Chapter 7 World and Family Politics
5:15 PM. November 6, 2012 ....I figure I better write this today because depending on how tonight goes, I might not feel all that creative tomorrow! It's pretty raw so please overlook any typos and just plain poorly developed ideas, but like I said..I'm up against a deadline!
So why has this election caused so much division? The one we had 4 years ago was a piece of cake compared to this food fight. Families could sit together at the dinner table with reasonable assurance they would walk away full and without injury. In ' 08 one could even attend a dinner party without getting frisked by the host. Things are so tense now a friend of mine got an invite with an RSVP that said BYOB but NGA (no guns allowed)! And that was for a baby shower!!
But really, what's so special about this election that's caused so many to divorce, estrange and de-friend? What political seismic shift could move sweet little ladies to cut classmates pictures from their treasured old year books, draw mustaches and pitchforks on 'em, them mount them on their grandchild's dartboard?!
What tectonic movement of the political plates could cause us to add an extra foot to our fences and cause folks to take the long way around to avoid the politically pushy neighbor that's got the 'other guys' sign in his yard?
Yeah, coming out of the political closet for a candidate these days is not without it's risks! Most of you, I suppose like me, did it innocently... and naively. I had just signed up for Facebook because, unlike MySpace, it was built around communicating and sharing ideas and opinions. So I set up my password, posted a picture 10 years younger than me, and went in search of 'Friends'.
I'm a musician so I 'friended' musicians. I started with real friends and worked down to their friends, then ultimately to anyone that had a picture of them with a guitar, sitar or gut- bucket. I didn't care because all musicians are brothers right? Right.
First few months we all talked about who's playing where or we'd post songs and support each other in our efforts to improve. .... Til one dark day. The wind whistled, the lightning lit, tornadoes tore, and hail...ok I'm over hyping this aren't I?.. One day I saw a thread where my musician buddies were talking about politics. And as I read the posts I realized that I disagreed with every single solitary thing they were saying. 'No problem', I thought. I'll just type a few words expressing my differing opinion. Surely it will be a welcome addition to all the aggreein' that was going on,.. right? ...I hit send and waited. Then waited some more until one of the more expressive musicians challenged my views. I challenged back. And before you know it I had lost a 'friend'. And so fast. Heck, up to that point in my life, that kind of instant rejection had only been delivered by unimpressed women!!
I suspect your first experience of coming out of your political closet was in some ways similar, for who hasn't read a political post of a friend or family member and uttered the words "I can't believe that he/she is a ______" . Just fill in the party that you aren't a member of!
That whole 'express my opinion' scenario was re-enacted hundreds of times over the next 2 years. One of the first things I learned is that if I was going to find political cover and comfort, it was not going to be from within the ranks of the artistic community!!...I kid about all that, and truly, the real friends I had before I came out, are still my friends. And it is my hope that even with our disagreements, that I might have added a few new ones to the 'real friend' category..
But still some things weren't the same. It changed the way musicians interact in some small ways. Now we think twice before pluggin' any electrical wire into our guitar, that's handed to us by a known sympathizer. And any food or beverage given as a gift from them, gets sampled by either the dog, an unsuspecting member of the other party, or by a band member you were contemplating firing anyway!
Yeah this political season has been one for the history books. But still, why those deep divisions? Why the sudden enthusiasm, the passion, the anger? Why are people that have never held a political sign in their lives, making them in their living rooms and holding them on street corners. They're Googling and ganging together, learning about tax policy, Keynesian, Romnesia and Barry's school in Indonesia (sorry, couldn't resist the rhyme)... So many people that would have been frozen before a crowd any larger than 2, can now stand and talk to groups of neighbors on the original intent of our founders, the Constitution, immigration law or whether it is or isn't a woman's 'right to choose'. And tragically because of recent events, they know that fast and furious is far more than 2 adjectives. And everyone can spell Benhghazi and can, off the top of their heads, describe the chain of command and responsibilities set in motion by an attack on any US embassy.
American citizens in 2012 know more about President Obama's friends than they do their own. They know how much he weighed at birth, all his social security numbers and every country he was born in...( a little conspiracy humor as I close this thing out)
Fwiw, and quite likely not very much, here's my take on why this election has caused so much division?
For many years America, both socially and fiscally has been moving slowly but steadily toward the goals of the left. On occasion the leftward march has been halted but rarely lurched backwards as is evidenced by few if any cuts and virtually no elimination of government programs. At the same time, social issues have evolved, however slowly, to the advantage of the left.
