I decided to revive this blog by writing on a topic that has been weighing on me lately: labels in today's political climate. By all accounts, I fit the current definition of "liberal" here in the United States. However, that really bothers me because of the ugly truth it implies about where we're at right now. At this moment in time, the term liberal is wielded towards anyone who voices any kind of disagreement with Trump and his ilk as if it were a slur while they've hijacked the term "conservative" to mean anyone who falls in line with their increasingly myopic, bigoted worldview. This should not be the case! It appears that said hijacking has permanently damaged how we talk about political issues and how we define what constitutes a political issue in the first place.
Historically, liberalism and conservatism have been about disrupting the status quo versus maintaining the status quo. In the U.S. and a few other countries, this evolved to reflect one's stance on government's role in business, industry, foreign policy, domestic affairs, and social issues. For a long time, this meant that liberals were associated with more government regulations in the public sphere of the business world and fewer regulations in the private spheres of one's own body and bedroom. Conservatives were generally of the opposite mindset. Now the two sides have very little to do with their traditional views on government intervention and everything to do with their stances on discrimination. What the hell, America? Pretty much everything we're divided on is a moral issue, NOT a political one as a dear friend of mine pointed out on Facebook. Even though morality and political ideology are closely related, ultimately they are not one and the same and we shouldn't treat them as such. As a nation, we need to have real discussions on government's responsibilities to the people and not whether or not anyone who isn't a straight, cisgender male WASP should have any rights.
Meanwhile, there's so much crazy shit going that there's no time to have these discussions. It's tough to be a modern U.S. liberal on Facebook, y'all. On one hand, fellow liberals are spamming your feed with articles and posts about ALL the crises of the day and on the other hand, conservatives are either deafeningly silent or spewing vitriolic nonsense with regards to these crises. I personally want to keep up with every story and contribute to every cause I deem worthy, but I can't. I also can't stand up against all the willing ignorance and hatred out there. I have to pick my battles.
One battle too many young liberals like me were forced into was one with our families during the 2016 campaign. I had to delete relatives whom I really didn't want to delete off of my Facebook because I simply couldn't take it anymore. The experience made me question how much they truly cared about me or if they even cared about me at all. It was a strange case of mutual rejection that probably left all involved with a bitter taste in their mouths. Even though my situation came with some unique baggage, it still echoed the much greater split in our society. Call me an idealistic hippie if you will, but I long for a day when things start turning around and we begin to focus on the greater good. I'm getting tired of this, y'all.
Going back to what I said about idealistic hippies, here's a list of some of my political/moral/philosophical beliefs (detailed explanations to come in future posts):
- There is a higher power out there but it might not necessarily be the Christian concept of God
- I am pro-choice but can respect people who aren't just 'pro-birth'
- We all benefit from feminism
- LGBT+ folks should be free to be themselves and serve in the military
- Black Lives Matter
- We need to spend a hell of a lot less money on the military and redirect those funds
- No one should be in jail because of weed
- No one should own an assault rifle either
- I'm all for the innovation and competition of a free market but hate corporate greed
- The environment needs to be protected
- I support both the death penalty and the Innocence Project
And most importantly: FUCK totalitarianism in all its forms!
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