I'm going to start with my Caveat: I was born approximately a week before the USSR began to really unravel. I never lived through any of conservativism's grand success. I grew up with Rocky IV and Red Dawn as cable TV staples. But I've never lived in a world where the US wasn't the global superpower. Based on my limited life experience, …
I'm going to start with my Caveat: I was born approximately a week before the USSR began to really unravel. I never lived through any of conservativism's grand success. I grew up with Rocky IV and Red Dawn as cable TV staples. But I've never lived in a world where the US wasn't the global superpower.
Based on my limited life experience, I'm going with "it was all a lie". My childhood was defined my my parent's various failings and incompetence, and as a teen I desperately needed to believe I could pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I liked conservative principles. Work hard and succeed. A foreign policy that made the whole world safer (after all, I didn't want to live in my dumpy town forever!) Balanced budgets! I read Charles Krauthammer's column every Friday. He seemed smart. George Bush seemed to be authentically well-intentioned to me (PEPFAR, No Child Left Behind) and I bought into the Team America let's invade Iraq schtick. John McCain seemed like a good embodiment of teenage Maggie's value system.
In retrospect, I think my parents were motivated by entirely different things. Things weren't going well for them; they wanted people to blame. Rush Limbaugh offered that to my dad, in spades. Blame Dems, blame women, blame immigrants, Let's Go Buchanan, that was my dad. My mom was looking for validation that she had done the right things, and that her problems weren't her fault. I think the "moral majority" stuff really spoke to her. They were both looking for a bail out. McCain ticked their boxes, but he didn't excite them, at all. In 2016, Trump is basically the antithesis of everything I have ever believed in and the embodiment of everything I despise the most in America. He's a hard no for me and meanwhile they're lapping it up. All of it! (I then realize that I actually share no values with the people who raised me, have an existential crises, vote for Gary Johnson, and perm my hair.)
I'm sympathetic to the intellectual merit of the Cargo Cult theory and the demographic change theory (I studied abroad in France while Jean-Marie LePen was handing over the reigns of Le Font National to his daughter.) But for anyone my age, it's a hard sell that the Republican party has any real moral, philosophical, or policy underpinning.
Some may notice the folks born any time after 1980 all come down on the side of, 'it was always bullshit"
If you came up in the 80's and 90's, chances are you find the charlatan nature of the political and religious right completely transparent. And as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Charmed and impressed. Similar story, but earlier.
But... honestly don't understand... Gary Johnson? Or any meaningless vote or non-vote? I never got that disaffected...could be a generational thing I guess.
I was living in one of the least-swingy states in the country at the time (NY) and I did feel that disaffected and 3rd party seemed like a way to make my overall displeasure with candidate quality known to the powers that be. I do think that HRC was a morally compromised candidate (attitude about the email scandal, dismissive of criticism, enabled husband to treat women poorly) and felt like both parties were asking me to tolerate a rotten candidate because the other candidate was worse. Frankly, I thought Gary Johnson was dim, but admired Bill Weld. I do in retrospect view it as a silly decision, akin to perming my hair. Had I lived in say, PA at time I think I would have held my nose and voted for HRC.
I think like a lot of people, I find core concept of libertarianism to be appealing (live and let live!) but it's leading advocates are totally unwilling (unable?) to wrestle with the inherent contradictions. Libertarianism, like "small government conservatism", doesn't seemed particular attuned to the needs of the moment: banks collapsing, trains derailing, Ukraine war, school shootings. I do still admire the commitment to classical liberalism that you in some hardcore Libertarians. The ones that get worked up over extrajudicial police killings and free speech issues and gay rights.
I'm going to start with my Caveat: I was born approximately a week before the USSR began to really unravel. I never lived through any of conservativism's grand success. I grew up with Rocky IV and Red Dawn as cable TV staples. But I've never lived in a world where the US wasn't the global superpower.
Based on my limited life experience, I'm going with "it was all a lie". My childhood was defined my my parent's various failings and incompetence, and as a teen I desperately needed to believe I could pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I liked conservative principles. Work hard and succeed. A foreign policy that made the whole world safer (after all, I didn't want to live in my dumpy town forever!) Balanced budgets! I read Charles Krauthammer's column every Friday. He seemed smart. George Bush seemed to be authentically well-intentioned to me (PEPFAR, No Child Left Behind) and I bought into the Team America let's invade Iraq schtick. John McCain seemed like a good embodiment of teenage Maggie's value system.
In retrospect, I think my parents were motivated by entirely different things. Things weren't going well for them; they wanted people to blame. Rush Limbaugh offered that to my dad, in spades. Blame Dems, blame women, blame immigrants, Let's Go Buchanan, that was my dad. My mom was looking for validation that she had done the right things, and that her problems weren't her fault. I think the "moral majority" stuff really spoke to her. They were both looking for a bail out. McCain ticked their boxes, but he didn't excite them, at all. In 2016, Trump is basically the antithesis of everything I have ever believed in and the embodiment of everything I despise the most in America. He's a hard no for me and meanwhile they're lapping it up. All of it! (I then realize that I actually share no values with the people who raised me, have an existential crises, vote for Gary Johnson, and perm my hair.)
I'm sympathetic to the intellectual merit of the Cargo Cult theory and the demographic change theory (I studied abroad in France while Jean-Marie LePen was handing over the reigns of Le Font National to his daughter.) But for anyone my age, it's a hard sell that the Republican party has any real moral, philosophical, or policy underpinning.
Brillant comment Maggie.
For better or worse, we are all products of how we come of age.....
We humans like to think we are rational, reasoning, logical beings. Many humans never move beyond very simplistic reaction to outward stimuli.
Some may notice the folks born any time after 1980 all come down on the side of, 'it was always bullshit"
If you came up in the 80's and 90's, chances are you find the charlatan nature of the political and religious right completely transparent. And as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Thanks so much. +100 to Gryffindor!
Charmed and impressed. Similar story, but earlier.
But... honestly don't understand... Gary Johnson? Or any meaningless vote or non-vote? I never got that disaffected...could be a generational thing I guess.
I was living in one of the least-swingy states in the country at the time (NY) and I did feel that disaffected and 3rd party seemed like a way to make my overall displeasure with candidate quality known to the powers that be. I do think that HRC was a morally compromised candidate (attitude about the email scandal, dismissive of criticism, enabled husband to treat women poorly) and felt like both parties were asking me to tolerate a rotten candidate because the other candidate was worse. Frankly, I thought Gary Johnson was dim, but admired Bill Weld. I do in retrospect view it as a silly decision, akin to perming my hair. Had I lived in say, PA at time I think I would have held my nose and voted for HRC.
I think like a lot of people, I find core concept of libertarianism to be appealing (live and let live!) but it's leading advocates are totally unwilling (unable?) to wrestle with the inherent contradictions. Libertarianism, like "small government conservatism", doesn't seemed particular attuned to the needs of the moment: banks collapsing, trains derailing, Ukraine war, school shootings. I do still admire the commitment to classical liberalism that you in some hardcore Libertarians. The ones that get worked up over extrajudicial police killings and free speech issues and gay rights.
Thanks for the full airing.