Beautiful Beginnings

So, Barack won. I know I'm biased, but I think that is awesome. Yes I know he was the candidate that I supported and yes, I know he shares most of my political views. Like I said, I'm biased. What is truly awesome is the incredible thing that the result of the election shows about America. I won't pretend that racism and hatred no longer exist in America, but the fact that we have elected a black president is huge. It indicates that for the most part, Americans have overcome their prejudices and are truly beginning to see others not for what they look like or what race they were born to but for who they are. This is a beautiful thing. I am unashamed to say that I wept when Mr. Obama stepped out onto that stage on Nov. 4th to accept his position as president-elect. I was moved to tears not because my candidate had won, but because at that moment I realized that the face of America, both how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by the world was changing before my eyes. I have not felt that way since September 11th, 2001. At that moment, which transcended politics into a place where negative attitudes and jaded perspective crumble into dust, I realized that America is still a place where anything is possible. I had forgotten the beauty of the dream that is America; A place where people of all races, up-bringing or religion are limited only by the scope of their own dreams. It was a beautiful night. We still have a long way to go. Many people must struggle so much harder to accomplish their dream than others. We still have millions of homeless on the streets of our cities, millions more who scrape from pay check to pay check just to eat, and pay the mortgage. Countless Americans still don't have affordable access to basic health care. The election of Barack Obama, is not the end of the quest to ensure the opportunity of success for all Americans, and the road ahead is still a long one; but I think most of us can agree that it is a beautiful new beginning.

-Brad

Shifting focus

Life and expression are funny sometimes, I've been planning this blog for weeks. I've been really excited about sharing ideas and discussing differences in an open forum format. When I came home from school today I found three, anonymous comments left on the Positions Pt. 2 blog that were really unnecessary. I didn't start this blog too be called names or to call them. I started it to engage people in meaningful discussion about relevant issues. I've also realized after talking to my family and friends that this just really isn't something people are as passionate about as I am, it's understandable. So, I'm going to sort of revamp the focus of the blog. I'll still be posting things that are important to me, and that includes politics. However, I'm going to expand into thoughts on religion, society, and the nature of people. I'd also like to post samples of my writing, both fiction and non-fiction. I feel like this will make the blog a little more accessible to my friends and family who do a wonderful job tolerating my political eccentricity but tend to be shy when discussing it. I appreciate those of  you who responded so quickly to the new blog. I wouldn't be changing my format if all of you hadn't responded in pretty much the same way, so please keep reading, I appreciate it. Thank you all for your feedback because that's exactly what I'm looking for.

-Brad

Positions series, Pt. 2: Democratic Socialism

I consider myself a democratic socialist. This means that while I believe strongly in the right of the people to freely elect their representatives and that the principles of the Constitution of the United States are sound and reasonable; I also believe that the government has the responsibility to provide services and a standard of living to its citizens. It should do this by ensuring that any American who wants to work can, by providing financial assistant to those who can’t, providing universal health care, ensuring a quality k-12 education, and providing those who want to go on to college with the ability to do so. I also believe in distribution of wealth through tax breaks to low income and middle class families and tax increases to big business and wealthy citizens.

There is this ingrained idea in American society that Socialism is a bad thing. I imagine this stems from the cold war and America's history of being anti-communism. I understand that, communism is a great idea in principle. The big problem with it, is it will never work. Communism fails to take into account the innate fallibility of human nature. Unfortunately, there will always be greed, and lust for power. Democratic socialism however, is NOT communism. The American constitution is the most revolutionary document in relation to government in the last 500 years. It is extraordinary. We can protect and practice the tenets of constitutional democracy and support socialist ideals. Many people would have you think that a socialist world can only be this sort of Orwellien, state controlled big brother type of society. I think this attitude is motivated entirely by fear, fear of change, fear of the unknown. The thing is, government can provide services that improve the lives of it's citizens without stripping their freedoms and rights as people. The biggest issue with making this system work, is that we as a nation need to learn to work with, not against one another. We have to get over this idea that the fastest way to the top is on the backs of everyone else. We must embrace the idea that the best way to get ahead in life, as people, and as a nation, is to come together to build a better future.

-Brad

Positions series, Pt. 1: The Economy

I believe that in September/October 2008 we saw the inevitable failure of the neo-liberalist free market economy. Greedy corporate robber barons fleeced the middle class for so long that the middle class could no longer carry the burden. I believe that the Government MUST regulate big business. If the government doesn’t guard the financial integrity of the middle class, no one will.

Look, people are greedy, it is a fact of life. This greed can only go unrestrained for so long before those who are being taken advantage of can't be taken advantage of any longer, because they have nothing more to take. For example, the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Banks and mortgage companies saw the opportunity to make quick money, by getting people whos credit could not support a mortgage to buy one anyway at an incredibly high interest rate with the promise of quick refinancing. They would then sell these so called "freedom loans" to bigger banks and reap the profits of these deals without the consequences of people defaulting on their loans. Now we are facing a global economic and credit meltdown as a result of these foolish and unethical lending practices. If there had been strong government regulation to ensure that practical and ethical lending practices were being followed five to ten years ago, this crisis could quite possibly have been avoided.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the free-market is a bad thing, I think that big business should be able to function independently of state control. They should not however be free to operate independently of government regulation. When big business operates free from regulation there is no one to protect the middle and lower classes from the extortion that can result from large scale businesses which control necessary commodities. For example, because of a lack of regulation over the last 5 years, the American people have had to pay more at the pump than any other time in the history of the country while oil companies have recorded record profits. In this case, the peoples interest simply isn't being considered. The people can only be ignored for so long. The interests of the middle class must be represented and it is the job of a nations government to do so. It would seem that we in American have forgotten that.

-Brad

What I'm doing with this blog.

I've decided to publish this blog mostly out of a sense of frustration which stems from having no real avenue to vent my political ideologies. I'm really not interested in converting people with this blog, I'm really more interested in debate and discussion. I really believe that by discussing what we believe with others, we realize what's valid about it and what doesn't stand up. Therefore through debate we learn more about what we believe so please, if you agree, let me know. If you disagree, DEFINITELY let me know, and we'll talk about, because I want to know what you believe too, discussion is great! I look forward to talking with you.