Conservative friends

So, here's a thing I feel super guilty about, but will not stop doing.

Un-friending conservative friends.

Now don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean Republicans. There are some merits to Republican economic positions that I find valuable.

However, and this is where I really have to depart--

The modern Republican party has endorsed candidates for over a decade now that represent virtually none of the Republican party's actual core policies except social policies- the policies that I find offensive, regressive, and problematic in general.

Instead of fiscal conservativism, small government, states rights, individual freedoms, etc- we've had candidates who want to:

1. Spend money out the ass (two wars, Mr. Bush? 5 trillion in tax cuts and 2 trillion for the military that they don't need to fund a section of the military that is outdated, Mr. Romney?).

2. Increase the size and scope of the government, particularly in its ability to control and maintain power.

3. Advocate for federal laws banning things they don't like instead of ceding power to the states.

4. Decrease individual freedoms in order to increase "national safety."

What we're left with are social policies meant to disenfranchise minorities of all kinds and even some majorities (women?!). That's not even remotely acceptable!

And let me make this perfectly clear: Even IF the fanciful economic policies Romney had endorsed were able to fix the economy (and if you don't believe me when I say that the math is crap, look up any of the non-partisan studies about it), it would not be worth my gay friends losing the potential right to marry, my women friends losing the rights to their body, and every middle class (and lower) friend losing the ease at which they can use our society's safety nets and medical assistance programs.

A fixed economy solely for straight, upper-class white males (and to a lesser extent, middle class equivalents) is not an economy I'd like to participate in. And I can't fathom why you would want to unless money is just that important to you.

And seriously- I get that you don't like our welfare programs. I don't like a lot of them either. Liberals don't disagree about their efficacy. We disagree about their necessity. We need safety nets in our society- they need fixed, yes absolutely, but they need to exist, and if the only options are a broken welfare system versus a non-existent one, I'd take the broken one each time.
Because even if it doesn't encourage people to get back on their feet, at least it doesn't let them fucking die.

I get that some of you believe marriage is between a man and a woman. That's fine for you. You don't have to marry anyone you don't want to. However, your moral belief that marriage is a man and a woman only is equivalent to my moral belief that marriage is between two people who are of sound mind and financial stability required to raise children in an appropriate environment.

I'd love for it to be reality, but the problem is that all Americans have rights. Not just you. So as much as it's against your morals for gays to get married, it's against my morals for you to not accept gays. You see the problem here?

And I get that some of you don't believe that your tax dollars shouldn't go to things you don't like. However, the US doesn't spend money based on individuals' preferences. Otherwise, we wouldn't go to war, because I hate war. And we wouldn't jail people for marijuana. And we wouldn't have the death penalty. Thing is, we don't get to make these decisions on our own. We just get to vote on them.


Really- the line of reasoning I constantly hear is this poorly thought-out rationale that effectively says, "I want laws to be such that _______! Except when that helps someone I disagree with!"

I've never met a conservative who had an argument that logically followed properly and was also something I could morally support. It's only one or the other if either, but usually neither.

Conservativism can make a spectacularly sound financial plan that destroys lives but rakes in a profit. That's why our billionaires are doing so well- they have a model that works- I just don't support the consequences. And your argument for being staunchly pro-life is admirable, but not logical (see my post on Friday about abortion)[usually]. Or, your desire to stop gay marriage in order to help children is nice because you're thinking of the children (on the surface), but the problem is that it doesn't hold any goddamn weight in facts or statistics.

So yeah, I feel really bad, because a lot of these people in my life have been fun or interesting people. And I know I can never change the world or any idealistic thing like that- but the reason I do this is to send the message that it's unacceptable in my eyes to be so against logic or your fellow humans that you would vote for a man like Mitt Romney or George W. Or Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, RIck Perry, or Newt Gingrich.

I will not, however, confront you unless you bring the topic up. I will not sell my beliefs without being asked. If you are truly interested, you will seek out the perspectives of others (as you, the reader, may be doing right now).
So indeed, perhaps I am merely being immature by distancing myself from once good friends without telling them why, but I would consider it equally offensive for me to assume that they care what my political beliefs are relational to my philosophy about friendships.

I recognize that I have much to learn. I am an infant in knowledge, but I am also tired of the same arguments day in and day out- arguments that mask racism or a desperate clinging to your parents' ideologies. Tired arguments that, ultimately, tell me that you value the penny more than the person holding the penny.

Someday, I will be able to show more understanding towards my conservative brethren. That day is not today, and I shall eventually feel the negative impact of such an isolationist policy. I hope the world will be able to forgive me when I seek forgiveness.

-
Waddles