Yes, I follow politics and governance. Rachel Maddow, bring her on! So if I sound fed up and ready for a tussle, I am and I realize I'm doing it to myself. The latest from Paul Ryan does have steam coming out of my ears. The idea that people hungry in America, whether they’re working or not, hungry, not enough food… that they are being “taught dependency” by us as a national community attempting to help them get enough to eat, this is an obscene proclamation.
Fear-mongering is an age-old tactic. Appealing to people’s basest fears and desires, using our first black president as a bogeyman, it’s all just so wrong. My sister, who works for the Democratic leadership in the House, has to spend her time publishing for Democratic House members page after page of the lies Republicans tell their constituents every day. These are not subtle lies, somewhat fabricated versions of the truth, these are outright lies. And the over-arching objective of these lies is to increase people’s fears so that they will mistrust anyone who is other than themselves.
My philosophy of governance and my political choices are based on my life experience. They are not based on something someone on the television has told me. If we ignore our history, we surely are bound to repeat past mistakes, make choices based on hubris, and lead following the holy dollar instead of our consciences. No, I do not think that Pres. Obama is perfect or that he hasn’t made any errors in his presidency, of course not. But he stands for something that I can stand behind. When John McCain characterizes our president as weak because he has led the country toward peace and out of war, I can only shake my head and wonder what terrible damage the Vietnam War did to this man.
I’ll finish this Sunday rant by ranting on about the Affordable Care Act. A lot of very smart and experienced people spent a lot of time creating this big, complex set of policies. No one who knows anything about governance could suggest that such of large, encompassing law could arrive perfectly formed from Day One. Having spent the better part of 18 years living in a country that has had a successful healthcare system for many decades now, I cannot wrap my mind around all the people who will shout from the rooftops that working our way to universal health coverage is somehow a big plot to take away our choices. When you’re sick and you need help and you have to use all of your life savings to survive, that’s taking away choice.
End of Rant.
PS I created this post entirely using dictation software, a first for me.