Can’t we all just get along? - or - Damned Republicans

I was just sent a link to a YouTube clip about loving and remembering our soldiers. And I realized that my first all-consuming thought was incredibly defensive. “Just because I don’t love war, people just assume that I hate all U.S. soldiers? Because I don’t want them to be killed right and left in a bloody civil war in a country that seems to have no desire to become the kind of democracy that we deem best, that means I don’t like them? Are you kidding me?”

At first I was angry about the stereotype, but then I realized, by and large, I’d be most of these political stereotypes are true. I am a tree-hugging, touchy-feely, granola-type who is overly optimistic and doesn’t want poor little animals to get hurt and doesn’t think that if two guys get married it will somehow make what me and Steve have less special. And I do see the conservatives as being two stereotypical groups - rich people who feel that they deserve to be rich more so than anyone else and have no desire to help anyone else out, and the yokels who drive gas guzzlers and are too dumb to see how their love of guns and God is being exploited by the rich bastards to have their will done in the government. And for a lot of the conservatives I’ve met, that’s pretty accurate.

But there are a few areas where I feel that both sides could stand to move beyond their stereotypes:

1. The environment. Taking care of our earth should be a global priority. What is the downside of taking care of the planet again? I’ve heard people argue that global warming isn’t real or that the left is just over-reacting, but I have never heard anyone say that taking steps towards being eco-friendly would be in any way detrimental. So how ‘bout we all just say, “Better safe than sorry,” trade-in our Hummer, change our light bulbs, and turn off the shower when we shave our legs.

2. Our soldiers. Now, you won’t see me sticking an American flag bumper sticker on the back of our car in some shallow attempt to show my patriotism, but I will support better medical facilities, educational benefits, and compensation for our soldiers. Since we appreciate them so much, why don’t we show them by improving their quality of life? More liberal bias: I would also like to give them the ultimate gift of letting them return home to their families. To me the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan make about as much sense as kicking a beehive because you got stung by a bee. And what do we expect the end result to be? Everything becomes all puppies and rainbows? They all start listening to Kenny Chesney and chewing tobacco and driving Ford trucks? They all embrace Jesus Christ as their personal savior and send us all their oil for free? I just don’t get it.

3. Health care. I haven’t seen Sicko yet, and I know what most of you think of Michael Moore. But regardless of his methods, he does have a point. As a nation, the health of our citizens should be a priority. Instead, we are the only developed nation that doesn’t offer comprehensive health care. And when one hospital stay without insurance costs more than a house, I feel like something is out of balance.

4. God/religion/spirituality. When did God become a member of the republican party? Maybe he just made a mistake and checked the wrong box when he was renewing his driver’s license? In any case, you’re not going to convince me that you’re more spiritually enlightened than I am just because you’re pro-life but cheer when Iraqis die because "It's better them than us," like God is thinking, "Whew, I'm glad it wasn't just a white person that was killed." And you’re not going to be able to convince me that Jesus would have wanted us to allow concealed weapons without a permit either. The truth is that no one should get a corner on the higher power market because it’s a very personal (not partisan) issue. And if one day you’re smiling down from heaven, while I’m burning in hell, bully for you. You can be as smug as you want then. But in this realm, maybe you could refrain from placing liberal Christians, Buddhists, or people who just feel an undefinable spiritual connection in the same category as demons. And just for doing that, I won't automatically place conservative Christians in the same category as Ann Coulter (who actually is a demon).

5. Education. I believe that every citizen should have the right to a quality education. It could be public, private, religious, secular, academic, or experiential. But, what I don’t agree with is rendering the public institutions ineffective by taking away all of their instruction time and replacing it with standardized tests. Quickly, who remembers the difference between a cumulus and a nimbus cloud (no Wikipedia)? Who remembers how algebraic matrices worked? No one? Now, who remembers doing school plays, having story time in the library, and making baking soda and vinegar volcanoes? Which inspired you to want to learn, getting a below average grade on a standardized test or having a teacher who was exciting and different and hands-on, and helped you find the best way for you to learn? Isn’t education really about inspiring people to want to learn and allowing them access to the information? Because no matter how much we try to beat it into these kids, they still have to want to do it for themselves. Just like rehab.

Ok, I think that’s all the thinking I can do for a Friday. Sorry if I implied that any of you were yokels.