Ed. note: I originally planned on waiting to release this one until closer to the election, but given last night's debate and today's VSB post it made sense to go ahead and get this out.
I'm going to let y'all in on the dirtiest little secret in American politics: something that no one will ever admit to. One political party believes this truth would subjugate it, while the other will never say it because its truth shines a light on the very problem it says doesn't exist.
By the way, I'm going to use the party names here instead of referring to the ideologies. Even though the latter would be more accurate, I'm choosing this particular method of nomenclature for application purposes. It's a pretty simple concept, really. So, here goes:
Democrats want to be Republicans.
Of course, I don't mean that they want to switch party affiliation and be done with it. That's pretty easily done. What I mean is that Democrats - and this is true for everyone, really - wants to live the lifestyle that stereotypically fits a Republican. Well, it's the lifestyle that stereotypically fits the upper class of Republicans.
Everyone wants to be the "upper crust, send the kids to private school, have money overseas, be able to visit said money whenever they please, and so on" type. A big part of that "so on" is the ability to not care about what happens to the rest of the world: the option of going full-bore capitalist with no regret or remorse about what happens to anyone else.
That, as much as anything, is what separates red from blue. Republicans are Republicans because they want to be. Democrats are Democrats because they - scratch that, we - have to be. We feel a responsibility to provide for everyone: the poor, the disabled, the disadvantaged. Republicans wish they would fall off a cliff into a pool of fire. For instance, look at black people. Individually, we're quite conservative. Socially, that's far from the case. There are obvious reasons for this, but that part of it still deserves mention.
Without putting them too far out there, I'll just say that my parents are pretty well off. I don't think either of them can remember the last time they got a tax refund. Shoot, if they ever paid the amount that I've received in refunds, either they or I would be ecstatic. Sure, they mention that they have to pay. However, they never do it with an angry tone. I'm of the firm belief that this is because they see the bigger picture.
See, Republicans in a similar tax bracket would moan and complain: knowing full well that they are far better off than so many around the country. They'd love to just have minimal tax contributions and to keep all of their money because they can afford the things that government has been known (and/or is supposed) to provide. They can send their children to private schools. They have so many options when it comes to medical care. Who cares about how well roads are maintained when they can fly?
Democrats want to be in that club. Republicans don't want Democrats - or other Republicans - to be in that club. Such is the situation in American politics. In order for capitalism to succeed, someone has to fail: and the Republicans' agenda is to make sure that someone always fails. How does a group make sure another group fails? It pits two other groups against each other and recuses itself from the conflict...but that's another matter.
Anyway, that's what we're voting for in 20 days. We're voting for the right to have equal access to not only what is the American dream, but what is also the preferred Republican lifestyle.
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