The Dilemma of Today’s Liberal in the United States

The Dilemma of Today’s Liberal in the United States

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin

This was Franklin’s take on the Catch-22 of his time. Many colonists of his time would have rather been “safe” than risk themselves or their families in an effort to keep what they believed to be liberty. Those colonists willing to give up this type of liberty believed it was granted to them by the King. Franklin in using the term essential was talking about liberty being at the core or “essence” of a human being. These essential factors of liberty would later be embodied in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights does not grant those Rights but rather articulates and guarantees them.

The Liberal in today’s America faces a similar dilemma. How many liberal principles should we be willing to compromise or give up entirely just keeping the other side out of power? This has become much more than just voting for the lesser of two evils. The other side consisting of the Republicans/Tea Party/NeoCons lay claim they are committed to their principles and never compromise them. They present themselves and act as a monolithic structure. They are like the old junkyard dog chewing up any bone of compromise without acknowledgement constantly demanding more.

The elation of November 2008 of “Yes We Did” is gone. The other side’s shock and dismay is still in full effect. This shock and dismay has many roots including: the assumption an African American would never be elected president; complacency with the ease they had gotten and maintained power during the previous eight years; their virtual ownership of the talk radio stations and many cable & broadcast news outlets with hosts jumping from one venue to the other; etc. The Republican coalition has one goal in mind: get back into power at all costs. Those costs include failure to support President Obama in any good faith fashion. If those costs include the failure of the country, then so be it. The leaders of the opposition are not the traditional loyal opposition. They are more than willing to commit acts like the treasonous October Surprise, or the theft of an election ala 2000 Florida or 2004 Ohio. They lie and make wild unsupportable claims. They call President Obama liberal/socialist or a fascist, like the cook throwing pasta at the wall to see what sticks. The truth is he cannot be both at once and is in fact neither. He is a Centrist that leans ever so slightly to the Left as to be invisible most times.

The Democrats/Liberals have been compromising with the Right wing of their coalition. Please make no mistake about it, the party in power is unlike the party out of power, we are a coalition that spans a wide spectrum. We have not acted as a anything near an united front until laws under consideration were watered down to the point of near uselessness or being what the Republicans would have passed had they been in power, leaving many on the Left feeling betrayed. This gave the Republicans the ability to vote against legislation they spent considerable effort weakening. When it fails because it is too weak, they can say, “We didn’t vote for it.”

Bipartisanship efforts have been a failure and waste of time. Stopping them would only strengthen the laws enacted. If conservative Dems (I call them DINOs, Democrats In Name Only) do not want to cooperate then comprise only enough to get bills passed by one vote. Another bipartisan gesture that has been proven wrong-headed is Secretary of Defense. This cabinet post is second only to State. Robert Gates needs replacing yesterday. We have a liberal Democrat for the job and former presidential candidate, retired US Army Four-Star General Wesley Clark.

The dilemma for me is this: What is one to do when the lesser of two evils is still a great evil? Alternatively, to state it in a fashion similar to Franklin’s quote: When are we giving up too much of the essence of what it means to be liberal, in our efforts to keep BushCo/RoveCo out of power. Yes, I understand Obama has done some great things, the greatest of which is bringing us back from the brink of another Great Depression caused by BushCo not Obama. Health Care Reform is an example of the aforementioned watered down laws.

What is the 900-pound gorilla in our living rooms that everyone is trying to ignore? It is these so-called wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terror, and finally all the things that have been done in our name that eat the soul of our country. Any moral high ground we have had is gone. Our major export now is death and destruction. Suicide deaths now outnumber combat deaths. Our armed forces are at an all time readiness low. How long can you whip the horse until it dies or rebels?

Get us out of both Iraq and Afghanistan ASAP.

Iraq: Fifty thousand troops and an uncounted number of civilian contractors is still an occupation. This is NOT a withdrawal. Iraq is not a colony. We have caused the death of over a million civilians and left the city of Fallujah more radioactive than Hiroshima. There was never a basis for the invasion and occupation. The government in charge was elected from ballots where we approved candidates and issues. This is a Vichy like puppet government if there ever was one.

Afghanistan: We continue not learning from history. The days of World War II fighting are gone. I had hope that was apparent from Vietnam but here we are again. Dedicated guerilla fighters on their home turf will eventually wear down an invader. We went there to capture bin Laden and failed. It is the time to leave. The same comments as Iraq apply to their government.

The “War on Terror” has caused us to fulfill Franklin’s quote. We have given up many liberties thinking it would make us safer. Hell Bush had illegal wiretaps before 9/11. I for one do not feel safer.

We are a country supposedly founded on the “Rule of Law.” Everyday George W. Bush and his regime is not arrested is another this country refuses the rule of law. Only low-level officers have been prosecuted for torture abuse.

I am told by well meaning Democrats that we cannot torpedo Obama with these issues or he will become another one-term president like Carter. Worse yet when the Republicans retake the White House they will pursue Obama and other Democrats in retribution. Therefore, here is my reluctant compromise: On November 7, 2012, the day after the 2012 general election, the Obama administration should arrest George W “War Criminal” Bush. Start a complete withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan if not already accomplished. If Obama does not do these things, he should think about returning that Nobel Peace Prize. The cycle must be broken or it will continue forever and let it be on the conscience of those who let it happen.

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Source: http://aproudliberal.blogspot.com/2010/08/dilemma-of-todays-liberal-in-united.html

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