The realm of politics has seldom held a significant presence on this blog and the few times I've attempted to include my musings on government to the greater content of a post it has always seemed forced. Granted, there are exceptions to this tendency; I have blogged on Obama's inauguration, the positives of nationalism, and a few pros and cons of capitalism. However, though those subjects are customarily wrapped in political sentiment, I can't help but recognize my concentration on the deeper issues of broad cultural and societal propensities as opposed to a fixation on momentary political jargon. My general reluctance to express my political views goes beyond these blog posts. I've noticed how comfortable I am not tipping my hand in the presence of a political dialog or debate.
I can't help but think that this disinclination stems from a few sources, namely my disinterest in the polarizing nature of political discussions and my affinity for adhering to Proverbs 17:28. However, I have sensed an alternate sentiment which has been growing through the last few years and although this attitude is in many ways self-defeating, I ultimately find it very freeing. I fear simply exploring my current feelings towards politics would fail to grasp the whole picture. In order for me to understand and explain the nature of my hodge-podge stances and sentiments in politics, I think it best to start from the very beginning. Perhaps along the way, this reflection will shed some more light on my decision to major in Political Science.
Predictably, my earliest memories of observing the world of politics began in the home, under the direct influence of my parents. Ever since I can remember, the voices of talk radio personalities have echoed through the halls of my childhood home. The AM band crackled for hours as my mother switched between the Christian and conservative stations. Even to this day, the Rush Limbaugh Show is a staple on the weekday afternoon radio dial. It’s hard to estimate the influence such pundits had on my upbringing, but I can’t help but think that the development of my early concrete worldview was significantly affected.
In my pre-adolescent mind; school prayer was good, abortion was bad, George W. Bush was a great man, and Bill Clinton wanted to destroy my country. I accompanied my father as we distributed political signs for local races to neighbors and I spent weekend afternoons waving “George Bush for Governor” signs at passing cars. (Electioneering at its finest…) Society had simple problems and simple solutions according to my perceptions; and these perceptions were never challenged. As is common in middle class families these days, my budding notions of life were safely sheltered within the cocoon of my parent’s guidance and their approved persuasive inputs.
Now let me be clear, I am in no way critical of this widespread “indoctrination” of children during their formative years. In fact, I believe this practice is vital to introducing children to the concepts of morality, and in my family’s case, good Christian conduct. However, the realm of politics is a nasty game and children are especially vulnerable to the strong prejudices which political polarization can create. Complicated issues can be easily tinted with the glasses of moral superiority and the heteronomous morality of 6 to 10 year olds (see Piaget’s stages of moral development) can be easily manipulated by accepted authority figures.
By the turn of the millennium, I was entering my second decade of life and a world-altering event would propel me, along with many others, into the vortex of the political sphere. September 11th rattled my world view; it arguably rattled everyone’s worldview. Suddenly, the concerns of national security and international justice gained prominence in the minds of American citizens and became the chief issues of political opportunists. I began listening to talk radio on my own volition and in addition to the media juggernaut of Rush Limbaugh; a certain other personality caught my interest.
In 2001, Glenn Beck was barely a blip on the national talk radio radar screen. His show, based out of Tampa, was broadcast on a myriad of stations across the nation, one of which being WOAI in San Antonio. In those days, Beck spent the majority of his program poking fun at politics and I was drawn to the somewhat cynical, yet down to earth approach to day-to-day political bantering. Somewhere along the line, Beck seemed to experience an epiphany; a belief that his rising prominence had a deeper meaning than meager listenership. It was almost as if his popularity mandated the initiation of his vast social change vision. That vision, coinciding in many ways with the Tea Party movement, has begun to seriously take shape as Beck’s strongly conservative principles have been christened the traits essential to restoring our nation.
His almost endless exposure has garnered an equaled amount of criticism and scorn from various mainstream pundits. However, I am never quite sure how much of this disparagement stems from genuine journalists who feel he is distorting the issues or whether it is from leftist talking heads hell-bent on illegitimizing this influential conservative figure. I have long since disregarded any denigration of Beck with sources stemming back to Media Matters. What I find fascinating is that I was a listener of Beck’s from the very beginning; from the time when no one in the opposition gave him the light of day, to the point where the smear and mudslinging has become a daily barrage.
Since my entrance to college, I rarely listen to or watch Beck any more. His input simply isn’t a large priority for me. Yet I still chuckle when I hear the Beck-bashing. I wonder if any of them have cared to really listen to his show. Partly why I am still perfectly willing to admit my affinity for him is because whenever I listen to his diatribes on preserving liberty and personal responsibility, I tend to agree. We have points of disagreement, but at the end of the day, I see him as a man who genuinely fears for his country and is actively working to preserve it. This undying admiration for Beck is firmly based in my perception of his genuine nature; a nature which I feel is seriously lacking in the majority of today’s various political agents.
Before entering high school, I encountered yet another political force which would alter the direction of my political journey. I can still remember stumbling across that episode of 20/20 on ABC where a nasally sounding man with a substantial mustache was methodically debunking common “Lies, Myths, and Downright Stupidity.” These myths ranged from elephants being afraid of mice to chilly weather giving you a cold. However, John Stossel seemed to place extra emphasis on disproving political and social misunderstandings, such as the global warming movement, and the benefits of controlled markets. His explanations of libertarian core beliefs simply made sense to me and I was soon buying his books and diving into the libertarian sentiments of limited government and maximized freedoms. Much of free market principles reiterated the conservative economic beliefs fostered in my youth and did not challenge my accepted political reality; they simply reinforced my embedded views with logical arguments and collected real data.
However, the road from conservatism to libertarianism often begins with economic liberties and leads inevitably into social liberties. Stossel’s call for legalization of gay marriage, prostitution, and narcotics use were a direct challenge to my conservative Christian political roots, if not the political consensus as a whole. They seemed to blatantly threaten the moral fabric of society and yet his arguments still made sense. He did not claim that these illicit activities were beneficial to society, but that regulations by highly imperfect governing bodies were ineffective in discouraging such behavior and subsequently creating greater turmoil in the process. More and more, the political position of championing self-responsibility and maximized freedoms under government despite my moral construct seemed to be the most logical political stance to take.
By the time of high school graduation, I was an ardent libertarian who had become fed up with the empty Republican promises for smaller government. I could tell that my parents, especially my father, were not entirely enthused about my political track. I had moved away from the strong support for family values championed by conservatives because I saw it as inevitably establishing greater government sanctions on personal conduct. In no way were my parents disappointed in my political standing, but it had become clear that our views did not perfectly align. My period of living under a certain political belief system in my childhood home had ended. However, my political journey was far from over and I shall pick up with the transition to college in part 2 of this reflection piece.
