It's been some years now since I have not been able to discuss politics with anyone except my husband and children. It seems everyone else is so convinced that their candidate is the next Abraham Lincoln that we cannot discuss political or economic principles without bloodshed, so I just keep my mouth shut. But, since I have no one here to tell me I cannot, I thought I would just test the water a little and see if I can avoid a fight.
This may sound strange, but any time people discuss politics or economics, I think it is imperative that the discussion focus around principles, not people. I know that some would disagree with this approach because it's so easy to like or dislike someone and accept or reject their politics out of hand. I learned a lesson about this that I will never forget.
I used to live in a place where there was a certain political candidate who was as popular as the day is long. He had all the votes he needed to keep him in his political position for the rest of his life. I had no reason to dislike him, but I admit that my gut feeling was one of skepticism. I withheld my comments because I believed that it wasn't the man but the philosophy of the man I should be looking at. On the surface, his philosophy sounded OK. Then I went to a political rally where this man was speaking. The organizers had a informal breakfast and chat session with the candidate so that people could 'get to know' him better. I had wished for just such an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about this candidate so I went and put myself in a position to ask some questions. During the course of the breakfast, my questions were answered. I had heard about several pieces of legislation for which this candidate had voted. This legislation was clearly against the Party Platform, (the principles upon which the political party is supposedly founded and governed) I questioned his motives for such a course and suggested that if he consistently voted against the party's platform that perhaps he should switch parties.
The response I received from this candidate both surprised and puzzled me. He said with a sort of knowing smile that I just did not understand how things are done in Washington; that the way things are right now made it necessary for him to compromise certain principles. He said, if you want to get something good accomplished, you have to vote for something you don't want or even something bad in order to get it. Then he proceeded to tell us all the good he had accomplished with this technique.
This candidate is entitled to his opinion about how to perform his office. However, I realized at that moment, that I could not vote for him. His political philosophy was diametrically opposed to that of myself. I was glad that I was able to discover this about him and to confidently seek out someone who believed as I did.
Some people have made jokes about how political campaigns are either beauty contests or contests to determine who can lie the smoothest. If this is true then I guess we deserve what we get. I admit that it takes some effort to get to someone's philosophy. Sometimes it is carefully hidden behind a mountain of rhetoric. I personally do not want to be taken in by someone who has kept his real philosophy secret. I want to talk about and vote for someone who holds to principles to which I agree and who votes and lives accordingly. Anything else is foolishness in my opinion.
Sometimes the trouble arises from the fact that many people do not know WHAT they believe. In other words, they have no political or economic philosophy. This is a very dangerous position. People with no philosophy, or one that is unclear or shallow, can be easily taken in by fair promises. I believe that the time has come for people to educate themselves in these matters so that they cannot be deceived by smooth talking fakers. It is time that people dug deeper than the surface rhetoric to find the philosophy behind the man, because, I assure you, they have one. The question is, do you KNOW what it is, and do you agree. It really is not about the candidate, but about his philosophy and the principles for which he stands. Anything else is still a beauty contest.
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