I received some good feedback on the MoveOn post. The Petraeus ad and recent Rush Limbaugh verbal diarrhea about "fake soldiers" brings up an interesting question: what is the role of our current political extremes? Some say that we must have one extreme to balance out the other. The self righteous liberal activist yelling on a sidewalk is a counter weight to the self righteous conservative talk show host. If you lose one, the whole scale becomes tilted. Some feel the scale is already severely tilted (from both sides of course).
An even bigger question might be, where is the center? With all the polarizing issues out there like abortion, immigration, war and civil liberties, it becomes difficult to see much common ground sometimes. Can we resolve these issues through compromise from the center or would the center only provide watered down ineffectual policy, and still not represent the majority of Americans? Here's a centrist blog from last year that discusses the need for a central party to emerge:
View From The Center Blog
A 3rd party would most likely form from the center, thereby pushing both current major parties to the extremes. Are the Democrats too progressive or are they already too big of a compromise? The dems could move closer to the center and make room for a legit green or progressive party, but that could push the government farther right altogether.
So where does that leave us, the general citizens and semi-conscious voters? Are the extremists on both sides hurting the political process or are their voices necessary to avoid ineffective politicians? How does the media's spin affect our perception of our values compared to our actual beliefs and is our perception of our values really accurate? (remember the political compass)
Should we all move to the center?
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2 comments:
This is an issue that has interested me for some time. What is the "center" in American Politics and for the Americian people?
From my point of view, what is now considered "centerist" or "moderate" is actually a considerable shift to the right. For example, I have always thought that Clinton was a "moderate" President, certainly not to the left. I think the general perception, however, is that he was leaning left. He has even been called a Socialist (although I think that might be detractors of Hillary Clinton talking).
So, where is the center? We can look to our domestic policies for a clue. It seems the public is not in favor of social programs. This is often blamed on the "tax and spend" policies of Democrats (something I think does not exist in any graeter form within either major party). I feel it is really more of a social position...a disconnect of the middle upper class and the lower class. A lack of compassion. That to me is what a right leaning society entails...a lack of compassion, a lack of understanding or care about the other people in our society. And that is certainly where we are at now, that is where the center is, and that is clearly to the right. The middle class used to be the equalizer. Now that we are disappearing, the power is steadily and slowly shifting right.
Thanks Lo. I believe our shift in perception of left, right, and center is largely due to the mainstream media. The consolidation of mega media corporations has narrowed the number of voices telling us what is reasonable and what is extreme. The Republicans were simply quicker to take advantage of it.
I agree with your compassion distinction, however, i think that is more accurate for politicians than the public.
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