Am I A Liberal?

People read what you write on Facebook and immediately pigeon-hole you into some category, probably a category that they hate. They can do this after reading one slim, innocuous post. Let me clear this up right now.

I am not a liberal, unless by “liberal” you mean an FDR loving, New Deal inspired, old-school liberal, or an Enlightenment loving fan of capital letter Liberal Thinking, or someone who still believes in the value of a liberal education, which probably does not mean what you think it does.

I am not a Democrat. No sir or madam, not anymore. They had been losing me for some time before they gave up all together and decided that they were going with conservative, corporate stooges like the Clintons. That strategy worked out okay for the Democratic Party, but not so well for the rest of us. Dustbin of history? Let me introduce you to the ill smelling remains of the once great Democratic Party. Goodbye.

(I'm giving President Obama a pass here, partly because he was slightly more concerned with the situation of working people than most Democrats, and partly because he was a dignified, intelligent man who never embarrassed us, but mostly because he's black, and in today's atmosphere of Political Correctness it would be most unseemly for me to say anything vaguely negative about him.)

Let's not even get into whether I am politically left or right. That distinction no longer exists. American politics now occupies the space between the 85 yard line and the Right Wing goal line. The "center" has been moved from the 50 yard line to the 92.5 yard line. 

Am I a Progressive? Not at the moment, no. Not until and unless they come up with a solid, achievable, life-affirming, and reasonable agenda that is in line with the real values and needs of everyday people. I tell my students that they need a goal in life, and that they need to visualize that goal directly in front of them, and that they need to take steps, one after the other, in a direct line with that goal. These modern progressives, as I see it, are always charging off down one dead end or another. You'll never get anywhere that way.

Am I a Radical? What would that look like these days? Maybe a Radial is just a Progressive who is in somewhat of a hurry and who is not afraid to step on some toes, break a few eggs, rain on someone's parade, as part of an all-out effort to take some of the pressure off of the working people in America. And the world! Let's face it, the world is in pretty sad shape. Why should all of the insecurity be concentrated in ninety percent of the population? Why not adjust the property interests of some of the people who have way too much, in order to make life more bearable for some of the people who have way too little, often bordering on nothing? So maybe I am a Radical. Maybe the puppy needs a whack with a rolled up newspaper. Any Poly-Sci majors out there want to take a crack at that characterization?

Am I a Revolutionary? Absolutely not. That's a “death or prison” gig. Count me out!

Am I an Anarchist? Again, absolutely not. My most fervent wish is that working families achieve more security and happiness. My prayer is that ordinary, decent Americans can live lives where the worst of their current daily fears and terrors are alleviated. Anarchists want to destroy the world so that it can be replaced by something better. Destruction is waste, which is foolish.

Of the other possibilities, I am certainly not a conservative, except in matters of money, where I tend to be very cautious. I would balance a budget on the backs of anyone who had the ability to pay, no, let's say on the backs of those who had the greatest ability to pay. Read that any way that you want to. I am not a reactionary either, because if there are two things that are certain they are: 1) the solution to our problems does not lie in the past; and 2) returning to some imaginary past is a dream that can never come true. The past is gone in a manner so complete that it can only be described by poets.

So, I thank my regular blog readers who have taken to time to get to know me through my writing here on Spin Easy Time! Please feel free to consider me any damn thing at all, including silly, or crazy, or naive, because you have earned that right by reading my words in some detail. As for the rest of you Internet geniuses who have only seen a few comments on Facebook, or one overreaching post on this blog, get over yourselves. Your opinion does not count.