conlibserverativeal

We live in the most politically divisive era since the Civil War, so they say.
I suspect they're full of shit, in the sense that the "average person", whether in Manhattan or Muncie, doesn't really care too much about all that. We all want to live safely and freely and make the world a better place for our children. That's pretty much it. Well-intentioned people, regardless of zip code, will most always get along.
But somebody out there has been pounding the hate drums of divisiveness. That somebody seems to be the media, and the neo-cons.
I've never identified with liberal or conservative, democrat or republican. Even my youngest mind perceived an element of nonsense there, so i've always been registered independent. Out of sheer disbelief that Bush had become his party's candidate, Gore was the first major party candidate i voted for (go Perot...twice!). So with Kerry. Mind you, i've never had faith in the integrity of our elective system. The electoral college seems an outright assault on democracy, and i was stunned when ballots became computerized. Or rather, i was stunned that more people weren't stunned. At least if you're going to rig a hand-counted election, you're going to have to work to do it. But i've long been convinced that our elections are well-fixed, even in places not called Florida and Ohio. Whatever pressure was brought upon Gore to give up his claim to the presidency, that's probably a nasty story that won't be told for a long, long time.
Currently our media, led by Fox, is displaying a conservative bias. But before you get upset, let's acknowledge that for decades our media had a slight liberal bias, epitomized by Walter Cronkite, one of the most respected men ever. Even though this bias was well-intentioned, a bias it was. And again, lest you get too upset over our current situation, well, i find the current conservative media movement fascinating. It almost seems like it's been constructed to self-destruct. If the forces of liberalism had been allowed to choose the voices of conservatism, wouldn't they have picked people like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Coulter? Limbaugh has already de-toothed himself with hypocrisy. O'Reilly is a bully with anger issues. Try getting one of his fans to repeat "O'Reilly is fair and balanced" three times; only the zealous will make it through with a straight face. Coulter is uncomfortable around intelligence, and sometimes seems just a twitch away from a nervous breakdown. None of these people will ever be treated with Cronkite-like respect. And going a step further, if the liberals were to choose a conservative president, wouldn't they pick someone unintelligent and un-American? Irrefutable fact: Bush's comment "you're either with us, or against us" is the most un-American sentiment any president has ever uttered. There's just something a bit tawdry and obvious about it all. If you want a deeper understanding of bias in the media, read Al Franken's "Lies": he may be dismissive of a slight historical liberal media bias, but unlike the leaders of current conservative media, he doesn't lie.
Frankly, it's been a long time since there has been an actual liberal/conservative debate in this country. Arguably the last major political figure who was a genuine conservative was Barry Goldwater. Because my father was conservative, i grew up with an anti-conservative bias. But look at the things that Goldwater stood for, and you may find that true conservativism is mostly honorable and well-intentioned, and is just as needed as liberalism. I feel great empathy for conservatives, as they watch the neo-cons run loose. For the record, neo-cons are not conservative. No conservative government would ever run up the kind of beyond-staggering debt we are now in. There are elements of my father's conservativism that have possibly made me a better person, my aversion to debt being the one example i can think of. And if i may digress, i think i'm finally able to enunciate what was wrong with Reagan. The man was our leader for eight years, and i realize now i haven't the foggiest notion of what he stood for...although he did have the wherewithal to note that his vice-president's eldest son was shiftless and insubstantial.
Don't bash the conservatives. It's the liberal's job to be more forward-thinking than the conservative. As a result, liberals will generally attract more intelligent constituents. But don't bash the conservatives. Liberalism run amuck leads to...well, Switzerland i suppose, which doesn't sound too bad. But don't bash the conservatives. They're in as much pain over Bush as the rest of the world.
As for my feelings on the upcoming election, i've been frankly a bit puzzled by the Hillary/Obama divisiveness. Why would anyone feel the need to choose sides? Years ago i vowed i would vote for any major party candidate who ever came along, who was not a white male. So either way it's Christmas morning. Obama's got my vote and i'm not even interested in his politics, as the military-industrial complex will probably control the next president just as they've controlled the rest of 'em in my lifetime.
Go get 'em, Barack. Make me not a cynic, i dare ya.