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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

(My) Political Perspective



Imagine how that would improve the situation for veterans, and frankly, for the military if they could recruit soldiers who are already educated. Maybe we could all get educated enough to figure out how to avoid war. Or at least fight them without loss of life. Wouldn't that be something. I just saw another announcement that for the first time our military has fewer active duty soldiers than we had during the last world war. Why the heck have we been maintaining an active military that's larger than we needed to fight a world war for the last 70 years‽ There have been a few obvious points where we needed it, but to maintain it at that level the whole time?!? Our military is getting more than half of our national budget. And we have the greatest military in the world by such a large margin it's ridiculous. It's time to shift our priorities some. We only need to be able to destroy every other country on earth once. Being able to do it 100x over is a misuse of our resources. 


Strengthening our infrastructure and educating our population is as important to national defense as an active military. Developing our natural and food resources and protecting them from toxic pollution and corporate destruction done to create scarcity for profit is as important to national defense as an active military. These resources can be quickly drawn on should a genuine military need arise. And housing the homeless reduces the amount of crime and disease in our cities and the burden on police and medical personnel making us all safer. 


This isn't radical. It's incredibly practical. What kind of country do you want to live in? I'd like to live in one worth defending. I don't think of that as a liberal idea. I think it's incredibly conservative to protect and invest in our country, our people, and our national security in more than the one obvious way.

 
I've always been told that money smart people are conservative, but every leading economist is supporting Bernie Sanders right now. Investing in our people and our infrastructure isn't just a wildly liberal move. It's a smart money move. We know that pure capitalism is self destructive and pure socialism is as well, but a wise balance between them can keep either from crushing our economy. We have to stop fighting from opposite corners on principle and figure out what that balance is. 


Yup, that's my political soapbox speech. I was raised Christian Conservative Republican but I can't stomach the hate speech anymore and I can't reconcile their behavior with my Bible. I can't stomach Hillary Clinton either. Fortunately, there's a guy in this race that quotes the Bible like he actually knows it without ever making a big deal about his religious beliefs, or even identifying with a particular religion.  A guy who lives by the same basic rules and comes from the same culture Jesus did. He basically embodies "WWJD" without any of the judgy churchiness. I don't understand how I have Christian friends and family who think Trump is God's man in this race. Trump is a psychopath whose quotes and behavior are eerily similar to Hitler's. Seriously! They did a "Trump or Hitler" quotes questionnaire and it was scary how much they sound alike (translated of course). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/donald-trump/12038640/Who-said-it-Donald-Trump-or-Adolf-Hitler.html?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook


Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right." Somehow that has been coming to my mind a lot as I view political comments and memes on Facebook. I hold my tongue and move along a lot because I know we all have different perspectives, I can't make a good argument short enough to matter without sounding trite and insulting, and I'm smart enough to know I'm at least as fallible as Lincoln. But you clicked on my blog so you get to read my thoughts on the matter. 



I'm not looking for a fight. I'm just hoping people are thinking and trying to overcome their cognitive biases as I know I have been striving to as I've watched Reaganomics, which was much praised in my childhood, fail spectacularly, and our "war on terror" destabilize the Middle East causing the radicalization of ever more terrorists. The last few elections I could hardly bring myself to vote. I couldn't support what my party had become, but I couldn't support the other guys either. Trump made it clear to me that I'm definitely not a Republican anymore. In Bernie I've found there's some hope of an uncorrupted humble intelligent and honest President who actually cares about everyone in this country. If you're in California and you've been a Republican but you're in that middle space now, change your registration to "no party" by May 23rd and help give him a chance in the primary. http://registertovote.ca.gov/



If you vote only on the abortion issue, I am pleading with you. Abortion is largely a symptom of poverty and poor education. Making it illegal won't end it. It never has. But we can treat the disease by improving the opportunities for and equality of women, and especially minority women. I believe that's what Bernie will strive to do. I believe that's what Jesus would do. He didn't come to lay down the law. He came to make a way. Literally this:


Furthermore, if you support safe food Bernie is the only candidate with an established record of standing up to Monsanto. How much will anything else really matter when we're all poisoned by our food?