I admit that I’m following this election a bit more closely than any I’ve followed since I was a starry-eyed idealist in my twenties. Perhaps it’s my last hurrah, my one final attempt to understand politics, a renewed sense of civic duty, or just a peek into what the hoopla is all about. Unfortunately, it looks like business as usual and nothing’s changed much; monkeyshines and dirty pool.
But it has shown me my own political background and the roots that formed in American soil to grow into a jaded citizen. My leanings are more clearly defined when I look back at experience. While I am still idealistic in the values of the liberal left where it concerns civil rights and equality, it is also very obvious that I strongly hold the values of the conservative right in my faith in the power of the individual to overcome and accomplish.
In my view, the far left exemplifies a bunch of crybabies. The far right seems to walk around with a broom up their ass. I hate whining; I dislike intolerance. I remember back in early grade school, Helen D. squirming on her chair with tears running down as she sat there alone facing the class because Sister Mary P. was sick and tired of condescending to her. Your classic crybaby; your classic broomstick locked in battle at the first grade level. But Helen never learned (the lessons either—her eyes were too blurred by constant tears) and looking back, while I am still sympathetic, I realize that she in fact achieved her simple goal of being the center of attention. Most likely the good Sister never loosened up much either, but then again, she was easier to reason with because her outline was unwavering and never subject to whim, her goals for achievement and order were pretty clear, and her seeming singleminded opinions sought out argument eventually, not pacification.
I like surety of purpose in a person. I like that in a government as well. Even the most ideal of political candidates can’t overcome their humanness in every situation, and in a power of position, qualities often come into conflict. In choosing a leader (versus a friend) who must potentially face something like the horror of the attacks of 9/11, or the threat of total destruction or eventual war, I’ll take strong over sympathetic; loyalty over honesty; dedication over condescension.
It’s just another reason to look at the individual candidate rather than maintain strict loyalty to a political party these days.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology