A few of his quotes:
- I cannot support a movement that claims to believe in limited government but backed an unlimited domestic and foreign policy presidency that assumed illegal, extra-constitutional dictatorial powers until forced by the system to return to the rule of law.
- I cannot support a movement that exploded spending and borrowing and blames its successor for the debt.
- I cannot support a movement that criminalizes private behavior in the war on drugs.
- I cannot support a movement that holds that purely religious doctrine should govern civil political decisions and that uses the sacredness of religious faith for the pursuit of worldly power.
These are few of the many reasons why I am becoming increasingly militantly-progressive with a dash of libertarianism. For those of you who shiver at that thought, here is the classical definition of progressive:
Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods
This pragmatic conclusion of mine is a result of one of the very few absolute truths in our shared reality: The earth on which we live is - for all intents and purposes - a closed system* with finite resources. The processes that take place within this closed system are composed of nonlinear dynamics and while natural processes might seek equilibrium, they are always in flux. Furthermore, our brains and the resulting thought processes are perhaps a level of magnitude more complicated and non-static than this closed system in which we reside.
So, we have this dynamic human condition within a relatively, ever-increasing claustrophobic closed system that is also dynamic. These two PERPETUALLY CHANGING factors have, over time, allowed for the creation of societies, economic and political systems. How is it logical for a dynamic, imperfect human to remain socially, economically and politically rigid amongst this never-ending storm? It's not.
One of the best pieces of advice I have been given is that if it's not broken, don't fix it. Unfortunately, sticking with the norm or being conservative in a changing system will only work with only work for so long. I'm not arguing for major changes within any of our current societal systems or foreign policy. I am saying that sometimes it's acceptable to admit that no matter what you know, you might be wrong. Sometimes it's ok to rise a tax for the common good. Sometimes it's ok to limit profits at the top to protect the entire system. Sometimes it's ok to tweak a policy here, remove a policy there and implement an all new policy that does not have a prior precedent. How about some of you stop speaking for a God that doesn't exist (or at least doesn't intervene... oh he does intervene? Tell that to the seven year old that was just raped and beheaded), stop speaking for a christ that is more compassionate and social oriented than you are and stop speaking for the intentions and religious orientation of our founding fathers despite your lack of historical knowledge. (If anything, they were mostly deists, if not agnostics. At the very least they were ardent secularists!!).
Factors change. Demographic fluctuations occur. Viruses and diseases mutate and branch out. Environmental processes ebb and flow from natural and anthropogenic changes. Memes change society. Evolution changes life....
Times change. Conservatives don't.
postS. Andrew Sullivan's article here.
