Hope and Politics.

[rowyn]

One of my leftist friends was talking to a conservative, and one of the things the conservative said was 'Liberals live in a very different world from me. I don't think I'd like it there; it seems like a very bleak and depressing place'.

My friend defended herself ably from this contention, but it run a chord with me nonetheless. My liberal friends do have a very bleak outlook on the direction the world is going in.

On reflection, I don't think it has anything to do with liberals being particularly pessimistic, or conservatives being optimistic. I think it's more about empowerment. American liberals are living under a Republican Congress and Republican president, and they quite naturally feel that this government doesn't reflect their political ideals. We're on the wrong track; of course things -- politically, at least -- are bound to get worse instead of better. I see the same pessimism in many conservatives, for that matter, because a lot of them aren't getting what they want either. Y'know, like some people on the left are ticked because we don't spend enough money on schools and we have a patchwork hash of a healthcare system, while some on the right hate the national gov't is still spending hand-over-fist and digging us deeper into debt. Which is funding, among other things, a hugely expensive drug benefit for Medicare. I don't actually know anyone on any side who's actually voiced approval for that drug benefit. You'd think it'd make someone happy but I don't know that it has.

Anyway, part of my point is that political orientation is so much more complex than our "two party" system represents. A lot of my friends are so far from identifying with either that it doesn't much matter which party is in power: they're still going to feel disenfranchised. They know how they want the government to work, and neither mainstream Republicans nor mainstream Democrats agree with them, so they're not going to win no matter which side comes out on top.

Funny thing is, that last describes me pretty well, too. I still vaguely consider myself small-L libertarian: fiscal conservative, social liberal. The Libertarian party is never going to go any where, and Republicans have been doing at least as much tax-and-spend as Democrats do, just on different issues. (Sometimes.) "Family values" and "war against terror" gets a lot more lip service than "civil liberties" nowadays (has it always? Are civil liberties just not sexy, in the same way that small government and untargetted tax cuts are not sexy?)

And yet I'm basically optimistic about the state of America and the world. I don't know why that is, exactly. I just have this peculiar faith that things are going to be OK, that the police and the military are not going to be overwhelmed by corruption and powerlust, that we're not going to lose our prized freedoms, that the economy is not going to face-plant into the ground. This isn't a factor of "my guys" being in power. I felt just the same when the Republicans took Congress in my liberal days in the 90s, or when I'd switched to libertarian leanings and Clinton was still president. "It'll be all right."

Maybe it's that I think the nation is resilient, that there are enough good people in the country that it doesn't matter which monkeys you put in Washington.

Or maybe I'm just not that convinced that my politics are right. Hey, it's the way I think the country should be run -- but I could be wrong. Maybe it's just as well that my side isn't in charge. Who knows what hash we might make of things?

Comments

Hope and politics make for strange bedfellows.

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

It's been my observation that whoever's party is Not in the Whitehouse get kind of grumpy and moody. Particularly to those to whom politics is close to their heart.

It's also been my observation that cartoonists of political bent are more creative under fire than when not:

Doonsbury wasn't nearly as funny when Clinton was in office, and Mallard Fillmore wasn't as funny after Bush was elected.

I think politics can drive people in ways that few people suspect.

I just try to remain hopeful.

Frustration

[gleef.livejournal.com]

Which is funding, among other things, a hugely expensive drug benefit for Medicare. I don't actually know anyone on any side who's actually voiced approval for that drug benefit. You'd think it'd make someone happy but I don't know that it has.

Pharmaceutical companies, it makes pharmaceutical companies very happy. Also, the lobbyists and lawyers they hire, and the individuals in government (both elected and regulatory) they funnel money to. That's one of the things that really depressess those of us on the more liberal/progressive side of the fence, just how much money the Federal Government is borrowing to essentially give away to unaccountable corporations. I find it politically, socially and fiscally irresponsible.

Anyway, part of my point is that political orientation is so much more complex than our "two party" system represents. A lot of my friends are so far from identifying with either that it doesn't much matter which party is in power: they're still going to feel disenfranchised. They know how they want the government to work, and neither mainstream Republicans nor mainstream Democrats agree with them, so they're not going to win no matter which side comes out on top.

