Hal - Deliberately Basic

If you do not label yourself either liberal or conservative, someone else will. Most people I know fall somewhere in the middle. However, in Ohio USA, especially south of the Great Lakes region, is a vast conservative plain. Being neither liberal nor conservative, I have noticed a marked difference between these sociopolitical combatants beyond the obvious. But first, what are the dictionary definitions for these factions that are such polar opposites?

American Standard Dictionary
Conservative:
1. Opposed to liberal reforms. 2. Resistant to change.

Liberal:
1. Having political or social views favoring reform and progress. 2. Tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition.

With only these definitions you can readily put yourself in one camp or the other. As a conservative you can fight change and attempt to maintain traditional values, and social norms. Choose to be a liberal and you can fight for social change and progress. Do you detect a superficial explanation of liberal vs conservative with this criteria? You should, because there is much more to these divisive parties than a mere few words can define.

The key is divisive. In reality, both of these confraternities are radical for their cause. In effect this is a battle between movement and staying put. Movement means change, and change creates fear and resistance. Non-movement means maintaining the status quo, be it evil or not,  and most people will take the road of least resistance. Liberalism exists because of the evil and social inequality created and maintained by conservatism. Conservatism exists because liberals would create too much change too fast. Both could come under one heading, radicalism. And both suck at their approach to progress or quiescence.

One major difference I have observed between these two gangs is how they attempt to progress with their causes. The liberals I know and have known tend to create things such as political correctness. They quietly (in most cases) implant shit like this into society, to the point of making puke bags as necessary as garbage cans. Ultimately PC becomes a joke, yet once instilled, it will not go away. You can no longer call a spade a spade.

Conservatives, on the other hand, are in your face with their illogical, false, downright bullshit. Conservatives are, every man for himself, mean, hard-ass, think like me or die, people. This brings me to a phenomena I have noticed for about 15 years or so. It has been about that long since the Internet really caught on and has become as common as a telephone in developed countries.

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get at least one spam message from someone, extolling a conservative cause. These urban legends run the gamut from kill the illegal aliens to Christians for God and country. They mis-quote history, how the democrats have ruined our society - always without actually reading the truth. They support the troops, the war, more prisons, more death, and George Bush. They hate. They hate Katrina victims, welfare, gays,  blacks, Latinos, and abortion. And they push this dung heap all over the net with the same warning at the bottom - if you really care about your country, Mom and apple pie, you will pass this “truth” to everyone in your address book.

I have never gotten a message from a liberal. Never have I received anything about the virtues of a liberal cause, whatever it may be. No one demands that I save the whales, or vote for a liberal candidate, or love a segment of society. Not a single thing have I received about the ACLU. Again, I am not a liberal. But I do admire their finesse, innovating bullshit.

Conclusion:
Liberals are people who attempt to help those they know nothing about. Conservatives are people who attempt to spread hate for those they know nothing about. Obviously, it takes more energy and solicitation to spread hate.

It is time to come out with it, like John Edwards, The United Steelworkers, and  George McGovern, I’m tossing in my hat and backing Barack Obama. I’ve  held off as long as I could because that’s what us influential backers do. I don’t know why they do, but I don’t want to be any different than any other major player in this political turmoil.

Now that I’ve come out and said it, I’m sure Clinton will go home and cry, have the press over and officially quit. If she calls, I will explain to her, firmly but with consolation, that I cannot stand behind her. She carries too much emotional baggage, having spent most of her life with Bill, and is simply not as good as Barack.

Obama will be overwhelmed to know that he has my support. Now that the news is official, I expect a thank you note from him, maybe an invitation to come over and play badminton or have a beer. He may call on me for advice after he is elected, a service I will assuredly perform as a citizen.

Oh, John McCain you say, what about him? Well, first he is a Republican and second, he is a Republican. And if that isn’t bad enough, he likes war, big-business, low-wages, and dare I say it, Dubya. I realize these two sentences are redundant.

Some people think that it doesn’t make any difference who is elected. To them I say, have a look at George Bush. He has made a hell of a difference. And not a bad difference, but horribly bad.

So there it is, citizen Hal is officially supporting Barack Obama. If he stays within the boundaries of his promises and pledges to the other citizens, I will probably vote for him as well.