rucusincruc
Super Moderators
Registered: 12/29/08
Posts: 40
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| | 02/20/09 at 05:07 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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I decided to reach out to some local residents and offer them some options for recovery. Here is the story of Eve. You should all start local support groups as this is clearly an epidemic that is affecting MILLIONS of innocent people!
Hi. My name is Eve. I am a recovering Obamaholic.
They say the first step is admitting that you have a problem, so at least I am on the road to recovery. Given the depth of my addiction, however, the rest will not be easy.
As of last count, I have 23 different Obama-related posters, signs and pictures hanging on my dorm room wall. I also have another poster rolled up in the corner, waiting for some available wall space.
I finally erased the election countdown from my whiteboard yesterday. It was painful, but I knew that I needed to move on. Does starting an inauguration countdown qualify as progress?
I keep checking fivethirtyeight.com and RealClearPolitics obsessively out of habit, only to find that the latest polling updates have been replaced by endless speculation about Obama’s cabinet picks.
I have also noticed a lot of speculation about the dog. Ever since Obama made his election night promise to give Malia and Sasha a new puppy, I have been forced to watch tough, hard-hitting journalists devolve into warm and fuzzy dog enthusiasts. As someone who loathes dogs, that was not what I had in mind when I talked about improving our nation’s political discourse.
But as much as I am troubled by the national focus on the Obamas’ greyhound versus Labrador debate, I am much more concerned about the political discourse on our campus.
First of all, it needs to continue. I applaud the many Wash. U. students and groups who worked tirelessly to encourage political debate during the election season. That work should not end simply because the polls have closed.
But while the enthusiasm of the past few months has been admirable, the tone of our discourse has not. This semester’s Student Life columns and comments have detailed countless anecdotes of conservative oppression on campus. The intolerance that students have described is inexcusable and campus liberals should be ashamed that such incidents have occurred at our school.
Liberals, do not color on conservative posters. Conservatives, likewise, please try not to insult the patriotism of Iraq War protesters. Didn’t we learn this stuff in preschool?
Political debate should be fun and it should sharpen our ideas and test various policies. It should not be so personal.
If you have found any of my columns this semester to be flippant or dismissive, I apologize; yet, I do not believe that provoking debate is not necessarily offensive. Just as my hatred of dogs does not make me the Antichrist, belief in misguided policies does not make conservatives evil zealots.
At the end of the day, I want a world full of peace, prosperity and freedom. That may be a lofty goal, but it is not a controversial one. I believe that all people are created equal, that human life is sacred and that we should strive to give every child a chance to succeed. If we can agree on these basic principles, nothing else matters. The rest of the debate is not about values; it is about logistics.
If given a choice between lower taxes and more funding for education, for example, I would probably choose to increase funding for education. Yet I also think that taxes should be low, and you probably like education. Maybe you think lower tax rates will increase overall revenue. Maybe you even think that lower taxes are more important. We can have different priorities and yet share the same goals.
Respectful political discourse is important. I need to hear about the value of charter schools lest I remain corrupted by tax-and-spend liberals who have sold their bleeding hearts to the teachers’ unions. You need to hear about the limitations of offshore drilling before you worship the crazy right-wing ideologues who think that global warming is a myth and that humans once roamed the earth with dinosaurs.
Neither of us will learn if we scream at each other mindlessly. We also cannot learn if we stay silent.
After all, one of us might actually have some power one day. We should use this time to challenge ourselves to dream up the best possible policies to implement when that day comes. Now that the election is over, winning should be secondary.
I think the next step of the Obamaholic recovery program is to embrace the lack of horse-race coverage and brush up on the issues. Anyone up for some debate?
__________________
Rob Smead
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