A Republican Mind - for my kids and others...
I look at politics today and I see too much internal bickering.
I'll be the first to break the ice: I like President Obama and I still do, but I don't agree with President Obama on everything. The things I like about Obama is he has the potential to be the first president to heal race relationships. He was raised by a white grandmother that was very dear to his heart yet he has an idea of what black Americans go through at the same time. He also knows the sacred role of fatherhood because his own father wasn't there for him.
President Obama has a demeanor that gives a sense of dignity and elegance back to the White House, yet he is still very much seen a regular 'joe'. You can see his humor, his love as a father and husband as well. In many ways, he looks more like a president than Bush. There's thing I disagree with Obama, but that's not what this paragraph is about - it's about what I like about him besides Obama is a big hoops fan.
Myths one I like to break, I hope Obama succeeds. A failed American presidential office is a failure to the country as a whole. I am not a conservative who is wants to 'win' by cheering the failure of a political party that I don't affiliate with. If our president succeeds in turning this economy, health care, or the Afghanistan war I'll be the first to cheer him on.
If you are Republican who is hoping for the failure of a Democrat or vice versa you are simply not an American. It's not American to cheer the failure of people. Americans believe in striving towards success. Also you don't 'hate' people in politics. Hatred is reserved for child molesters, rapists and people who exterminate on a large scale where there is a need for justice. There is no political office holder who warrants the feeling of hatred unless it's someone who pulls a Benedict Arnold. Dislike, displeasure..yes. I am truly sadden when politics brings such emotions whether love or hate to a president in Americans on both fronts.
Honestly Bush didn't bring me as much joy as much as my wife, my friends or family. Obama has never hurt me like a bully in Jr. High or the anger I felt listening to the story of a woman raped at twelve by her father-in-law (these are things that warrants hot-anger for justice). It simply has no place: we love our presidents and hate them too much when we've never personally have been afflicted or blessed by them as much as family. I liken it to sports fans. Unless you worked for them or on the team, when was the last time the any sports team CHANGED YOUR LIFE more than your friends or family? So why get so touchy-feely about it?
Another myth: We don't love war. We are willing to fight wars because we believe evil exists. To this day, I don't believe there's a good reason President Bush should have pulled us into Iraq, Afghanistan yes. 9/11 is seared into my mind that evil exists in a real manner, yet today some Democrats don't talk about Afghanistan that much why? As an American I want to win Afghanistan, we didn't start the war, but we need to finish it.
I also believe this: generations of Americans living in America without the sight of Communism, or the loss of freedom have dulled the American vision of what freedom truly mean.
I say this because my father immigrated from China escaping the literal horrors of watching people die simply for being intelligent (during Communism purging of intellectualism - akin to the Nazis burning books). My father told me, "This United States is a great country. You can come here poor, work hard and live your life, raise your family without fear and in dignity." He also reminded me to defend and bleed for this country that adopted us and to be loyal to her because he KNEW evil and he saw evil's hand ( he didn't mean the people of China because he sent back money during the earthquakes in China a year ago).
I don't blame other Americans for this perspective because it's prone to our nature to forget and take for granted what we have. If it's not our country, it's our spouse, or friends. I'm not better than those who forgot, I simply had a father who spoke about it with deep passion because he lived without freedom - and all the intellectualism and debate of why America should not spend so much on defense will never out-debate my father's tears telling me how precious freedom is because he once LIVED WITHOUT IT. I never heard of a poor immigrant coming from a country ruled by a despot question as much as Americans do about why we need to go to war because they lived in world where the government wasn't able to defend her from evil. President Reagan had a huge defense budget and he was accused of being a war-monger, but he never pulled us into a full-scale war in his term ( I don't consider Granada a 'war').
Another myth, I don't believe in the infallibility of my party affiliation. President Bush poured way too much money into Iraq and ignored the economic conditions of the United States too long. As Americans we spend more than we make and he should have stepped up to the plate and say, 'Grow up' to us and the government. The Bush administration spent recklessly. I think Iraq was a mistake because to this day I cannot rationalize with my party about Iraq. Afghanistan was different: children and the people of the United States died. I've also debated with my Conservative friends on many fronts and I consider myself a 'Liberterian' more than 'Republican' now.
In the end, I am holding politics with a lighter grip. It's not divine, it's not a part of the fabric of my being. When I die it doesn't matter. What matters is all of one day will be held accountable for our lives, our views and more importantly how we love.