Yeah. That's one of the reasons one of my big issues is alternative party rights (even the alternative parties I disagree with). I don't think this country is going to be able to have a healthy political system unless and until we can encourage a richer and more nuanced party system to thrive. New York State is especially bad when it comes to the rights of alternative parties.

And yet I'm basically optimistic about the state of America and the world. I don't know why that is, exactly. I just have this peculiar faith that things are going to be OK, that the police and the military are not going to be overwhelmed by corruption and powerlust, that we're not going to lose our prized freedoms, that the economy is not going to face-plant into the ground. This isn't a factor of "my guys" being in power. I felt just the same when the Republicans took Congress in my liberal days in the 90s, or when I'd switched to libertarian leanings and Clinton was still president. "It'll be all right."

Optimism is good. I'm optimistic too, but I am only optimistic to the extent where people can be convinced to pay attention to government, and hold them accountable. Democracy cannot be a passive thing, where you sit back and let the leaders do what you assume is the right thing. The people have to be involved in what is happening.

I'm optimistic because I see many people remembering that now.

[zaimoni.livejournal.com]

[Medicare drug benefit]
I don't see why it should be any more popular now than in 1988(?), the first time it was passed.

Difference is, last time it got voted out of existence after one year. This version looks like it'll stay a bit longer.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

There are truths and falsehoods in both the liberal and the conservative position. Therefore, the reality of the matter lays somewhere in between. The world is more complicated and needs more specific remedies that take a little from each side than either side wants to admit. Both are adamant that they and they alone are correct; both are wrong in that.

Life is not a math problem where there is only a single correct answer. Would that the universe was such a simple place - life would be much simpler.

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

I don't remember being horribly pessimistic about the world while Clinton was in office, just because the Democrats were in power. I also don't remember feeling "empowered" during the 80s. But then, on general principle, I wouldn't think that I would make a good, unbiased judge for comparing the "me", then and now.

Most of the people I know who grouse all the time have a more liberal political view than I do - at least, that's what I gather. But then, that doesn't prove a thing: It may well be that I just happen to be in circles that comprise of:

a) A lot of people who have a lot to complain about,

and,

b) A lot of people whose leanings are further left than mine.

For point A, a LiveJournal, for instance, naturally lends itself to a higher percentage of "grousing" than I might run into, in normal conversation. And for B, well, my workplace is very, very liberal. (I know of no one, no one, in my workplace who is of a conservative leaning, or who quietly sits out on political and/or religious discussions. The fact that I don't participate probably pegs my opinion for everyone else.)

For what it's worth, I'm pretty optimistic. I am not complete. I am hard-pressed, for instance, to give a really good and articulate "apology" for my faith and the reasons behind it - at least, to any level that would satisfy a non-believer. I think I'd probably feel a lot more optimistic if I not only believed I was right, but could explain exactly, with no gaps and no openings, with absolutely every base covered, why.

But nonetheless, mine isn't a gloom-and-doom worldview. There is life and death, and evil (and plain ol' jerkishness) will always be with us. But there is a lot of good. Even among those who I disagree with from time to time, I believe that they believe in what they say. I may not believe that their approach to goodness is the right one, but I am heartened that at the very least they agree that "good" is a good thing. (I just wish I could persuade many of them to believe the same of me and mine. ;) )

Different Approach to Fining Happiness

[telnar.livejournal.com]

As with most generalizations, I can think of lots of counterexamples to this, but I suspect that conservatives are more likely than liberals to think of their happiness as being within their control.

I know that in my own case, I tend to view government policies as constraints on the process by which I try to maximize my happiness rather than as key inputs. So, if the government is making it difficult for me to do something I would like to do one way, I try to find some other way to do it.

I've been fortunate in that there always has been a way to at least mitigate the effect on me of whatever silly policy I want to avoid. For example, if the cost of living is too high in New York City because of rent control, taxes, and excessive regulation of building permits (as well as other things which aren't the government's fault), then I have a countermeasure: living outside of NYC.

While not everyone is always similarly fortunate, I think that many people imagine an impassible obstacle when the fence they are standing in front of is only a foot or two high, and that more of those people seem to be liberals than conservatives at least based on their writings that I've seen.