When one comes face to face with his/her own mortality, if there is even a shred of a soul left, the process of introspection begins. Sure, it should be a lifelong effort to discover ourselves, but it's in those moments that scare us, that make us realize that our days are numbered that we really start looking at our lives and wondering where we stand in the perspective of the infinite.
Driving along today with a friend, I noticed a vehicle in front of us had a bumper sticker that read: "I support the 2nd Amendment - the Amendment that makes all others possible." For some reason, that really pissed me off. I saw the driver of the beat up old truck and he was the quintessence of Oklahoma hillbilly. He had is OSU ball cap, the confederate flag sticker proudly displayed on his window, and from what I could see, the man looked challenged in the tooth department. Now, don't get me wrong - I was frustrated with the stereotype coming to life right before me. My friend laughed after my rant and said, "Don't go too liberal on me, just stay moderate. And whatever you do, don't go hugging trees either."
So, like any good red-blooded, meat-eating, Kid Rock-loving, Oklahoma nutjob, I started thinking about how my of my views have changed over the past few years and how my world view is remarkably different.
1. 2nd Amendment: My views on the 2nd Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms are no different than in the past. I have, however, become intensely frustrated with the neanderthals who believe that every time President Obama farts, he's trying to take our guns away. Hate to break it to you kids, but there is no secret to the President's views on firearms - and we elected him. I won the 2007 ORA Media Award and I'm damned proud of that. It's because we put forth an agenda that was filled to overflowing with common sense.
Does that make me a liberal?
2. Partisanship For the Purpose of Partisanship: When I was on KOMA, then WKY, I never was exclusively angry with the Democrats. I let Republicans have it too when they deserved it and these days, it's truly deserved. I remember the discussion I had with then Speaker of the House, Todd Heitt (now an elected Corporation Commissioner - God, help us) about the big reveal of the Republican agenda one year. It was...wait for it...tort reform. Dear God in heaven. If there has been even ONE corporation who has chosen to not build in Oklahoma because of our bloody tort laws, I will bash myself in the head with a vegan, organic burrito. The partisan rhetoric is just bullshit - and even the GOP Chairman has defined freedom as what we "ought to do," not "what we want to do." Yeah. He said that. If you want to read the entire story about the WTF moment,
you'll find it here.
Does that make me a liberal?
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| I mean, come on. Who would abort something this beautiful? |
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3. Abortion: I'm still pro-life, but I have developed an intense dislike for the rabid pro-life individuals who think it is acceptable to blow up or picket an abortion clinic. If my pro-life brothers and sisters want to be serious, how about supporting the abolition of the death penalty. I believe that if we were all doing our jobs as parents, as human beings, the need for abortion would become virtually non-existent. Why? Because knowledge is power and the more knowledge we impart to the youngin's, the better their decision making in the future. And yes, since the hyper-vigilance of the God Squad has made it taboo for schools to discuss contraception and have failed to do their part in educating young people, they are raising a generation of horny kids with nothing but raw sexual energy. You know, you can always tell who the religiously-repressed young adults are because they have a Bible under one arm, a blanket under the other.
Does that make me a liberal?
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| Bigotry is for idiots. |
4. More Accepting: I'm a Christian but I just can't wrap my head around this gun-toting, American flag-wearing, Chick-Fil-A supporter of a Jesus that the mainstream neoconservatives believe in. It doesn't make sense from a biblical sense, or from common sense. Jesus hung out with and healed lepers, the poor, the hungry, the blind, and the "sinners" as He called them. He was and is all about personal connection to the individual and collectively with the invisible church. I see a Jesus who cares and loves all of God's creation - not just the beautiful people at Life Church (dot TV) or Crossings.
The Church is to make disciples, to feed the hungry, to care for the poor, and to be a sanctuary of forgiveness and peace. I find myself looking more closely into the eyes of those with whom I come into contact. I want to experience their whole being, not just the facade that's put on to make everyone believe that he/she is "right with Gawd." People are people and deserve to be treated as such.
Does that make me a liberal?
5. Single-Issue Voters: Abortion, gun rights, hunting, anti-GMO, or any other of the ONE issues voters become passionate about really get on my nerves. I mean really. For the 2nd Amendment guys, how about the 14th Amendment? The 4th? Do you even know what the rest of the Constitutional Amendments are? It's kind of like the folks who follow football only when their home team is winning. It is closed-minded and damned stupid.
Does that make me a liberal?
6. Schools: We have public schools for a reason and we need to support that reason. Teacher pay, classroom spending, individualized tutoring, and even increased school choice are all important and somehow, my conservative brothers and sisters believe that everyone should home school and shun public education. Well, the aggregate result is multilateral ignorance and a bunch of teenagers who are unable to socialize or to understand world history as it is - not as Mommy and Daddy want their little snowflakes to learn from only Scripture. Because, you know, the Bible talks SO much about molecular biology or how to change a spark plug. We have public schools, they should be well funded. Take some of that corporate welfare and tax breaks to the big boys who don't really need it and put it into the classrooms, you ignorant twits. You bitch and complain about how poorly our teachers perform, but you fail to realize that it is YOUR fault by electing morally bankrupt Pharisees who only want to talk about Jeeeesus.
In Oklahoma, the average teacher pay is $31,606.
In Oklahoma, the average Legislator pay is $38,400 - and they only "work" 4 months a year.
Does that make me a liberal?
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| Supports the troops - too chicken to serve. |
7. I Despise Hannity, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Beck: I never really appreciated any of them to be candid. I did, for a time, enjoy Glenn Beck because he was funny, and didn't seem that uptight. But then, he became a hardcore Mormon and the rest went downhill. He's built an empire, but he's just a big bag of wind right now. Hannity and the rest of the Fox News dillweeds feed nothing but hatred and anger toward anyone who disagrees with them. Who needs that kind of douchebaggery anyway?
Does that make me a liberal?
The partisanship is bloody insane these days, the contentiousness during the political season is barbaric. Consultants snag a candidate, take some polls, create talking points predicated on polling data, and then suck them dry of cash. And they walk away laughing about it. They assault and attack opponents and the opponents supporters with reckless abandon, with no consideration that the person they are attacking is, in fact, a person.
Maybe I am becoming more of a liberal these days. I've spent too much time around self-righteous Pharisees to not become more liberal. You know what? To hell with it - just love one another. Forget all of your bullshit arguments and hatred for your fellow Americans and just hug someone's neck today. Please.
It's just my opinion, and I could be more conservative, but I won't because I still have a soul.
