incapable of sustaining itself. Its a beacon to those who are angry and frustrated, who want to see substantive changes to our government, but what the Tea Party is offering is nothing new. Instead, its clarion call is to go back to the future, using the siren sound that is so alluring to all Americans, the idea that we are kindred spirits with that group of men called the Founding Fathers. But the very reason the FF forged a new path was because they recognized that the ideas that had ruled the world for centuries were no longer valid, because they didnt supply ALL people with what they needed. The ideas that they espoused were truly new, truly original, and truly unique, at least in their synthesis. Thats not what the Tea Party is offering. Instead, like all snake-oil salesmen, theyre offering a panacea, with the problem that one sip from their elixir will cure ALL of our ills, that once we reach their stated goal of a balanced budget, with no substantial deficit, we will once again be the America of old, that mythical nation which, to one degree or another, all of us pine for and refer to as the good old days. Which is why the Tea Party cant be trusted, nor can anyone who tells you that we can be what we were in the past. Those days, and all that comes with that, are over. Right now, at this very moment, THIS is as good as it gets for those who feel that way. We are in a new world, and trying to pretend otherwise and turn the clock back is not only ineffective, its dangerous to our future. My major objection to the Tea Party and all that they stand for is in their single-minded refusal to even entertain the idea that they might not, in fact, have all the answers. The most ardent TPers are, simply put, fanatics, and they are very much akin to those members of al-Qaeda who are willing to strap bombs to themselves because they are convinced they are right to the point that theyre willing to blow themselves up. I know these comparisons really get peoples ire up. But if one is being objective, there really isnt much argument to be made. Just like al-Qaeda, the staunchest members of the Tea Party go to sleep every night dead certain that their way is the ONLY way to solve our problems. The only difference is that al-Qaeda members put their money where their mouth is, in the form of a Semtex vest. But anyone whos peddling their way as THE way to do anything needs to be avoided at all costs. The Tea Party is an example of an organization where their goal is extremely short-sighted, because their field of vision is so narrow. None of them have addressed in anywhere near a comprehensive fashion that would indicate they have given much, if any, thought to what this post-Tea Party world would look like. What kind of country would we be living in? Would we be required to sign up to take on one of the prisoners who would have to be released as a boarder? Would there be a draft? Would, as the Tea Partyers insist would happen, private businesses, churches, et. al. REALLY step in to take up the slack? Does anyone truly believe that, if the TPers are to be heeded and government is cut back to the level to which they demand, that people who suddenly had resources that they had come to depend on cut out from under them would just be...upset? That they would organize and work together to organize into a coalition to try and wrest control back through the political process? Or would they do the fastest, and easiest thing, grabbing a gun and going out and taking what they view as their just due? What about them?
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 04:17:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015