24th February 2013, 9:13 AM
I went through a similar transformation over the past years. It is surprising to think I actually thought creationism was a valid viewpoint.
But, to put things in perspective a bit, I'm still not a democrat. It's funny, before I wasn't a democrat because I was against "leftist" policies. Now I'm not a democrat because they seem too conservative to me. It was very sobering to watch the republican party self destruct so utterly over the last few years. I never really considered myself a republican either, but I've lost pretty much any respect there.
Shortly after abandoning certain zany thoughts, I flirted with "objectivism" for about one month, then promptly abandoned it when I recognized that you CAN'T derive an economic and moral policy from "A is A" no matter how much you try (also, the whole philosophy appears to be "Be a two year old, forever"). I never once would have thought objectivism would be so utterly embraced by those who profess to also be christian.
I too voted for Obama, but I can't say I watched with pride so much as a grim satisfaction that it wasn't the other guy. Obama is ostensibly "for" a lot of the things I'm for now, but sometimes he lacks the conviction to really follow through right to the end (the entire health care "debate" over how legal it is to force someone to buy insurance could easily have been made moot if only the public option had been kept). Guantanamo is still open, and oh yes, flying death robots patrol the skies under the control of someone who's only restriction is deciding to call someone a terrorist with no real oversight.
The really annoying thing about that last one? If the republicans really wanted to vilify Obama as a tyrant destroying our freedoms, THAT is the best argument they could possibly make, one which if they stuck with it, would really rally the party far more effectively. That they don't states loud and clear that keeping that power for themselves should they win back the white house is more important than winning the election in the immediate future, and that is pretty scary. Don't misunderstand. I use hyperbole, but I'm fully aware that Obama is unlikely to do anything that would be too public and too shocking with those drones, such as attacking an American on American soil, or attacking a republican congressman when they are over seas. Indeed, I'd go further and say Obama would never do anything he couldn't justify to himself, as he does seem to have his own moral code for what's "justifiable". But, I will say that I have at least a few questions about why no one bothered to ask why that seal team didn't at least ATTEMPT to take Osama alive. No, I'm not talking about any dumbarse conspiracies, I'm just saying it was a bit much to go for IMMEDIATE assassination of someone who clearly was defenseless at that specific moment, without at least an attempt at capture. Sure, it was frickin' Osama, hard to really have any sympathy for the bastard, I'm just saying that it seems like it would have been good to make the attempt to capture unless any chance of escape or resistance presented itself. But then, that may be me talking out of my arse on that last one. At the very least, the drones seem like a big deal to me, enough to say that Obama was really just a partial step away from madness, but we aren't in the clear yet, by far.
But, to put things in perspective a bit, I'm still not a democrat. It's funny, before I wasn't a democrat because I was against "leftist" policies. Now I'm not a democrat because they seem too conservative to me. It was very sobering to watch the republican party self destruct so utterly over the last few years. I never really considered myself a republican either, but I've lost pretty much any respect there.
Shortly after abandoning certain zany thoughts, I flirted with "objectivism" for about one month, then promptly abandoned it when I recognized that you CAN'T derive an economic and moral policy from "A is A" no matter how much you try (also, the whole philosophy appears to be "Be a two year old, forever"). I never once would have thought objectivism would be so utterly embraced by those who profess to also be christian.
I too voted for Obama, but I can't say I watched with pride so much as a grim satisfaction that it wasn't the other guy. Obama is ostensibly "for" a lot of the things I'm for now, but sometimes he lacks the conviction to really follow through right to the end (the entire health care "debate" over how legal it is to force someone to buy insurance could easily have been made moot if only the public option had been kept). Guantanamo is still open, and oh yes, flying death robots patrol the skies under the control of someone who's only restriction is deciding to call someone a terrorist with no real oversight.
The really annoying thing about that last one? If the republicans really wanted to vilify Obama as a tyrant destroying our freedoms, THAT is the best argument they could possibly make, one which if they stuck with it, would really rally the party far more effectively. That they don't states loud and clear that keeping that power for themselves should they win back the white house is more important than winning the election in the immediate future, and that is pretty scary. Don't misunderstand. I use hyperbole, but I'm fully aware that Obama is unlikely to do anything that would be too public and too shocking with those drones, such as attacking an American on American soil, or attacking a republican congressman when they are over seas. Indeed, I'd go further and say Obama would never do anything he couldn't justify to himself, as he does seem to have his own moral code for what's "justifiable". But, I will say that I have at least a few questions about why no one bothered to ask why that seal team didn't at least ATTEMPT to take Osama alive. No, I'm not talking about any dumbarse conspiracies, I'm just saying it was a bit much to go for IMMEDIATE assassination of someone who clearly was defenseless at that specific moment, without at least an attempt at capture. Sure, it was frickin' Osama, hard to really have any sympathy for the bastard, I'm just saying that it seems like it would have been good to make the attempt to capture unless any chance of escape or resistance presented itself. But then, that may be me talking out of my arse on that last one. At the very least, the drones seem like a big deal to me, enough to say that Obama was really just a partial step away from madness, but we aren't in the clear yet, by far.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)