Dumb-ocracy in action...

since as far back as i can remember, well at least as long as i've cared about and understood politics, my friend electa and i have had differing views about just about EVERYTHING political. so last week, before the primaries began for the big "decision 2008" i posted this old article in my blog on myspace. she's conservative, i'm liberal; but we agree to disagree on many a topics. many people say that you shouldn't talk politics with your friends; that it can ruin relationships. as someone famous once said something like 'i may not agree with your opinion, but i respect your right to have it.' something like that... that's how we always treat each other in these discussions, and i enjoy our debates. but after that post, she left me a note jokingly, "stop trying to push your beliefs on me..." this is for you electa, not to you, but for you...

dear conservative voter,

i am a liberal. the funny part is, liberals have this reputation for living in never-neverland, being idealists, not being sensible. but let me tell you how i see the world: i see america as one nation in a world of nations; therefore, i think we should try to get along with other nations. i see that gay people exist; therefore, i think they should be allowed to exist and be treated the same as other people. i see ways in which women are not allowed to control their own bodies; therefore, i think we should give women more control over their bodies. i see that people have awful diseases; therefore, i think we should enable scientists to try to cure
them. i see that we have a constitution; therefore, i think it should be upheld. i see that there were no weapons of mass destruction in iraq; therefore, I think that iraq was not an imminent danger to me. it seems so pragmatic to me. how do you see the world? do you really think voting against gay marriage will keep people from being gay? would you really prefer that people continue to die from parkinson's disease? do you really not care about the constitutional rights of political detainees? would you really have supported the war if you knew the truth, or would you have wanted to spend more of our money on healthcare, job training or terrorism preparedness?

i am an american. i am lonely. i feel that we, as a nation, have alienated all our friends and further provoked our enemies. i feel unprotected. most of all i feel alienated from my fellow citizens, the conservatives, because i don't understand what you are thinking. you voted for a man who started a war in iraq for no reason, other than to pad his pockets with oil blood money, against the wishes of the entire world. you voted for a man whose lack of foresight and inability to plan has led to massive insurgencies in iraq, where weapons are disappearing into the hands of terrorists. you voted for a man who let osama bin laden escape into the hills of afghanistan so that he could start that war in iraq. you voted for a man who doesn't want to let people love who they want to love; doesn't want to let doctors cure their patients; doesn't want to let women rule their destinies.

i'll never understand why you voted for this man. i'm terrified of the things to come; the mess that ANY candidate will have to clean up. are you terrified? i don't think you are. i don't think you realize what you have done; and if anything happens to me or the people i love, i blame you. i just wanted you to know that.

peace+love+potatoes,
tony