None of this has gone unnoticed by the right and Republican politicians would either out of principle, or to impress their constituents near elections, engage the opposition in a few skirmishes thru the years. But on the whole, the right had come to accept the inevitability of the very, very, slow move leftward.
Then Barrack Obama arrived. He was the answer to every coffee klatch dream of a left leaning citizen. With Obama, the left finally got the candidate they sought and much much more. Besides being blessed with a wonderful combination of a Harvard law degree and a skin color that could make labeling detractors as racists a breeze, the election became undeniably historic. And it truly was. The possibility of a black president of a country with a not so distant past of racial segregation was the stuff of dreams. And actually that sentiment was felt by Americans of all stripes. But for many liberals there was more, like them, he believed the Constitution is a living document for a time long gone and an impediment to modern 'social justice'. He favored an expansive government, greater public sector union strength, higher taxes on businesses and the wealthy. He was a proponent of Keynesian economics (gov't spending expands the economy), expansion of programs for lower income groups, government health care, amnesty, pro gay marriage, anti-coal and an overall Green approach to energy. For the left, he appeared to be a political gift from heaven!
In short, Barrack Obama embodied everything a person on the left was for and everything a person on the right was against..
His emergence was swift and his language and political style was anything but accommodating to those that opposed him. In that respect he was a new type of candidate. The right considered his aggressive political style offensive and divisive. The left, refreshing and liberating.
For many years the right had been cooking in a pot of slowly heating water. The heat was tolerable when administered incrementally. Obama turned the temperature up so rapidly that they noticed it. He wanted too much too fast. So every right of center American that had been willing to go to slaughter slowly, sensed they were fighting for their values and rebelled against what they believed to be the country's ruin. They confronted the left and the left confronted them.
And tonight after all the public vitriol, family feuds and unfriended friends, Americans will stroll quietly into their precincts, draw the curtain and vote. Then pray that tomorrow our nation will begin to heal.
And that's my take not only on the division, but also why we only allow plastic utensils at our family gatherings!
(I finished this that evening but before I could decide if I wanted to post it, the election was over)
5:15 PM. November 6, 2012 ....I figure I better write this today because depending on how tonight goes, I might not feel all that creative tomorrow! It's pretty raw so please overlook any typos and just plain poorly developed ideas, but like I said..I'm up against a deadline!
So why has this election caused so much division? The one we had 4 years ago was a piece of cake compared to this food fight. Families could sit together at the dinner table with reasonable assurance they would walk away full and without injury. In ' 08 one could even attend a dinner party without getting frisked by the host. Things are so tense now a friend of mine got an invite with an RSVP that said BYOB but NGA (no guns allowed)! And that was for a baby shower!!
But really, what's so special about this election that's caused so many to divorce, estrange and de-friend? What political seismic shift could move sweet little ladies to cut classmates pictures from their treasured old year books, draw mustaches and pitchforks on 'em, them mount them on their grandchild's dartboard?!
What tectonic movement of the political plates could cause us to add an extra foot to our fences and cause folks to take the long way around to avoid the politically pushy neighbor that's got the 'other guys' sign in his yard?
Yeah, coming out of the political closet for a candidate these days is not without it's risks! Most of you, I suppose like me, did it innocently... and naively. I had just signed up for Facebook because, unlike MySpace, it was built around communicating and sharing ideas and opinions. So I set up my password, posted a picture 10 years younger than me, and went in search of 'Friends'.
I'm a musician so I 'friended' musicians. I started with real friends and worked down to their friends, then ultimately to anyone that had a picture of them with a guitar, sitar or gut- bucket. I didn't care because all musicians are brothers right? Right.
First few months we all talked about who's playing where or we'd post songs and support each other in our efforts to improve. .... Til one dark day. The wind whistled, the lightning lit, tornadoes tore, and hail...ok I'm over hyping this aren't I?.. One day I saw a thread where my musician buddies were talking about politics. And as I read the posts I realized that I disagreed with every single solitary thing they were saying. 'No problem', I thought. I'll just type a few words expressing my differing opinion. Surely it will be a welcome addition to all the aggreein' that was going on,.. right? ...I hit send and waited. Then waited some more until one of the more expressive musicians challenged my views. I challenged back. And before you know it I had lost a 'friend'. And so fast. Heck, up to that point in my life, that kind of instant rejection had only been delivered by unimpressed women!!
