Seriously. How do I expect to ignite controvery, instigate thought-provoking discussion, and find my face on a grainy flier at the post office unless I start showing a little bit of fucking dedication?
....anywho
I thought I'd begin with some political discourse, since that's what racks my brain twenty-four seven. For the 0.7 people out there who give a shit about this space, plus the one other guy who stumbles here while surfing for Asian he-she pornography, play on playa...
So where do I stand politically? I'm so glad you asked! I can explain it best this way: imagine a line with points labeled 0 through 10. This will represent the traditional left/right political scale with 0 being, let's say, anarchism in its pure form and 10 being, shit I don't know....pure fascism. There's a whole host of problems associated with a simplified scale like this, but I'll just point out the three most glaring inadequacies. 1) How do we all agree on political definitions? For example, have you ever really gotten a good explanation of what fascism is? (There's an interesting little history about fascism and Mexico, but now is not the time.) 2) If you're a complex, broad-minded person, as intelligent people are wont to be (hint!), you probably assign yourself different numbers based on a particular issue. A 3 here, a 7 there, etc. I myself am a solid 10 when it comes to cockroaches. I fucking hate those things and hope that they and all their ilk are soon vanquished by the wrath of the Almighty. 3) A lot of issues can't be boiled down to a number, just like a lot of poltical ideologies can't be boiled down to left/right. If you're the kind of person that goes for absolute truths, you're welcome to look elsewhere, but you won't find it.
So anyway, on this 0 to 10 scale, I put myself at 3. Further right on a few issues, further left on others. But here's the thing: if you had asked me about my political outlook in September 2000, I would have explained my viewpoint by means of this pedantic little scale and you would have been duly bored, as intellegent people are wont to be (hint!), and you would say something like, "fine, fine, shit already! I was just trying to make conversation. I didn't need to hear your crazy manifesto on this shit." Then I would move on to the next unlucky soul.
But seriously, since September of 2000 a lot of things have changed, and not for the better. In April of 2003, the 0 to 10 scale doesn't work. The political discourse has been effectively shifted rightward, like it or not. So now the new scale is something like 0 to 12, or 0 to 14. I say "something like" because I'm not exactly sure where the rightward limit is anymore, and that is extremely unsettling. Certain statements and actions that I would have thought suitable only for milita members in Sep of 2000 are now seriously bantied about. Some of these ideas have actually been implemented (think secret courts). Generally, I think this country lost its fucking mind after 9/11 and hasn't gotten it back yet. It may never, but I'm still holding out. Anyway, with the new scale, I'm still at 3, which means my views haven't changed, but I am farther from the center. So it only seems like I've drifted leftward.
Bored? Sorry. In this blog I'll make an attempt to link to stories I feel are important, particularly ones that tend to get missed by the mainstream. The next post will explain that, briefly, and have a few links posted. This is just so you know where the messenger is coming from. And in any event, I'm doing this mostly for my benefit, just to sort shit out. Feel free to like it or not.
Posted by mike at April 1, 2003 02:42 AM