RE: The Monster Has Returned... Red... Stop the Reds while you still can... [History Repeats]
What is so dangerous about our times is that from both sides, the same argument applies.
Those who try to stop free speech are on the left and the right, it's just different speech they are trying to stop. The left has gone so far that not only can they stop you from saying a thing (safe space, fake news), they try to force you to say things (genders) and would make it law if they could. That behavior pushed us over to Trump, who may or may not be a bad man, but who certainly has people convinced that he will stop some segment of personal liberties.
It's so bad that the same things I beat up Bush for I am still beating up Obama for and will probably beat up Trump for, the Patriot act is still here, Gitmo is still here, wars of aggression are still here, corruption and corporatism is still running the Country.
And really, the things McCarthy himself was actually against? Happened.
They are the problems I point out above. He was right, the people who created "Mccarthyism" (using the press) just used him in their goal of getting more power away from the people and into their hands. They made a horrific mess to both discredit what he really said and to steal more power.
And some of us don't go for the False Dichotomies that there are only two sides. (not saying this is you) I am not Left, I am not right. I am not a Hillary supporter (actually kind of despise her), nor am I a Trump supporter (he is an ass).
So I can see hypocrisy flying around from BOTH of these supposed TWO types of people. It's easy to see when you are not either of them.
I get called RIGHT and assumed to be a TRUMP supporter by some people. I got called Elizabeth Warren several times on reddit the other week and assumed I was LEFT.
People REALLY need to step out of this binary LEFT/RIGHT, US/THEM mentality. Things look a lot different when you stop identifying as one of those fabricated binary choices.
Yeah, real life has multiple axes. I am not much right and not much left, but even less Authoritarian. I usually call myself a Contrarian even though I vote (LP). But like you, whoever looks at me usually can find a reason to put me on their side if they like what I am saying, or against their side if the truth hurts.
I most identify at this point as an Anarcho-Capitalist... though I tend to still vote and try to fight where I can. I voted Libertarian party, and where no LP was available I would vote for another third party. If I was forced to choose Dem/Rep... I did mostly an eenie meenie miny moe type thing and just alternated. Functionally I don't see much difference between them.
I don't like the idea of governance, but it does not cease to exist and stop impacting my family simply because I want it to stop. "If I don't like it, move" is also not a viable option. :(
So I mostly educate, discuss, learn, share, etc. And study a lot of history. Ask questions. Try to think up new questions to ask that might traditionally not be popular.
2008 was my last Lesser of Two evils vote I ever intend to do. I was a Ron Paul supporter... once he was out I voted for Obama.
I bought into the getting rid of the Patriot Act and many other Unconstitutional things he mentioned, scaling back and ending wars, etc.
In fact EVERY SINGLE issue that convinced me to vote for Obama he did exactly the opposite of what he campaigned he would do.
I've voted (LP) for 40 years, and every single time someone told me that my vote was wasted. Yet every single time what they voted for didn't happen.
Heheh... I like people telling me that... opens a door.
I ask them. What is your job as a citizen?
Why are you voting?
Is it to vote for a representative to go represent you in the government? This is known as a Republic or a Democracy depending upon your interpretation.
They usually will say that is correct.
To which I ask them... is voting for someone that best represents you your job then, or is your concern only about being on the winning team?
My contention is that the only way to actually THROW a vote away is to vote on someone that doesn't represent you. Even not voting at all is better than that.
EDIT: I wasn't old enough to vote until 1989... and there was no election that year. ;)