Liberals vs. Conservatives

It is Saturday night, I have had a productive day and am now treating myself to a few glasses of wine.  

You know what happens when I do that.  The thoughts flood into my head and I feel like writing.  As usual, please forgive me if this post does not flow properly, the paragraphs are incongruent and I come to absolutely no point at all. 

In my previous post I feel that I really shot down the conservatives and was a bit mean.  I don’t mean to be mean.  

*Language sidebar:  Isn’t it funny how in English one can use “mean” in two different ways in the same sentence?

I’m being completely honest about this and rest assured it is no snide, backhanded liberal trick either.  The reason my heart has softened is I saw a woman today at a Thomas the Train event,,, yes the Thomas that kids like (I have a little boy) and she was wearing a “support your Union” shirt with an American flag and an eagle on it.  

Now this shirt in itself might be a little confusing politically since liberals are usually identified with the Unions and conservatives like to wave flags, show the eagle and take pride in America’s military ability.  

But for the sake of argument, let us say she is a conservative because, well, the shirt had a flag and eagle on it and I just feel that is something conservatives would wear.

And you know what?  I like Conservatives.  

*Warning:  I am going to severely generalize and stereotype here.  

I happen to live in San Francisco and sometimes I feel that Liberals can be self righteous, self-important, snooty, and just downright off putting.  

It is the Conservatives that wear shirts with American flags and eagles and I kind of like that.  These are also the same people that over decorate their houses at Christmas (and every other holiday) and are just down to earth people.  They have no qualms about planting  a big American flag on their front lawn, taking their kids to a Thomas the Train event and doing something as uniquely American as going bowling.  

I like all of those things too!  

So here I find myself painting a very wonderful picture of Conservatives and I wonder to myself when it was that idiots like Limbaugh, Palin, Beck, Bachmann and the rest of the nincompoop squad hijacked the Conservative camp.  

See what I’m doing here?  I’m actually convincing myself that I actually like Conservatives when the fact of the matter is that I DO actually like Conservatives on many many many points!!!!  I’m just over stereotyping I guess.  

So what can I do in this situation?  Perhaps I can just call the politicians and media on both sides of the ideological isle Sons of Bitches for poisoning the well and making us hate each other.  

Now let’s switch gears and talk about the American soldiers.  

As a person who has lived in many different countries I’ve seen a lot of things.  My last foreign country I lived in was Vietnam and I don’t think I have to tell you that one will not like war very much after understanding what happened there.  It will soften all hearts.  

So let me just say this.  In America we keep talking about “protecting freedoms” which is a very good phrase to justify attacking other countries no matter the actual reason.  

The soldiers on the other hand, my heart really goes out to them.  We as a country really do not understand the sacrifice these men and women go through.  

Only on occasion do we see the flag draped coffins in some picture only to forget it 5 minutes later as we go about our daily lives.  That coffin was a consciousness, a human, a living being snuffed out.  For every one that comes back in a box our hearts should all completely break.  

Those where men and women who were trying to do the right thing, protect the country, get ahead in life.  No matter the reason they joined the armed forces, I’m certain that the majority what to do good or at least get ahead in the best way the know how and was available to them.  For all my “liberal” ramblings I will always have a place in my heart for those young people.  (On both sides)

It is their leaders that I want to chastise and have done so many times in this blog.  

But now, let us add a twist.  

What are we not seeing?  Do any of us weep for the foreigners killed when we deploy our soldiers overseas?  Do we really understand the death and destruction?  Do we cry for the family just wiped out by a drone’s missile?  Did we even know the family existed?   

How many missiles were launched today?  How many beings snuffed out?  And we cheer when we see this in the news?  How can we call ourselves human beings?  How can we cheer death and destruction and simply chalk it up under “protecting freedom?”  

How can we be one of the most educated nations on earth yet accept the death of so many under a simple slogan?

And we think ourselves more informed than those in the “oppressed” countries?  We simply say “We are protecting our freedoms!” When next to nobody knows what the hell that means.  

I think this is a good time to quit this post.  

Moral of the story:  I think conservatives make more trustworthy neighbors.  I’d rather talk about international stuff with liberals though.