Politickin'

"Politics" comes from the merging of two root words: "Poly," which is "many," and "tics," which are bloodsucking parasites.

Holy Hell. It's been almost a year since I last blogged?? Wow. And, I still owe you a Furry update, don't I? I still owe you a lot of things. Damn. Hopefully we'll get there.

Ok, so - I am back. I wanted to take time out and comment on all of the commenting I've been doing lately, mostly on Facebook, a few web forums, and in "real life." Political stuff has just been coming up more often, it's been more at the forefront of my brain, and I think a lot of other people's brains, too. Mmmm. Brains...

Anyway, when I first made the big switch from MySpace to Facebook, it was probably somewhere around 2007-2008. I was astounded by all of the political stuff that was flying around. Facebook was way more political than MySpace, or it at least seemed that way, given the format. It was easier to make status updates and have links that showed up in everyone's news feed. On MySpace, people pretty much had to come to your page to get insulted by you. Or, you had to actively write an insult on their page. And, obviously, 2008 was a big election year, so there was all of that going on as well.

I couldn't believe how willing people were to just spew their political garbage into the ether (a lot of it being really, really nasty), with no regard for who may or may not be reading it To me, social networking sites were akin to a "giant dinner party." And we all know that at a polite, networking dinner party, you don't bring up religion or politics. You just don't. You don't know everyone that well, and you don't know whom you're about to anger or upset.

So, while I had very strong political opinions, I did my best not to throw a lot of it out there. I didn't make the political post very often, and when I did, I was sure to surround it with some links about the Muppets or Star Wars or something. Also, being involved in academia, music, and the performing arts for over 15 years, I quickly learned how, for the most part, to not get into a fight every 5 minutes. In the months preceding the 2008 election, I even tried to start a Facebook trend/movement to "Just Shut Up," and challenged whoever to just refrain from assaulting their friends with unwelcome political opinions.

I basically stuck to this for a while. I remember being accused of being "too political" sometime last year, and I was especially shocked given my sincere efforts to not be. I later determined that this person was not reacting to the overall quantity of my posts, as I had to go back about 6 months to even find something political that I'd thrown up on my page. She had simply branded me as "political" because I did disagree with her, and therefore I stuck out in her mind as "the enemy." My suspicion is that the smug political comments her politically aligned friends make with more frequency get overlooked and do not register as an occasional post of mine might, as they do not stick out or set off any "enemy-alert" alarms.

All that said, I confess to becoming more politically vocal in this most recent stretch of my life. I think this is for a number of reasons. We do live in very politically charged times. That's getting more extreme, not less. I'm also getting older. Maybe I care more or take more notice than I used to. And, I'm back in Missouri and around my family, so my conservative roots are probably showing a little more than I ever let them in college or in Chicago.

But also, I am done. I am done biting my tongue. I am sick of letting some of the crap I hear slide without calling people out on it. I am tired of hearing how conservatives are all inbred, mouth-breathing, uneducated, uncultured, knuckle-dragging, redneck morons. I am here to tell you that we are not. I am tired of hearing how science, reason, logic, art, music, and beauty are all solely in existence in the enlightened domain of the left. I am here to tell you that is simply not the case.

I am a thoughtful, intelligent, college-educated, and well-cultured conservative. I help my family run a business. I am a classically trained opera singer. I read. I watch the news. Then I read and watch the other news. Then I read and watch some more. I absorb information whenever I can and I formulate my own opinions. I digest these opinions and make them my own before repeating them. I do not simply regurgitate the same garbage I heard someone say on the radio.

I am willing to, but I don't want to fight. I want to actually engage you. If I can't persuade you, I at least want you to understand where I am coming from. I will do my best to understand where you are coming from as well. I won't be spewing any empty rhetoric, so spare me yours.

And I challenge you... I challenge you to actually be as open minded and intelligent as you claim to be. I have heard your point of view for 15 years, but I don't think you have ever really heard mine. You've heard sound bites and quotes from the most radical and unintelligent of the right... sound bites that were hand selected to be easily knocked down.

I am not Glenn Beck. I am not Sean Hannity. I am not Rush Limbaugh. I am me. Talk to me. Engage me. Fight with me if you must. But listen to what I have to say. Don't listen to what Bill Maher said that Glenn Beck said, and then fight that imaginary idiot straw man twice removed from a real person in your brain. Mmmm. Brains...

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And... my computer crashed while typing this. I lost my momentum. But you get my drift.

Let's play nice with each other, but let's actually get some legitimate, open-minded debate going on. On like Donkey Kong.