Civilitas and the Body Politic

The poster of a political comment on a nonpolitical forum recently proclaimed, “Anyone who believes differently is either a fatcat, a war profiteer or a bigot.” Breathtaking as this is, to claim all one's opponents are motivated by solely by greed and bigotry, it is simply the naif and overt expression of an increasingly common theme in American politics. Demonization of one's opponent is hardly a new phenomena, but I grieve for what the rise of such emotional infantilism protends for the Republic. We have been, and continue to be, the shining star among countries, but I do not know how long we can continue to deride and undermine the bases of our society before that star fades to just another flashy gaud in the muck.

Do you remember the post-DuKakis sticker? The one which said “Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts!”? More recently, we get “Not My President” , a great example of the shredding which has been a core part of the political process for so very long. The first, in effect, says “I told you so!”, the second is a statement to the effect that the displayer has opted out of the political process because it dared to produce a result different from the one they desired. Losing has become an expensive option, and slowly is becoming more expensive as increasingly vilified incumbents find themselves facing witch-hunt style prosecutions. When the price of losing power is retirement, men may lose power more or less gracefully, but when the price of losing power is destruction and persecution, sooner or later those in power will act to retain the power which protects them.

Welcome to the Den

Heya!

Come on in, pull yourself a pint, snag a comfy stump, and put your feet up towards the fire. We'll chat from time to time, mostly about where we are, where we're going, and why we're going there.

A few topics will recur here, mostly topics around choice, consequence and responsibility. I believe we make choices and should own the consequences of those choices, even the unpleasant ones. More radically, I believe it necessary to own my choices even when choosing between distasteful or unpleasant alternatives, going so far as to say that the more evil or downright nasty a choice the more critical to my own growth fully and actively owning that choice becomes.

Welcome, check back often and by all means do comment, especially where you disagree with your humble (and furry) host.