Calling All Moderates
Culture 11:00 AM
by Jessica Osman of Drawnlines Politics
Generally speaking, the loudest group gets the most attention. The media has a way of making these loud groups appear larger than life and that their voice is the voice of the masses. If you are a part of the loudest group, you probably bask in the attention and limelight; you are re-energized every time your work and purpose is broadcast. However, should you be closer to the center aisle, but just happen to be on the same side as one of these groups, you might find your voice not being heard and your presence being ignored all together. It can be frustrating because you are constantly telling one side "I'm not like them. I have good ideas and plans that can work with yours. Please listen". Then you turn around and tell the other side "I belong here just as much as you. Just because I don't believe everything the same way you do does not give you the right to push me out.” This is exactly how many moderates on the right feel.
With the recent growth of super conservative movements, such as the Tea Party, and people moving farther right as their counterparts move farther left, many moderates are left clinging to the aisle stanchions trying not to get sucked into the madness going on. I have an image in my head of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton clinging to pipes in one of the final scenes of "Twister" trying not to get sucked in and carried away by the giant tornado tearing through town. This might seem a bit extreme, but since many of these groups can be so extreme the image seems fitting.
On the conservative right side there is a lot of bullying and pushing the idea that "if you’re not with us 100%, you’re against us". Many are quick to brand you a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and try to cast you out of the party the first chance they get. There are even purity tests to see if you are a "true Republican". (No, I am not reading something Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote or an excerpt from the Salem witch trials, this actually goes on today.) Conservative extremists are taking over the Republican Party and being given carte blanche. No one wants to anger or upset them for fear of losing support because, again, they are the loudest and most organized. However, in doing so the rest (and possibly majority) of the party can feel alienated. In addition to alienating them, there is a need to make them feel like they are not good enough or conservative enough to be in the group. If the moderates and moderate-conservatives joined together they would certainly be the force to be reckoned with. Not only would they be the loudest, but they would surely be the greatest in number as well. Most importantly, they could bring ideas and attitudes to the table that Democrats would actually listen to and not brush off as “crazy-talk”.
I recently read Meghan McCain’s book Dirty, Sexy, Politics and she makes a lot of good points about how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable and is turning off and pushing away the moderates in this country. Along those same lines, a quote from Justice Stephen Breyer has really stuck with me lately; “The values [of the Constitution] don’t change. The circumstances do.” I feel conservatives should really take these words to heart in regards to our principles. Conservative values can remain intact as a foundation, but we cannot ignore changing times and circumstances.
Over the next few weeks I would like to explore some of the “hot button” issues that always seem to divide people and offer a “modern conservative” approach to them. They’re just my opinions, but I believe if our lawmakers start similar outside of the box thinking perhaps the moderates on both sides can civilly unite, make the proper concessions for everyone to be happy and show their extreme brothers and sisters that the best way to help all Americans is to work together and stop the “us versus them” mentality that constantly gets in the way of improving our country and our lives.
Check us out on FACEBOOK
Generally speaking, the loudest group gets the most attention. The media has a way of making these loud groups appear larger than life and that their voice is the voice of the masses. If you are a part of the loudest group, you probably bask in the attention and limelight; you are re-energized every time your work and purpose is broadcast. However, should you be closer to the center aisle, but just happen to be on the same side as one of these groups, you might find your voice not being heard and your presence being ignored all together. It can be frustrating because you are constantly telling one side "I'm not like them. I have good ideas and plans that can work with yours. Please listen". Then you turn around and tell the other side "I belong here just as much as you. Just because I don't believe everything the same way you do does not give you the right to push me out.” This is exactly how many moderates on the right feel.
With the recent growth of super conservative movements, such as the Tea Party, and people moving farther right as their counterparts move farther left, many moderates are left clinging to the aisle stanchions trying not to get sucked into the madness going on. I have an image in my head of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton clinging to pipes in one of the final scenes of "Twister" trying not to get sucked in and carried away by the giant tornado tearing through town. This might seem a bit extreme, but since many of these groups can be so extreme the image seems fitting.
On the conservative right side there is a lot of bullying and pushing the idea that "if you’re not with us 100%, you’re against us". Many are quick to brand you a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and try to cast you out of the party the first chance they get. There are even purity tests to see if you are a "true Republican". (No, I am not reading something Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote or an excerpt from the Salem witch trials, this actually goes on today.) Conservative extremists are taking over the Republican Party and being given carte blanche. No one wants to anger or upset them for fear of losing support because, again, they are the loudest and most organized. However, in doing so the rest (and possibly majority) of the party can feel alienated. In addition to alienating them, there is a need to make them feel like they are not good enough or conservative enough to be in the group. If the moderates and moderate-conservatives joined together they would certainly be the force to be reckoned with. Not only would they be the loudest, but they would surely be the greatest in number as well. Most importantly, they could bring ideas and attitudes to the table that Democrats would actually listen to and not brush off as “crazy-talk”.
I recently read Meghan McCain’s book Dirty, Sexy, Politics and she makes a lot of good points about how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable and is turning off and pushing away the moderates in this country. Along those same lines, a quote from Justice Stephen Breyer has really stuck with me lately; “The values [of the Constitution] don’t change. The circumstances do.” I feel conservatives should really take these words to heart in regards to our principles. Conservative values can remain intact as a foundation, but we cannot ignore changing times and circumstances.
Over the next few weeks I would like to explore some of the “hot button” issues that always seem to divide people and offer a “modern conservative” approach to them. They’re just my opinions, but I believe if our lawmakers start similar outside of the box thinking perhaps the moderates on both sides can civilly unite, make the proper concessions for everyone to be happy and show their extreme brothers and sisters that the best way to help all Americans is to work together and stop the “us versus them” mentality that constantly gets in the way of improving our country and our lives.
Check us out on FACEBOOK
Posted by Nick Stone
on 11:00 AM.
Filed under
Posts
