Great essay. Sounds like you learned a lot more from your graduate studies than you bargained for. Sometimes our journeys take us to unexpected destinations. Yours put you in our path—so for me it’s a positive outcome.
I hate labels because they say so little about the person. In truth, many people care about a handful of issues (many only one or two).
A single mother with 5 kids cares about housing and food for her family.
A business owner cares about his business and making money, probably to pay for his own family.
A gun owner cares about protecting himself and his family.
An anti-gun activist cares about protecting himself and his family from guns.
A woman may care about terminating an unwanted pregnancy.
Others (women and men) may care about protecting the unborn life.
Workers may care about stopping illegal immigrants from taking jobs away.
Employers may care about open borders because they need more low skilled workers at lower wages.
These interests are a small sample that aren’t so neatly aligned with either of the two major political parties.
Depending on your political starting point, you may wish to conserve those days long ago. Or you may wish to change such policies and progress to new policies. And you may even want to conserve some policies like welfare (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) but such policy alignment won’t necessarily place you squarely in one camp or the other.
Such a person will be labeled a centrist (Republican or Democrat). What defines a Centrist is just as murky as what defines a Conservative or Progressive.
I reject all political parties. I reject the idea that we live in a democracy. I reject that “the will of the American people” is moral.
I am a Restorationist. We need only hold tight to the truths enshrined in our most sacred founding principles. First, the truths memorialize in Our Declaration of Independence. Second, the truths clearly expressed and limiting government to its role as our servant by Our Constitution. I will not here attempt to paraphrase or distill the import of these master works. I encourage the reader to do his own research and thinking.
Hey, Black Flag, from this fellow (ex)Vancouverite, now a Sunshine Coaster. My ideological development is somewhat similar to yours, but a bit more extreme in my younger days. Would it be worthwhile to develop a forum for our fellow Maple-leaf wearers. with the specific intention of exploring options that don’t come down the chute with ideological labels already applied?
First off, let me apologize for being so long in getting back to you (serious illness in family). Now on to the meat of the issue.
1) Canadians only, to build connection with each other. After that, maybe proposals—what should we do about health care? How do we want it to be? Immigration policy? Defence? Ask for proposals in each area, with the focus on the results we want. No personal attacks, raking over the past, polemical point-scoring—there are enough venues for that already.
Thanks brother. I notice some bad spending habits among a certain class of whites and while J. Taylor's comments still make my skin crawl I would call out the ubiquity of tattoos among the poor, which are very expensive and how tf you gonna complain about bills if you doing that stuff? Still not much waste compared to the blacks and the Hispanics and they're my people, hurts me to see them do this.
You bet. What I meant was that blacks and Hispanics are more often on welfare etc and more destructive pathologies. I remember reading that a study in New York City on welfare recipients observed that many spent a quarter of their income on cigarettes. That’s with very punitive tobacco taxes but still….
I, too, think that slavery was “ bad.” but did the rent farmers in Ireland in the pre-famine days have it any better? Starvation was not unusual before the famine.
Does anyone admit that “ freeing “ the slaves on the death of the slaveholders meant that the slaves were on their own? No longer to be fed, housed, and cared for? Uneducated with menial trade skills to make a living when they owned no land?
The failure of the reconstruction and the failure of dealing with the slaves’ lack of trade, work habits, and now ebonics has led to the mess we face today. Most of our cities are in ruins because no one want to live near them.
I understand and largely share the positions you discuss. It is just that all put together they do not on my scale outweigh the US Right's positions on trade, immigration, taxes/deficits, support of science and net CO2 emissions policies.
Thanks Chris!
Thank you! I really enjoyed this.
Glad you liked it Jen. Hope you come on over to my Substack, I may have written some other articles you'll like.
Done! Thank you!
Great essay. Sounds like you learned a lot more from your graduate studies than you bargained for. Sometimes our journeys take us to unexpected destinations. Yours put you in our path—so for me it’s a positive outcome.
Thanks Daniel!
I hate labels because they say so little about the person. In truth, many people care about a handful of issues (many only one or two).