I suspect your first experience of coming out of your political closet was in some ways similar, for who hasn't read a political post of a friend or family member and uttered the words "I can't believe that he/she is a ______" . Just fill in the party that you aren't a member of!
That whole 'express my opinion' scenario was re-enacted hundreds of times over the next 2 years. One of the first things I learned is that if I was going to find political cover and comfort, it was not going to be from within the ranks of the artistic community!!...I kid about all that, and truly, the real friends I had before I came out, are still my friends. And it is my hope that even with our disagreements, that I might have added a few new ones to the 'real friend' category..
But still some things weren't the same. It changed the way musicians interact in some small ways. Now we think twice before pluggin' any electrical wire into our guitar, that's handed to us by a known sympathizer. And any food or beverage given as a gift from them, gets sampled by either the dog, an unsuspecting member of the other party, or by a band member you were contemplating firing anyway!
Yeah this political season has been one for the history books. But still, why those deep divisions? Why the sudden enthusiasm, the passion, the anger? Why are people that have never held a political sign in their lives, making them in their living rooms and holding them on street corners. They're Googling and ganging together, learning about tax policy, Keynesian, Romnesia and Barry's school in Indonesia (sorry, couldn't resist the rhyme)... So many people that would have been frozen before a crowd any larger than 2, can now stand and talk to groups of neighbors on the original intent of our founders, the Constitution, immigration law or whether it is or isn't a woman's 'right to choose'. And tragically because of recent events, they know that fast and furious is far more than 2 adjectives. And everyone can spell Benhghazi and can, off the top of their heads, describe the chain of command and responsibilities set in motion by an attack on any US embassy.
American citizens in 2012 know more about President Obama's friends than they do their own. They know how much he weighed at birth, all his social security numbers and every country he was born in...( a little conspiracy humor as I close this thing out)
Fwiw, and quite likely not very much, here's my take on why this election has caused so much division?
For many years America, both socially and fiscally has been moving slowly but steadily toward the goals of the left. On occasion the leftward march has been halted but rarely lurched backwards as is evidenced by few if any cuts and virtually no elimination of government programs. At the same time, social issues have evolved, however slowly, to the advantage of the left.
None of this has gone unnoticed by the right and Republican politicians would either out of principle, or to impress their constituents near elections, engage the opposition in a few skirmishes thru the years. But on the whole, the right had come to accept the inevitability of the very, very, slow move leftward.
Then Barrack Obama arrived. He was the answer to every coffee klatch dream of a left leaning citizen. With Obama, the left finally got the candidate they sought and much much more. Besides being blessed with a wonderful combination of a Harvard law degree and a skin color that could make labeling detractors as racists a breeze, the election became undeniably historic. And it truly was. The possibility of a black president of a country with a not so distant past of racial segregation was the stuff of dreams. And actually that sentiment was felt by Americans of all stripes. But for many liberals there was more, like them, he believed the Constitution is a living document for a time long gone and an impediment to modern 'social justice'. He favored an expansive government, greater public sector union strength, higher taxes on businesses and the wealthy. He was a proponent of Keynesian economics (gov't spending expands the economy), expansion of programs for lower income groups, government health care, amnesty, pro gay marriage, anti-coal and an overall Green approach to energy. For the left, he appeared to be a political gift from heaven!
In short, Barrack Obama embodied everything a person on the left was for and everything a person on the right was against..
His emergence was swift and his language and political style was anything but accommodating to those that opposed him. In that respect he was a new type of candidate. The right considered his aggressive political style offensive and divisive. The left, refreshing and liberating.
For many years the right had been cooking in a pot of slowly heating water. The heat was tolerable when administered incrementally. Obama turned the temperature up so rapidly that they noticed it. He wanted too much too fast. So every right of center American that had been willing to go to slaughter slowly, sensed they were fighting for their values and rebelled against what they believed to be the country's ruin. They confronted the left and the left confronted them.
And tonight after all the public vitriol, family feuds and unfriended friends, Americans will stroll quietly into their precincts, draw the curtain and vote. Then pray that tomorrow our nation will begin to heal.
And that's my take not only on the division, but also why we only allow plastic utensils at our family gatherings!
(I finished this that evening but before I could decide if I wanted to post it, the election was over)