Conservatives and Liberals - Common Ground

Abigail and Dolley readers it may surprise you to know but I find that there are certain things I can agree with the liberals.  In this swirling stew of social and economic upheaval that is 2012 America, common ground may be hard to come by but I will endeavor to make a few proposals.  For if we can find issues of agreement perhaps we can find ways of working together to accomplish these goals.

The fundamental challenge facing liberals and conservatives is not what we can agree on but our worldviews and the appropriate mechanism for solving these problems.  I have expounded on worldview exhaustively in this blog over the years and find that this is not a post to rehash all that I have written before.  I have also written extensively about the flaws in the reasoning and worldview on the topics that I find I have more common ground with the Liberals than I previously considered.

Care for the Environment:  We can agree that no one wants to live on a polluted Earth.  As a Christian, I take very seriously the admonition to be a good steward of the Earth and the possessions that the Lord has given me.  I was at Earth Fare the other day and handed the cashier my well used brown paper bags.  I commented that a client was teasing me about having them in my trunk and the cashier answered, "Well it shows you care about the environment."  I thought about it for a moment and said, "That's not really my motivation, to not reuse them is wasteful.  I believe in being a good steward."  I could tell the cashier was a bit taken aback but in the end had to agree with my sentiment.  Same result, different motivations, and different worldview but something we can agree upon.

Crony Capitalism is bad:  Once again, the solutions and the worldview are very different but we can  agree trillions of dollars to Solyndra, Archer Daniels Midlan, ConAgra, GE ect is crooked and serves the greed of politicians and business people alike.

Organic Food and Farming:  It tastes better, it is more nutritious, and it is healthier for the people and the land.  Big Ag and Genetically Modified food, animals, and seeds carry risks that I am not willing to take with my health or my family.

Newt Gingrich was very articulate on building bridges and understanding this concept.  His infamous Nancy Pelosi commercial was intended to demonstrate that we can indeed find common ground.  Perhaps as well, I have learned to look around the worldview difference to determine that as Americans there are many things we have in common.

Class Warfare

Abigail and Dolley readers I must admit to being somewhat removed from the trials and tragedies of this world.  Frankly, I have my own troubles and taking on more is foolish and unhealthy.  I did venture out today, I was running errands and caught a magazine headline that made me angry.  The magazine was Mother Jones and the headline was "The Vampire Economy - How the ultra-rich are sucking America dry and can Obama survive their attack".  The cover had a vampire holding a swooning woman with a red white and blue hat on.  It was sickening and maddening at the same time.

I wanted to take a big sharpie and write "Liberal Propaganda!" on the cover, but alas I was in their territory, Earth Fare.  I don't normally shop there.  I always feel like I have walked into a temple or a shrine and I am disconcerted the whole time I am in there, rubbing shoulder with the patchouli smelling patrons. (Incidentally, they have the nastiest bathrooms around.  The seats are always covered in urine and there is toilet paper and paper towel trash all over the floor - so much for the libs taking care of the environment... but I digress.)

The fact that someone would have the unmitigated gall to blame the rich for the collapsed economy is simply class warfare.  To blame them for the continued depression is ridiculous.  To paint Obama as a victim is even more ludicrous.  It is not based in any economic theory.  It is not based on any economic truth.  It is straight forward, in your face, class warfare and we buy into this at our peril.  For it is the ultra-rich who are holding their money until such time as it is safe to invest again.  Then the economy will grow and the prosperity will gradually return.  This will happen somewhere around the time when the White House is no longer held by the biggest purveyor of class warfare, which by last count is somewhere in the neighborhood of 693 days.

As for me and mine, we'll keep holding on.