What kind are you?

By Jon Anne Willow

Dear Readers,

My boyfriend is my favorite kind of conservative. A drive past a “Give Peace a Chance” yard sign is enough to get him started. “I don’t want to hear from anyone about being unhappy with the way things are going unless they have a plan to change it,” is one common complaint. If I mention that he himself is unhappy with “the way things are going” he is quick to point out that he’s not complaining. (God forbid we ever end up at a red light behind a “Republicans for Voldemort” bumper sticker: The only thing that bothers him more than liberals without a plan is fantasy andscience fiction.)

When afforded these impromptu opportunities to engage in political debate, the conversation plays out predictably. He lays out his argument with the usual tent stakes of the superior organizational power of the Republicans and his support of decisive action and a clear agenda over ideological drift and Tower-of-Babel pluralism. His resolve typically begins to falter, though, when questioned directly on whether the decisive actions to which he refers represent sound policy, and whether the clear social and moral agenda of his party truly adhere to the founding principles of Republicanism. Like many conservative individuals, he is a person of common sense, secretly disappointed in just how far his party has strayed from its core values.

I’m pretty sure I’m also my boyfriend’s favorite kind of liberal. I pound the tent stakes of our nation’s fall from grace: of a once-compassionate government which no longer guards the interests of its most vulnerable, which thumbs its nose at the rest of the world’s economic and social interests, which aggressively seeks to erode such basic personal freedoms as privacy and reproductive choice. My resolve typically begins to falter, though, when he points out that despite the fact that many Americans on both sides of the political fence share my views, my party has done nothing to effect change except make the aforementioned charges. Yes, Democrats are working hard to win back Congressional seats in these midterm elections on a vague platform of curing these ills, but the party was beset on all sides for over a decade before it started to retaliate with any force. “The war has been such an effective distraction,” I attempt to argue. “People don’t want to buck the leadership when faced with such a crisis.” I even sometimes add lamely, “Besides, these things take time.” (God forbid we end up at a red light behind a “Democrats Have Moral Values, Too” bumper sticker. The only thing that bothers me more than liberals without a plan is whining statements of the obvious.) Not so secretly, I am also disappointed in how far my party has strayed from its core values.

But what is the solution? The events of the last five years have shown in stark relief just how little difference there is between elected officials. Even if given a free pass on the rushed ratification of the PATRIOT Act initially, there is no excuse for foregoing the sundowning of some of its most odious elements, Medicare Part B and the unfunded mandates of No Child Left Behind, to name just a few. Clearly, the weakness, the laziness and/or the ability to be influenced by special interests evidenced on both sides of the aisle all point to a much larger concern. We have been abandoned by our leaders, who no longer feel compelled even to pay lip service to their roles as public servants save at election time. And based on the evidence, there’s no reason to believe that things will be different if your new Representative claims blue over red, or vice versa. Come November, we’ll have yet another opportunity to meet the new boss – same as the old boss.

I am at fault in this, along with the rest of you. I don’t have a master plan we can all execute together, short of a coup. And until and unless the majority of individuals are personally, deeply affected by the sea change in our country, that’s beyond unlikely. So this is what I am doing. I don’t buy products from retailers or companies whose practices I feel run counter to the national interest or my personal values. I actively participate in the betterment of my immediate community. I speak up about my beliefs and do my best to understand what’s happening in the world around me. I love my family and respect my peers. And I wait for my opening.

Peace,

Jon Anne