Add to Technorati Favorites

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Chastized, I return

One of the New Year's messages I received this year was this:

Happy New Year Jill. Now update your Patriot blog or something!

This may very well count as "something"... Why haven't I been writing?

a) got busy
One of the reasons I feel politics is so important is that when that system is running correctly, it gives us the freedom to go off and chase whatever rainbow we wish (no matter how pedantic or silly). Once I felt like things were going to be all right after all, I wandered off to chase my only silly and/or pedantic dreams...

b) stopped being so angry and scared
When it seems that not only does the emperor have no clothes but the peasants are also DEAF because they can't hear me screaming, I get on my blog. When it seems like everyone's got it together, I see a shiny thing and move on (see "a").

c) I found Daily Kos and Facebook
Maybe I should always have written on Kos, joined in the general convo instead of playing alone in this sandbox. And I've even posted what might have been a blog post on my Facebook page as a note.

d) I couldn't be balanced because I (heart) Obama like SOOO MUCH!!! I don't feel comfortable writing commercials for candidates. However, after the 20th, he will be OUR PRESIDENT, to be judged on his merits and given a chance to succeed for the good of us all, and I look forward to writing about it!

But I do miss our conversation, so I am returning as LMP!

What's bugging me right now is what always bugs me:

  • Are we going to hold the Bush Administration responsible for their mistakes and crimes to avoid future claims of "precedent"? (and continuing kudos to Congressman John Conyers and The Wax Man for staying on this!!!)
  • Are we going to clean up the affected agencies (which seems to be all of them) from their partisan-strangled and wrong-headed tactics?
  • Speaking of which, are we going to clean up the Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division and the insane gerrymandering so that we can actually believe the election results? Because if that part is BS, then the whole system is worthless and hardly worth railing about.
  • Are the Republicans ever going to find something to be right about? Because I would love to write about that if that were to happen.
Let me leave you with a parting thought:

I like to use school vouchers as an example of a perfect political argument. We all want a better education for our kids. Because we see the world differently, we have a few different ideas about how to achieve that. Logical arguments can be made on both sides-- and to be clear, a logical argument begins with a worldview, develops an overarching philosophy, and finds solutions based on that philosophy that honestly attempt success and see to "destroy" nothing. You may feel that innovation is key to success, that removal of government influence is key to innovation, and suggest school vouchers as a way to support innovative charter schools. Or you may feel that running off in all directions, rather than working together to bring innovation and improvement to one public education system, weakens our communal efforts for the common good, that allowing parents to take their education funds out of the local school in the form of a voucher weakens the school for those left behind, and suggest we put more money into the system we already have bought into. Both sides can argue the finer points as they work toward a solution, understanding that we all want what is best for our kids. There's no demagoguery or demonizing of the other side-- how can you demonize someone for wanting school vouchers (or not)?

This issue is more complex than I have laid it out, and hours could and should be spent debating and coming together. But it is a perfect example of what politics should be: logical arguments about solutions to our collective problems. I applaud Obama for having a similar view. Let us lay down our arms and let politics be as boring as the last paragraph.

Happy New Year!