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Seeing Purple: A Bi-Partisan America

1/1/2013

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By C. Dyer, contributing writer
Note: Articles written by contributing writers don't necessarily reflect the opinions of J.Says herself.

The phrase "bi-partisan solutions" has come up a lot recently in reference to the fiscal cliff negotiations. Even at the current level of desperation, many politicians seem unable to consider compromise. This "my way or the highway" attitude is characteristic of most modern day politicians. I optimistically hope the United States is reaching a turning point in the way it approaches politics.

George Washington belonged to neither the Democratic nor Republican party. In spite of this, the then fledgling country overwhelmingly supported his election and reelection. During his time in office, Washington saw the heated disputes of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties and wanted nothing to do with them. Although he was no saint, his words on party division in his farewell address sound almost prophetic: "Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another..."

Rather than simply highlighting differences in the way people view public policy, political parties have become divisive in of themselves. Political parties are treated as a birthright, a source of personal pride, even a religion. Individuals who know nothing about each other can stereotype and despise one another simply based on party preference. Moderates, with barely a difference between them, take up banners handed to them by their role-models and pick a side in this silent civil war.

The government is constantly in a stalemate. Even when good ideas come up for consideration, they are routinely voted down because of the party of the person proposing them. Most politicians are so solidly locked into blue or red that purple is no longer possible. After the 2012 Presidential election, Republicans were expected to change their tactics and become more accepting of ideals they opposed. Rush Limbaugh asked in disgust whether the party should abandon its principles and support abortion and illegal immigration. The comments emphasized his narrow view of the possibilities.

A country that cares about principles AND people could achieve incredible things. Imagine what progress could be made if moderates would put aside their differences and find solutions everyone can be satisfied with. For example, instead of ignoring illegal immigration or promoting it, we could improve the efficiency and ease of immigrating legally. Rather than promoting abortion or ignoring the plight of young mothers, we could improve the adoption system and work to lessen the financial cost of child rearing. We could differentiate between marriage as a legal contract and marriage as a religious bond, securing protections under the law for homosexuals while reinforcing the right of religious institutions to govern the use of their buildings as they see fit. The parties have played their game of puppets for far too long. What we need is an America that's willing to change that. We need an America that's open to creativity and compromise. We need an America that can think outside the box. We need an America that sees purple.

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PoliticalPoints: The GOP-A Changed Party?

12/26/2012

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PoliticalPoints: Politics quick, fast & in a hurry.

In the wake of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice declining a nomination to replace Gov. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, some Republican pundits and politicians whirled angry, sexist and racist comments while explaining their dislike for Rice even being considered. In analytical discussion about why a republican candidate (i.e. Mitt Romney) didn’t win the election last month, many public figures in the GOP concluded that a change of attitude and approach needed to come with low-income, female, student and racial minority voters. Guess that change has yet to arrive. Allow me to make it clear that NOT all republicans are racist, sexist, classist or homophobic, nor are all of their ideas toxic and negative. I believe the party has garnered the reputation for being the aforementioned, not because it’s a party ideal, but because of the backgrounds or personal attitudes of those who represent it. What bothers me most about this sudden approach epiphany is that it doesn’t seem to come from a pure place. There isn’t a desire to appeal or be more sensitive to the concerns of these voter groups because it’s fair or wrong to be prejudiced or exclusive; it’s all about getting more votes and winning elections. This is why some people don’t trust politicians and have little faith in government.

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The Societal Impact of Abortion

10/15/2012

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A 20-week old fetus.
By C. Dyer, contributing writer
Note: This article is in response to a piece written by J.Says, entitled "Women's Rights: More Than Just Abortion."

According to many early feminists, abortion reflects not female empowerment, but a society in which being male is still the ideal. Rather than appreciating things that are uniquely female and powerful, like the ability to bear a child, society asserts that women must become like men in form and function to receive respect. Men still find social advancement easier than women who want to be mothers. This reality was reflected in President Obama's statement that Roe v. Wade allowed "our daughters [to] have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams." Abortion has done no more to resolve the problems of sexism than heavy makeup does to resolve racism. Financial success is still revered more than motherhood, as though moving up in the corporate world were more important than shaping the next generation.

"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading for women to treat their children as property, to be disposed of as they see fit."-feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1873)

The concept of children as property is an ancient idea we never fully abandoned. Child abuse first gained national attention in the late 1800's. The ownership of one's children was considered so personal and private, there wasn't even an institution for the prevention of child abuse. In fact, the first prosecuted child abuse case in the U.S. was brought by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In many ways, we continue this tradition today. Many liberal Democrats would consider it cruel to shoot a cat or dog that inconveniences them, but would accept a woman's right to abort for the same reason. 

Two of the major questions in the abortion argument are "when does life begin to matter?" and "how far do abortion rights extend?" Catholics and other religious groups might contend that value begins at conception. Some atheists and pro-choice advocates believe it matters when the entity develops a self-concept. Both ideas are difficult to prove. Because of this, scientists choose different measures. Recently, many states have outlawed abortions occurring after 22 weeks because of ample scientific evidence that a fetus of that age can feel and react to pain. Even the federal government was willing to recognize some limits on abortion by upholding a partial-birth abortion ban. Most people, regardless of political affiliation, would concede that abortions past the point of viability are unethical. A layer of tissue is the only difference between an infant born a month early and an 8 month old fetus. To allow the abortion of an 8 month fetus would make opposition to infanticide seem hypocritical. The question of viability has been used by some to extend the abortion argument to young infants. There was a recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics entitled "After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?" The authors received death-threats for their publication, but it raises some valid points. It argues that parents should have the option to "abort" their infant if they discover disabilities that medical exams didn't show. Many of the arguments for or against adoption in such a case would still hold true.