A single mother with 5 kids cares about housing and food for her family.
A business owner cares about his business and making money, probably to pay for his own family.
A gun owner cares about protecting himself and his family.
An anti-gun activist cares about protecting himself and his family from guns.
A woman may care about terminating an unwanted pregnancy.
Others (women and men) may care about protecting the unborn life.
Workers may care about stopping illegal immigrants from taking jobs away.
Employers may care about open borders because they need more low skilled workers at lower wages.
These interests are a small sample that aren’t so neatly aligned with either of the two major political parties.
Depending on your political starting point, you may wish to conserve those days long ago. Or you may wish to change such policies and progress to new policies. And you may even want to conserve some policies like welfare (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) but such policy alignment won’t necessarily place you squarely in one camp or the other.
Such a person will be labeled a centrist (Republican or Democrat). What defines a Centrist is just as murky as what defines a Conservative or Progressive.
I reject all political parties. I reject the idea that we live in a democracy. I reject that “the will of the American people” is moral.
I am a Restorationist. We need only hold tight to the truths enshrined in our most sacred founding principles. First, the truths memorialize in Our Declaration of Independence. Second, the truths clearly expressed and limiting government to its role as our servant by Our Constitution. I will not here attempt to paraphrase or distill the import of these master works. I encourage the reader to do his own research and thinking.
Hey, Black Flag, from this fellow (ex)Vancouverite, now a Sunshine Coaster. My ideological development is somewhat similar to yours, but a bit more extreme in my younger days. Would it be worthwhile to develop a forum for our fellow Maple-leaf wearers. with the specific intention of exploring options that don’t come down the chute with ideological labels already applied?
Interesting idea. You mean something other than Substack? What do you have in mind?
First off, let me apologize for being so long in getting back to you (serious illness in family). Now on to the meat of the issue.
1) Canadians only, to build connection with each other. After that, maybe proposals—what should we do about health care? How do we want it to be? Immigration policy? Defence? Ask for proposals in each area, with the focus on the results we want. No personal attacks, raking over the past, polemical point-scoring—there are enough venues for that already.
Beautiful, neighbor! "Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the handmaiden of truth." (From Robert T. Weston's short essay/poem/quote.)
As I recall, my suggestion of "secret tourists" as opposed to "illegals" was not very well-received that day...
I remember that! I was trying to remember exactly what you said but all I could remember was that is was a funny comment.
Thanks brother. I notice some bad spending habits among a certain class of whites and while J. Taylor's comments still make my skin crawl I would call out the ubiquity of tattoos among the poor, which are very expensive and how tf you gonna complain about bills if you doing that stuff? Still not much waste compared to the blacks and the Hispanics and they're my people, hurts me to see them do this.
Poor spending habits and bad choices are universal habits as far as I know.
Thanks for reading and for the comment.
You bet. What I meant was that blacks and Hispanics are more often on welfare etc and more destructive pathologies. I remember reading that a study in New York City on welfare recipients observed that many spent a quarter of their income on cigarettes. That’s with very punitive tobacco taxes but still….
Very well written. Thanks.
Thanks Dean! I appreciate the compliment.
Great stuff. Keep it up.
I, too, think that slavery was “ bad.” but did the rent farmers in Ireland in the pre-famine days have it any better? Starvation was not unusual before the famine.
Does anyone admit that “ freeing “ the slaves on the death of the slaveholders meant that the slaves were on their own? No longer to be fed, housed, and cared for? Uneducated with menial trade skills to make a living when they owned no land?
The failure of the reconstruction and the failure of dealing with the slaves’ lack of trade, work habits, and now ebonics has led to the mess we face today. Most of our cities are in ruins because no one want to live near them.
Thank you!
Yes, it's a complicated topic. Ideology over evidence is not the approach to take if understanding is the goal.
I understand and largely share the positions you discuss. It is just that all put together they do not on my scale outweigh the US Right's positions on trade, immigration, taxes/deficits, support of science and net CO2 emissions policies.