It's Politics

I created this blog back in 2005 so I could talk about things that interested me (i.e. religion, politics, sports and my family). I have always been fascinated by politics and in times past, even considered throwing my hat in the ring for local office. I first became interested in politics back in 1976 with the election of Jimmy Carter. I remember my first political debate was with a friend on the school bus. It was about who should be elected president, Carter or Ford. I also remember my Government class in High School. There I had my introduction to the concepts of left and right in politics (the whole left/right thing did not make sense to me at the time...I mean really, what is the difference between communism [left] and fascism [right]? The end result is the same). I can also remember that we were given an assignment dealing with one of the major public policy issues of the day. The handout had several policy recommendations from various political leaders. The recommendations from Ronald Reagan made the most sense to me. After that, I started becoming more interested in what the politicians were actually saying and what they believed "philosophically".

While my family mostly identified themselves as democrats, we experienced first hand the negative consequences that the economic policies of the Carter administration brought on our country. As a Contractor, my dad's business suffered greatly because of the high interest rates and the general malaise in the economy at that time. It devastated the housing market. So in 1980, I had the chance to vote in my first election. Based on what I had learned, I registered as a republican and voted for Ronald Reagan. During the 80s my own personal political beliefs solidified into what would be considered a conservative political perspective. Throw in my evangelical college education and my biblical worldview and you can see why I identified with the republican party. It was the only place I felt at home as both an economic and social conservative. While I am still a registered republican, I have always called myself a conservative first and a Republican second.



As I have grown older, I have become more and more libertarian in my perspective. I am a big believer in economic and personal freedom. I think government should be small and only do the few things that the private sector cannot do. I believe that "the government is best, which governs the least." I believe that capitalism is the best economic system, but the rampant crony capitalism we have today is very dangerous.

I believe that people should be allowed too keep most of what they earn, and the government should incentivize hard work and initiative, not punish it.

“I believe that every individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor, so far as it in no way interferes with any other men’s rights” – Abraham Lincoln

I believe that the political class in this country is elitist (democrats and republicans) and that they think they know what's best for us. Despite our wishes, they are bound and determined to tell us how to live by regulating our lives in any way they can (i.e. health care). As Daniel Webster said,

"There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."

I believe that power IS corrupting, and while there are good men and women in government and politics and the media, the desire to control us is all too enticing (especially in Washington D.C.), and it ends up tainting most. The end effect of this corrupting influence is that they (the political class) see everything through the lens of politics. They are unable to distinguish between what is right, and what is right for their political success.

The events of this last week provide a perfect example. The way the political left and their accomplices in the mainstream media (MSM) handled the aftermath of the shootings in Arizona made me sick. The politicizing of the shooting was in and of itself shameful and toxic. In truth, the left-wing in this country was just looking for an opportunity to smear the right. The left and their willing accomplices in the MSM had the template/narrative already in place they just needed an event to get it started.

To somehow assert that the political tone in this country is toxic because of the rhetoric on the right while self-righteously denying that the left has not equally contributed to it, is ignorant at best and hypocritically dishonest at worst.

Let's play a little game of who said this...

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”

Get out there and “punish our enemies”

“I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”

“Punch back twice as hard.”

I want to know “whose ass to kick”

“…I’m itching for a fight.”

Rush Limbaugh? Nope. Sean Hannity? No again. Glenn Beck? Sorry. Sarah Palin? Not even. How about Barack Obama? Yep!

What about this? “Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him [sic] and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him." That would be Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski talking about Florida Governor Rick Scott.

For more proof that the left is just as guilty see here, here, here, and here. There are many more examples where that came from.

Now my point is not to play a game of gotcha or to get caught up in a tit-for-tat exchange. It is only that the tone of the political rhetoric in his country is what it is...it has been this way since the founding of this nation and will continue on as long as we have a republic left in which to live and practice our freedoms of speech, religion and association.

I recently had a Facebook "dust-up" with a colleague I very much respect because she asserted that the current political environment is more toxic than it has ever been. I disagreed, since I remember all that "toxic" political rhetoric from 2000-2008, and the rhetoric from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s...and I only mention those decades because they cover the time period of my generation...f there is a difference today it is in the ubiquitous presence of the rhetoric because of the information age in which we live. However, the tone is no different than it ever has been.

My colleague thinks the rhetoric we are hearing now, is more "toxic" than it's ever been because it is the most toxic to her point of view. The stuff that was spewed about President Bush was much more "toxic," in my opinion, but that is because I didn't like what was being said during that time. It is all a matter of perspective. That's the way it goes, it's politics.

President Obama's speech given at the Memorial Service was good in many ways, although it would have been a much better speech if he acknowledged his role in the "toxic" rhetoric (see above statements). As an aside, as someone who has officiated and spoken at numerous memorial services, that service was more like a political pep rally than a memorial service. The speech had little effect as both sides went back to business as usual.

As I see it, the real danger we will face is an attempt to stifle speech in an the name of "civility." Civility is the new code word for censorship.

Here's the bottom line for me. We have people in this country who see things in vastly differing ways. We will never agree on everything. We will continue to disagree on a great many things and passionately so...that's okay...passion is not a bad thing. Let's be passionate about our politics and let's be gracious about everything else!

PS. After my dust-up with my colleague...I went by her office to make sure we were okay. I acknowledged that while we disagree politically about a great many things, I respect her and would fight to the death for her right to express her political opinion. So we are good!