Little Blue And Red Boxes

I believe my readers know me as a political dissenter and an outspoken voice from the left. I am so because my political proclivities very naturally subscribe me to the liberal tenets. However, that is not a one-size-fits-all absolute. I will not sacrifice independent thought in the interest of being a good liberal soldier. As strongly as I have and will battle against the radical right, I welcome times where right and left can meet. When did so many start resisting that instead of facilitating it? When did so many go willingly into those little blue and red boxes, hypnotically agreeing to support that which fell inside their box and oppose anything outside of it. I find this to be a fairly pervasive mentality among the strongly politically motivated.

I am not insulting anyone here. I say that clearly because the response I expect from this is mainly arguments as to which side is more guilty of this. That of course proves my point. I more want to convey that, as with all opinions I publish here, it is based on my body of experience and the conditions that exist in the spaces I occupy.

With no plan or agenda, I have often found myself outside of my little blue box, having made decisions on certain issues with no regard for what side of the aisle they fall on.

Without going into great detail on the particular issues, the most recent was my last piece on the oil industry. The discussion here has been wonderful but initial responses to it published elsewhere were angry ones from the left suggesting I "just call myself a red and go publish at RedState" and calling the piece "spamming for conservatives". Oh dear, in writing that piece I was definitely being a bad liberal. A more memorable example was the Terri Schiavo case. I'm sure all of us recognize the many legal and moral intricacies surrounding Terri Schiavo's life and death. None of them escaped me and I could not condone the killing of this woman and fiercely fought against it.

This was not me yielding to the "conservative position". It was MY passionately held position. Many on "my side" castigated me for that. And again, their main argument? How could any respectable liberal take a conservative position like this? It was mind numbing really to have accusations of being a bad liberal so far over-shadow the issue itself. Many on the right just considered me some sort of fraud. As if to say, how could this liberal, lesbian, tree-hugging democrat agree with us on anything - we are not going to listen to her. These were groups that made decisions based on the box - solely on a prescribed ideology. But an interesting dynamic occurred with a small group from the right and a small group from the left. We marveled at the joining. It was like suddenly having this odd new friend and there were a million new and fresh things to talk about. Even our differences became just that - differences, not divides. And the voice behind our battle became stronger and somehow more validated.

These small groups from both sides are now my centrists. They can be left or right. The distinction being they don't live in those boxes. They represent a place where the two sides can meet and work, not to win their argument but in accord for progress.


The Aim of an Argument ... should not be victory, but progress. ~Joseph Joubert~ (1754-1824) (A French philosopher whose aim was to note in terse and clear sentences the necessity, utility, and beauty of virtue.)