I love the arena of ideas, but not the arena of sound bite narrative and personality.

I don’t care for Pres. Obama, but I wish him well. But I would have liked a Pres. McCain even less so I understand why so many voted for Obama.

I agree with most everything you say here. The problem I have with most of this is the nature of government itself. Government achieves goals by the use of law. And the law is enforced by a gang of men with guns who have the authority to kill you or haul you away and lock you in a cage. This is not to say I don’t believe in the law, I do. I just think that the force of law should be used sparingly. Today we use it for everything imaginable. Got a problem, write a law.

MLK and Gahndi effected change without a gang of armed men to force it upon everyone. I know that we agree on.

Thanks for the intelligent conversation.

Steve Olsons last blog post..How to Build Confidence

Seriously guys, good points and thanks to both of you for eloquently stating your very different positions.

Very well said. I hope for harmony in America as well. The acceptance of difference, but the desire for working harmony. At the risk of overusing an old metaphor . . . the piano is a great example. Not just the color of the keys, but the way sharps and flats work together to create wonderful sounds.

Those uniquely American forms of music, like Jazz and Blues, utilize improvisational difference, but are held together by an underlying and consistent foundation. Our language is like that, too. Rules hold us together. Grammar to make it intelligible for everyone. But lots of room to make our own voices heard.

Difference is great and should be honored. Difference that complements difference should be celebrated . . . .

Dougs last blog post..New Poetry From Canada

I have felt quite unrepresented the past few years, both by Democrats, and Republicans. I dont think either party represents those of us in the middle. We can only hope that those we send to do our bidding do the best for those who must live under their leadership.

The ugliness amongst the parties and their supporters is none other than suffering. It serves no one to live that way, to expel those ugly emotions, to bear the heartburn. I hold my principles dear, but realize that my principles, morals, and values do not have to be yours. Hopefully folks will keep that in mind regardless of their political affiliations.

Best to you all.

Understood. Posted it mostly to express another angle to this. I want an end to the anger and divisiveness. It hasn’t been this bad since the 60s, and I’m hoping better days are ahead for us. But in order to pull together, I think we need to recognize what occurred and reflect upon it deeply.

It’s part of that “discomfort zone” thing as well. Confronting what we really don’t want to confront and growing from that experience. All of us need to do that, and that transcends politics, etc.

Anyway, I’m moving on. I think 2009 will be my least “political” year in a long, long time . . . and my most artistic one. The most successful administration might well be the one that makes us all feel confident enough and comfortable enough NOT to think about politics for a change . . .

:>)

Take care–

Dougs last blog post..Roberto Bolaño

Good post. I was ecstatic when Obama won, and when his family returned to the stage after his acceptance speech, it was a very emotional moment for me. The word has been tossed around a lot recently, but it gave me “hope”.

That said, I think this nation needs some serious reflection right now and some real soul searching. I’m not sure enough people realize what happened during this election season, or know what could have happened.

It’s about people. It’s about citizens of one nation. It’s about our humanity and how politics pales in comparison to some very basic truths.

The Secret Service revealed that death threats against Obama and his family skyrocketed after Palin started attacking him with her “palling around with terrorists” lie. There was a direct correlation between her words and those threats. McCain did nothing to stop her and added his own smears, lies and distortions to the mix. I think Americans really, really need to step back and think about that, think about how close this thing came to violence and ripping this nation apart.

The right wing tradition of swiftboating reached new lows this year, very dangerous lows, and anyone who supported that should think long and hard about why they support smears, lies and incendiary politics. We heard and saw too many instances of Republican leaders ginning up racial, ethnic and religious hatred and division, while calling into question the patriotism of those on the other side of the aisle, especially Obama.

Politics should never go there. Talking about policy differences is more than fair, but there are certain things no politician, no pundit, no one should do when it comes to public campaigns. Especially after 9/11, certain words are too loaded.

I think Obama winning was great on so many levels, but one of the biggest reasons is that it is a repudiation of the Atwater/Rove and now Schmidt tactics that seek to divide us and pit us against each other. This election was a repudiation of the politics of hate and division . . . but I fear only a certain portion of this nation realizes this.

Dougs last blog post..Roberto Bolaño

@ Bill – I actually agree, I too think McCain was much more competent than Bush, although that could be being damned with feint praise. Not sure Obama is just one person, he seems to realize that he needs the right people wound him.

@ Melissa – I think you are saying what a lot of people are thinking with that last comment. Let’s hope we never have that conversation.

@ Deb – McCain not conservative enough? Yikes! I’m pushing the boundaries with this blog and taking the same approach. I hope people will understand and see value, but if they don’t I’ll have to learn to live with it, My next post attacks the Law of Attraction (kind of) so that may see a few more subscribers bail out.

@ Patricia – Try and approach with a genuine sense of curiosity. Try to understand why they think what they think because there is a reason. I’m glad this helps and thanks for the feedback.

Patricias last blog post..Factoid Friday: Bagdad Hash