[Winona Online Democracy]
While this may shock and awe some on this list, I have not always been a liberal...in fact at age 3 I was quite apolitical! :-)
I am not a student of political history, but I do think that positions that are liberal and conservative change over time...that seems to have some prima facie truth to it. For example, the notion that women are chattle is no longer a liberal stance in North America, nor is it any longer a conservative position that blacks should not be allowed vote. Now having said that it is also true that, for example, some christian groups in this city ban women from positions of authority over men and do not grant them franchise to vote in church matters. We also saw political attack ads this past cycle that smeared a black senate candidate (tennessee?) by implying that he slept with white women. So even though conservative and liberal positions tilt, and the majority among the conservative body politic has been happy to join us in the 21st century, there are still enough neanderthals out there to figure into political calculations by conservative leaders. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth, regardless of their stances on other, non-social issues. Issues like racism and sexism used to be part of the conservative agenda...bad news. Now liberals have a cross to bear, as well, in honor of our ancestors, particularly in Minnesota. The roots of the DFL go straight back to the old Farmer and Labor parties (duh)...and those folks weren't just liberal...they were violent reactionaries...and a lot of them were communists, as well. Even my own grandfather was proud to be a socialist. If someone hadn't invented coops back in the 20s/30s those people were ready to start siezing private property...wasn't that on the agenda for The Grange movement...take the banks and the elevators? Now, I am not a socialist but my liberal positions are looked at as such oftentimes in part because of the baggage I carry into the debate. I do see both sides. Neither the liberals nor conservatives have a corner on the extremist market. And both are inherently suspicious of the other as a result. What troubles me about the current state of conservatism is that it seems to long for a previous day (1950's?) when everything was perfect. Just today Rush Limbaugh's fill-in host essentially longed for the day when domestic violence wasn't talked about...that doesn't mean he approves of domestic violence...he just doesn't want to talk about it. If we don't talk about it it will go away. USA Today last week carried a half page op-ed piece that essentially said Al Q'aida hate us because we're too accepting of gays and feminists. That is a neanderthal position, but to see it in a national newspaper made me ill. Ditto gay rights, still though...most conservatives aren't homophobic (the neanderthals are still in the room) they just want to ignore it and focus on their fantasy of how the world should be. Ditto global warming and energy policies. Ditto growing income disparities (future hot button issue I predict, folks). Conservatives are so certain that if we just slow down and maintain the status quo everything will be fine (again not including the neanderthals). Liberals are not sure of anything...I like that about liberals. There is one thing that has never changed about liberalism over the centuries...it is always ahead of the curve...it is always kind of uncomfortable...and it almost always wins. One more note...regarding our current race riot against Arab Muslims...again from Rush's fill in today...he was mocking congressional democrats for having an imam lead a morning prayer and said that Muslims want to convert everyone to their religion at the point of a sword, something Christians have never done. I would suggest that anyone interested look into the kidnapping of Native American children from their homes and their placement in government schools where all miraculously converted to Christianity. It's all Bill Clinton's fault. End of rant. Bob Sebo Winona
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