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No 2nd Term for Obama

9/8/2011

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I'm going to make this short and sweet. So with the rising popularity of Republican election candidates, political media suggest that there's a high chance Obama will not have a second term. Many have complained that Obama just isn't getting the job done and a new president is the answer. None of the problems Obama has to tackle happened overnight, so they're not going to get fixed overnight. If we get a new president, he or she isn't going to magically fix everything in one term either. That's the real tea.

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Young and Politically Ignorant

6/12/2010

2 Comments

 
I am absolutely SICK and TIRED of asking my friends or people my age what they think about a particular current issue in politics and them having no freakin' idea what I’m talkin’ about. How do you figure young people, that you can afford to NOT pay attention? Vast amounts of people OUR age and of OUR generation are in Iraq and Afghanistan, losing their lives in a war-you CANNOT afford to NOT pay attention! We are in the middle of an economic recession. Companies everywhere are dissolving, Mass layoffs are happening everyday, people are losing their homes, experienced MIT graduates can’t even find work (don’t believe me? Click the “links” tab on the left and check out the photos), and all of this as OUR generation is graduating from college- you CANNOT afford to be politically ignorant! Obama’s stimulus package may make this recession deathly worse-Do you even know why I said that?
The government isn’t sure if we will have social security income when we retire. Do you even know what social security income is? You CANNOT afford to be politically ignorant! Will you be able to afford healthcare when your mom’s and pop’s healthcare plan drops you?  Do you even know how to attain healthcare? You CANNOT afford to be politically ignorant! ESPECIALLY IF YOU FREAKIN’ VOTED! You should be paying attention!
If you are a racial minority, a woman, homosexual, or poor- YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO BE POLITICALLY IGNORANT! Legislation has long oppressed and discriminated against you!

Specifically to young (18-30yrs old) people who voted for Obama:
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO NOT PAY ATTENTION. We got him in office; we are responsible for him. It is our responsibility to pay attention to every decision he makes. I am SICK AND TIRED of coming across young people, especially fellow African-Americans, who stopped paying attention after November 4, 2008 or January 20, 2009. We must analyze, weigh and critique all of the administration’s choices and decide if we agree or disagree; either confirming or disproving that we chose the right person for president. If you don’t pay attention, how will you know for yourself if you supported and voted for the right man? When we are puzzled, confused or angry we must ask questions and demand answers. If we don’t pay attention, how will we know what questions to ask? Or if there is even anything to question? We must learn from his triumphs and failures as president, so that when the time comes to vote again we will make a better or even better choice. Some accused Bush supporters of blindly following and supporting his administration. If you don’t pay attention, won’t you be guilty of the same thing?
J.says
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Obama and the Iranian Voting Protest

6/23/2009

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President Obama held a media conference today at the White House addressing multiple issues; mainly health care and the political unrest in Iran. For those of you who don't know, the citizens of Tehran (the capital of Iran) have been actively and adamantly protesting the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declaring that the election was fixed. Since the election, protesters have been violently attacked by police and little has been done within Tehran to protect the peaceful protesters. Protesters have been using social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, to document the upheaval, as there has been a government-enforced filter of journalistic documentation. The Tehran government has also attempted to clog internet network access. The Iranians have made it more than clear that their choice for president was Mir Hossein Mousavi. They have been calling on "western government" as some have called it online, to intervene and assist them; particularly regards to the unjust violence. A major casualty was Neda Soltan, a young protester who was shot and killed in the street, dying in a pool of her own blood. Videos of her being murdered have been circulating on the internet. Some have called the mass video circulation disrespectful, but some hope that the circulation will bring attention to the cause and will ultimately result in a U.S. or a United Nations intervention. There are videos on YouTube link capturing Neda’s death. View it at your own discretion; it is very graphic. Click the “links” tab on the left for the link.
 
Over the last few days, President Obama has taken the stance that the U.S. government will not intervene in the protest. Today, his position seemed to change some, stating that he was "appalled and outraged" by the violence and implied that the Tehran government may suffer consequences if they continue with "the threats, the beatings and imprisonments". When asked by reporters what those consequences may be, Obama declined to detail them. When asked why any actions haven’t been taken yet, Obama said that “We don't know yet how this thing is going to play out…It is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it”.

Do I think that we should intervene? I am honestly on the fence. Perhaps I missed it, but Obama did not clearly explain today why we SHOULDN’T get involved. If he feels somehow that intervening will cause a foreign affairs issue or harm to the U.S., I would like to know. Another question to be raised is “if the U.S. DOES intervene, HOW will we do it? What will be the repercussions, if any?” Many have insisted that he intervene, but few have actually proposed how he (or we) can. I have also heard the argument that it’s an internal issue we have nothing to do with. “We wouldn’t want another country interfering with our election.” “Haven’t we interfered with the affairs of other countries enough?”

To address the “Haven’t we interfered with the affairs of other countries enough?” question, I find it interesting when we DO choose to “interfere”. If you look at our history, we have “interfered” often, even when we are not wanted by the local citizens. Yet the Iranians are crying for our help and we have denied them. Are we making the right choice? Is Obama doing the right thing? I sure hope so.
j.says
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