Blind Pig Manifesto

Responding to an email, I had cause to think about my core beliefs. I don't know how clear I can be about them, but I decided to flesh out the thoughts and at least try to explain them. Here goes:

I do not consider myself a Republican. There are several things that Bush does that I do not like: Not vetoing big spending bills, expanding Medicare, and advocacy of the FMA (not that the President has anything to do with Constitutional Amendments). However, I can also separate the man from the policy, as many on the left do not appear to be able to do.

On the other hand, there are things his does that I do like, such as lowering taxes. I also think President Bush is a good man and a moral man. I regret how President Bush is treated by some. That treatment reminds me of the treatment of the last President to deal with a divided nation. He was also demonized by his opposition. He was called a "half-witted usurper" and other such things by the press.

His name was Abraham Lincoln, and I admire him as I admire President Bush. History forced conflict upon both men. And both men rose to the challenge.

My hot button issue is the War on Terror. I have two kids and I want them to be able to go to New York City without the chance some Islamic terrorist is going to start blowing things up or increasing radiation levels. I want them to live in a world where Islamic extremism is a thing of the past, just was done with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

I am in complete agreement with President Bush in forcing Saddam Hussein to prove he was no danger to the US or to face the consequences. I too am angry at the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq. But I am not angry at Bush. I am angry that the obdurate nature of Saddam Hussein made the invasion necessary.

I do believe that Bush has made the country and the world safer. Is there a chance that terrorists will attack us again? Sure. This is a war. Like any war, each side tries to damage the other. Sometimes the bad guys win a battle.

But that does not mean that we should give up or that we should be afraid. We do, however, have to be aware. We do have to keep fighting them. We do have to push to destroy those who would destroy our way of life and who would kill millions of us if they could.

There does not appear to be a place for someone like me in the Democratic Party. Witness what is happening to one of my own United States Senators, Zell Miller. I have seen the unjustified anger directed at him by some Democrats. I find it ugly, unnecessary, and demeaning to the Democratic Party.

I don't support John Kerry because I think he is a bit of a Baron Munchausen. He certainly seems to be someone who tacks with the wind, more often picking the expedient course. He has no center and no core beliefs that I can discern.

I don't understand why Kerry picked John Edwards to be his Veep. How is Edwards supposed to be useful in the War on Terror? Is he going to file a class action suit against Al Quada? Or will UBL be inspired to do no more evil by a slick stump speech from Edwards? Seriously, what is the point of Edwards?

I regret the tone this election has taken. The turning point for me into activism was seeing F9/11. I decided that if the mainstream media was going to embrace a canard-fest like that, then the gloves were off.

I am extraordinarily upset with obvious media bias. For example, the way the mainstream media has treated the Swift Boat Vets has been shameful. These men fought and bled for their country and have the right to speak about their experiences. It seems to me that the major media has been deliberately looking for excuses to first ignore them and then to denigrate them. Shameful.

I don't regret that my local paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a liberal newspaper. I regret that they deny their problem in the same knee jerk way a drug addict would deny his.

During my day at the protests, I did get into several good conversations with some on the other side and I thought we did some good. No, I don't think we changed any minds about who should be President. But I thought at the very least some of us could stop demonizing each other, put aside our anger, and try to understand each other's point of view.

If I had to pay the price by being yelled at, attacked, and otherwise abused - I think it was worth it. I think it was worth because of those moments of calm and thoughtful discussion I was able to have with some of those on the other side.

Comments

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