22nd February 2013, 10:29 PM
I spent a long time here being ABF's nemesis in matters political and religious. Kinda stopped for awhile as this place has entered vegetative coma.
In the time since, I've come to understand that I was wrong about almost everything. Much of my conservative stance came from my father feeding me a steady stream of Rush Limbaugh growing up, and then Fox News a little later on. I took all that shit at face value and it came to define my views on politics and religion well into my adult life.
Once I was on my own and far away, and I started living life on my own (read: I got to know what being poor was like), it all started to ring hollow to me. I was doing my best to pull myself up by the bootstraps, and to my credit, I never did resort to taking government assistance, but it was only myself and my girlfriend, and a lot of the time, we paid rent and utilities and went hungry. It made me realize that, had we ended up with a kid or two, or had anything gone wrong, such as a layoff or some sort of injury, we would have gone from poverty to disaster.
That had a sobering effect on me, and in the years since, my worldview has transformed almost entirely. I have rejected Christianity, and all religion. I have gone from someone who might have once embraced the Tea Party to a far-left liberal who opposes conservatives (and the Tea Party in particular) in all ways. My support for the Iraq War and President Bush, my opposition to gay marriage and religious freedom, my contempt for the poor, are all things that cause me a lot of regret these days.
To put it more succinctly, ABF was right about almost every topic we argued. So, this is my way of throwing down all the towels and conceding every one of those debates. I voted for President Obama last year and watched his victory with deep pride. You and I are pretty much soul brothers now.
In the time since, I've come to understand that I was wrong about almost everything. Much of my conservative stance came from my father feeding me a steady stream of Rush Limbaugh growing up, and then Fox News a little later on. I took all that shit at face value and it came to define my views on politics and religion well into my adult life.
Once I was on my own and far away, and I started living life on my own (read: I got to know what being poor was like), it all started to ring hollow to me. I was doing my best to pull myself up by the bootstraps, and to my credit, I never did resort to taking government assistance, but it was only myself and my girlfriend, and a lot of the time, we paid rent and utilities and went hungry. It made me realize that, had we ended up with a kid or two, or had anything gone wrong, such as a layoff or some sort of injury, we would have gone from poverty to disaster.
That had a sobering effect on me, and in the years since, my worldview has transformed almost entirely. I have rejected Christianity, and all religion. I have gone from someone who might have once embraced the Tea Party to a far-left liberal who opposes conservatives (and the Tea Party in particular) in all ways. My support for the Iraq War and President Bush, my opposition to gay marriage and religious freedom, my contempt for the poor, are all things that cause me a lot of regret these days.
To put it more succinctly, ABF was right about almost every topic we argued. So, this is my way of throwing down all the towels and conceding every one of those debates. I voted for President Obama last year and watched his victory with deep pride. You and I are pretty much soul brothers now.
YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER
WE STAND AT THE DOOR
WE STAND AT THE DOOR