Well here I am. I decided to create this blog in order to express my thoughts publicly. I had gotten positive response to the idea, so I figured I would try it out. A brief background about myself is in order:
I am truly a paradox. I am a first generation immigrant to the United States, living in a blue collar family, and living in a very safe blue state. Considering all of these facts, conventional wisdom would conclude that I should be a liberal. However, as one could guess from the heading, I do indeed consider myself to be a conservative. I believe in the core principles of free enterprise and limited government. I believe that people know best how to spend their own money and do not need a big government to make those decisions for it. And I also believe in the invisible hand that is present in a capitalist economy. In my view the only true responsibility of government should be to provide a safe and reliable foundation from which individuals can pursue their own aspirations. Call me crazy, but I actually believe in the ability of human beings to, for the most part, look after themselves. Much like the stubborn elephant, I generally am well established in my ways and will typically see no reason to change my thinking. However I am also a pragmatic conservative. According to Merriam-Webster pragmatism is:
Pronunciation: \ˈprag-mə-ˌti-zəm\
Function: noun
Definition: a practical approach to problems and affairs
We must pursue our goals not without listening to constructive ideas from all sides. We cannot realistically achieve all of our goals and need to use true compromise to get things done. It is never practical to ignore the other side. However in recent years both sides have frozen themselves into such a mentality. The amount of different sources of news as well as opinion have done much to further polarize society into opposing camps. And I will concede that blogs such as this one typically only serve to increase such sentiment. However I offer opinions as a, well, pragmatic alternative. I stand for the reunification of America.
I believe that politics today are very much impractical as well as inefficient. Washington is bogged down by partisan line bickering as well as the permanent election season mentality. Today politics in Washington are characterized by a bully mentality in the majority party and an obstructionist attitude in the minority. Both parties are guilty of this, and we all know it. With each president, we are promised a "new era" in politics. One that "transcends" party lines. However with each president we see the problem only worsen. Bush's government was more gridlocked than Clinton's, and now Obama's is worse than Bush's. And then when a member of either party actually stands up for his or her convictions and does indeed reach across the aisle attempting honest compromise on a particular issue, the parties paint those individuals as cowards and traitors. I hold that these very men and women are the most courageous of us all. They put their public careers and reputations on the line in the name of true progress. These individuals are the true patriots. They are loyal to the people not to the party. They are public servants in the most classical sense. Therefore let this elephant leave you with the idea that if we are to truly break through all the gridlock, we must really take it to our elected representatives. We must demand bipartisanship from our elected officials or risk losing our country forever to the bitter forces of divisiveness.
Exploring the political landscape through the eyes of a pragmatic conservative.
Pragmatism is exactly what we need in Washington nowadays. I completely agree with you, politics has become a ideological war game where each side is unwilling to compromise in the slightest to do what is best and realistic for the country.
ReplyDeleteAs a moderate, it annoys me when people complain about the centrists of each party. This comes from the two wings, the far right and far left. They believe the parties should be as extreme as possible, and should make no concessions to the other side. They believe the other side is either stupid and/or corrupt, and therefore there must be a requirement to be as "pure" as possible.
Moderates are being pushed out of both parties. More so the Republicans, but Democrats are still doing it as well. There is a hunt going on trying to take out good politicians, pragmatic ones, based on them "not being conservative enough" and compromising to actually get things done. There is also a hunt on the left for politicians not being "Democrat enough", and that if you don't support every thing the President/Democratic Leadership proposes, you are seen as an obstructionist and as against the American people. The idea of having a big tent is disappearing, and now its the "my way or the highway" mentality that is creating the growing number of independents in this country.
The left and right must realize that there is a moderate majority in this country. One that is insulted by these witchhunts and immature tactics being used in DC. We should be working together to find common ground, not trying to alienate bipartisans and leaving half the country out of having a say.