1.12.2010

In Which I Come Out of the Closet

Sorry, ladies, but this figurative closet has nothing to do with sexuality.

I am, officially, a left-winger. Not just left-leaning.

And yeah, there's a difference. Moderates go either way; people over on the left always want more, more government, more rights, more environment--about the one thing that's less is a desire for war.

Not psychotic or radical, though; I think the institution of marriage should be abolished and that everyone should get a civil union--marriage should be religious, not political--but there is no way in Hell I'd support partial birth abortions or a 50% tax on the richest (unless the money were going to me).

This is not in spite of the fact that, at heart, I am a realist. It is, rather, because of it.

As a non-Christian minority, I am terrified at the thought of what would happen if the bigots and religiously biased individuals that the Republican Party tolerates among their number. Sarah Palin, of course, is the famous example of this--she was brought on to the party platform because the RNC thought that she would appeal to voters; and McCain's subsequent shift to a more extremist right-wing attitude just goes along with it. The failure of the Republican candidates during the 2008 election season, too, to call out people for saying things like Obama's a terrorist--and the way they've just leapt on Reid for making a point that, while having racist overtones, is unfortunately true....

I see what they're doing to schools, these Christians. And, as a scientist, that bothers me too. How can you tell kids that evolution is a theory when they barely know what a theory is? (For the record, it's not; Darwin's 'natural selection' is the theory. The fossil record is a fact, and if your beliefs say otherwise, then stay the hell out of my science classroom and I'll stay the hell out of your worship.)

So.... I'm sticking to the left wing, if now then maybe not in the future--everything tends to slowly shift leftward; a good example of this is the anarchist Emma Goldman, who started out radical and ended up moderately liberal. The U.S. is way behind the times.

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