I saw a short segment on CNN today that some (fairly shallow) research had been done on how heredity affects political leanings, and how the decision-making processes of liberals and conservatives DIFFER (according to differences in brain activity per PET scan).It occurs to me that (being a liberal, a lefty a person who employs logic for a living and having a 155 IQ) there is a REASON why certain people seem impenetrable to logic, preferring to cleave to prejudice, alarm and suspicion, and others are open to new ideas. The different ends of the political spectrum approach decision-making and problem-solving in entirely different ways.
One of the most corrosive and degrading concepts rigid thinkers have introduced into the modern social lexicon is that of the "cult." No one can define the word reliably, but most people who are against them know one when they see it. Generally, it's "strong devotion to something/someone you'd have to be an idiot to believe." Or, "believing in stuff I don't believe in."
There are now murmurings on the web and in the media of an Obama "cult." We supporters are, by the mere application of the label, reduced to mindless sycophants who are devoid of analytical powers and unable to think for ourselves.
Whether or not our founding fathers had my "givers" vs "takers" paradigm in mind (I rather doubt it), they could hardly have devised better barometers for which end of the spectrum a government honored than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While these tendencies may be difficult to measure objectively, a perceptive and thoughtful person can see in which direction any government proposal or policy tends- toward these goals, or away from them. More importantly, the perceptive and thoughtful person can tell the difference between the SYMBOLIC striving toward these goals, the the ACTUAL striving toward them.
Republicans see government as a "necessary evil," an attack dog, to guard the homestead and to set upon the wicked, but to be fed no more than absolutely necessary. The chief beneficiary of its protection is seen, first and foremost, as commerce - and secondarily, the citizenry, to the degree they can benefit from commerce. The right-wing ideological base of the party imbues it with the additional charter of enforcing morals - a natural extension of its function of falling upon the wicked and sending them straight to hell. As government is evil, Big Government is BAD, and Limited Government (preferably just cops and soldiers) is GOOD.
Democrats see government as the servant of the people, in that it is the coordinated means whereby the people care for themselves and for each other. In other words, it is not a danger to the people, for it is OF the people. The clearest statement of this principle is within the very first founding document of our United States, the Declaration of Independence.
John McCain has served this country honorably, and continues to do so. I do not agree with his philosophy, nor most of his politics, but I have no quarrel in the main with his methods. Why would he be an unwise choice for president?
I Just listened to a healthy portion of his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, and was reminded again of the many ways in which he makes me uneasy, and of the many ways in which his candidacy is a continuation of the divisive and destructive political path into which our nation has fallen.
