Politics: A Polemic on Polemics

You radical right-wing fundamentalist religious conservative morons.

Or, if you swing that way: you radical leftist commie tree-hugger liberal morons. Of course, we can’t leave out the milquetoast big brother neocons, the wishy-washy spineless yellow fence-sitters, the backwoods constitutionalist nutcases, or the utopian idealist libertarian freaks. I’m sure I’m missing a few groups, but don’t worry; these days, we try to include people of all beliefs. Even if I didn’t mention you, you can rest assured that most of the human race still considers you an idiot.

Of course, it works both ways. To a member of God’s Own Conservatives ™ or the Level Minded Democrats for World Stability ™, the idiotic parties are, of course, everyone else’s. These high-minded citizens devote themselves passionately to the defeat of the evil swarming in every other belief; sure, they’re locking themselves into an exclusive ideological trough, but by God ( / Allah / Buddha / Reason / Earth Mother Gaia) it’s the right trough!

What these crusaders forget is that there are more important things in life than politics. How ridiculous is it to invest the whole of one’s emotion in just another politician who will be forgotten unless he or she manages to do a spectacularly bad job? Huckabee, Paul, Clinton, O’Bama; all of these names but one will fail and be forgotten, and that one will only be remembered by fourth graders who get extra credit by remembering the presidents in order. Does this mean politics are unimportant? Of course not; exercise your judgment and vote accordingly, but spare me your moral indignation.

The same goes for all of the media’s lauded “hot button” topics. Gay marriage? The Bible condemns greed in the same breath as homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9). To support the unlimited accumulation of wealth in capitalism and condemn gay marriage is hypocrisy; vote against it if you will, but spare me your moral indignation.

Global warming? Al Gore winning a Nobel prize for making a movie about it does not make it invalid; Rush Limbaugh sneering at it does not make it true. Believing something to be true simply because the opposition believes it to be false is supremely foolish; educate yourself and decide accordingly, but spare me your moral indignation.

Iraq? Saddam Hussein was a cruel dictator, but helping make people’s lives better was never a stated goal for the occupation. It may well be the fact that we now have a responsibility to stay in Iraq until the job is done. It may well be the case that the best thing would be for us to leave. Choose for yourself, but spare me your moral indignation.

Illegal immigration? Foreigners moving illegally into a nation, refusing to learn the language, and building their own culture has happened before; it’s how we got Texas. Vote against it for practical or economic reasons, but spare me your moral indignation.

Candidates? This candidate is wish-washy, this one is flirting with communism; your candidate is human, and that makes him or her completely inadequate for the job. Accept this, and accept the fact that your candidate’s opposition are not in fact out to destroy America, and spare me your moral indignation.

Our government has a strong affect on our daily lives, and it is our duty as citizens to educate ourselves and vote for the candidate we believe to be best. So do so; but spare me your moral indignation.