I’m A “Libtard”, Apparently - A Guest Blogger

Because we're feeling lazy as hell, and uninspired to talk about things going on in our life (Grandma has been in the Intensive Care Unit for a couple of days, and she actually asked for us...from the reports we hear she is getting better, we'll have to go visit her soon...but enough about that), we're featuring a guest blogger for today. He's not really a guest blogger so much as James, who many know as The Boyfriend. He wrote this awhile ago (about a month ago), but we really like what he had to say, even if we don't always agree on everything, nor him us, this was one of the things we are proud to stand next to him and agree with.

There has been a lot of name calling in this election among people on social media, some very...gentle and harmless...and in some cases cruel, ignorant and disturbing. We've witnessed it, other people have told us about it (like this woman, a follower on Twitter, who DM'd this link to us: http://alvariver.tumblr.com/post/34160524039/last-night). We think this crude name calling mostly has to do with being un-educated about what the people claim to be fighting about, and that's why they resort to such childish behaviours. It's easy to keep a level head, and keep from name calling (being an adult), for the most part, when armed with facts, and information based on actual reality, rather than speculation and talking points based on nothing but unresearched news organization propaganda  like...well...much of what Fox News and it's syndicates, distribute, for example.

Thank goodness the whole [election] thing will be over in three (four) days and we can all go back to hating each other for more than just which side of the political fence the people in the opposing party leans on.

So, to James, and his passionate response to a Facebook communication he intercepted between us and a woman we know (who happens to be a pretty firm conservative). It should be noted that James is British. He's been living in the United States with us now for about nine months over the last year.

[To the person this was directed to, there are no hard feelings, you know we're tolerant, and you also know we discussed this amicably in private, please do not feel like this is a refreshed personal jab at you.]

I’M A “LIBTARD”, APPARENTLY

This actually stemmed from the response to one of Frankie’s Facebook statuses and was directed at them but since it applies to me too, I thought I’d take a stab at a response. In the end, I felt it was something I’d like to share with others, as I often do with my opinions. So here then, unedited, is my Facebook response:

“Libtard”? If you mean belief in the freedom and liberty of people then yes, I’m a “libtard”. If you mean belief of freedom of speech and religion (including freedom not to be religious), free trade (of goods and ideas and in turn, opposed to any restrictions), elections and democracy then yes, I’m a “libtard”. If you mean the belief that all people should be free and to have equal rights (you’ll find a perfect example of such left wing “libtard nonsense” in your beloved “Declaration of Independence”, I suggest you read it) then yes, I’m a “libtard”. If you mean a belief that the “gubnant” should not restrict or take away the rights of its people then yes, I’m a “libtard”. If you mean a belief that personal freedoms shouldn’t restrict the people’s freedom (you (Americans) even went to war with each other over that one) then yes, I’m a “libtard”.
But I also have socialistic beliefs (beyond all of the above, what with being British and all). I believe that the government (as the people’s elected governors) should be responsible for providing social services e.g. health care and education and in any other respect, doing what it can to help those are less well off (not through any fault of their own, you know, like single parents who find themselves out of work and struggle to find new employment, as one example of many). If you think those are left wing liberal beliefs then yes, I’m a “libtard” (or are you, like many of your ignorant peers, now going to accuse me of being a communist too?). And I must be a “libtard” because I believe that the government, in its duties to its people and its country, needs funding in order to do these things (or in your case, so that it can send its people to fucking war with a country it has no right to or reason to be involved with) and as such can look to its people in the form of taxes. I further believe that the wealthier minority of a country, those that because of its government, its country and its people have allowed them to become so wealthy, should reward that by paying a higher percentage of taxes (though I’d happily settle for equal percentage at this point).
In summary then yes, I must, according to you, be a “libtard” and if this is what makes me a “libtard” then I’d wear that badge with fucking honour.
Your fucking ignorance is astounding, but far from surprising.
[Additional] There will always be those that through either ignorance or arrogance that will insist on a label and insist on bastardising and distort the meanings behind those labels. There are those that believe socialism means communism or that one be-gets the other. There will always be those that will cherry pick the founding ideals of socialism and liberalism in order to either shrug off the hypocrisy of their own beliefs and / or to attack other people. Today, certainly from I’ve seen so far in America, people’s ideas / beliefs of what it means to be a socialist or liberal are too distorted to allow me to place such a label on myself without the need to then describe at great length why or what those those labels mean to me.
I am a liberal if all that I’ve said above makes me one. I’m also a Socialist if all that I’ve said above makes me one. For what it’s worth, I do believe in everything I said above; I do believe that people should have equality and freedom and liberties but I also believe that we need a selected group of people, a government, to ensure that we continue to enjoy such equality, freedoms and liberties and to protect us from those that attempt to take them away from us. I believe that we, the people, have certain rights but I believe an individuals right should not be to the detriment of another person’s or of the peoples. In order to achieve this balance, we, as individuals have to accept that there are restrictions on our actions to protect the freedoms of others.
I know what I am, politically and socially speaking and I know what others label me as. For the most part, whilst they might mean to insult and belittle me, I accept some of those labels because I’m educated and open minded enough to know what those labels truly mean, at least what they used to mean when people first described those terms. To many Americans I am a socialist. I’ll accept that one. To many Americans I’m therefore a communist but that one I will argue I am not whilst I shake my head at their ignorance. And now it seems if [this] person is typical of many (right wing) American people, I’m also a “libtard”.
Call me what you like, my eyes and my mind are open and for as long as they remain so, I’ll continue to believe in everything I’ve said here.
Shame on you. Shame on you.

Originally posted on October 3, 2012 at http://iamfranksbitch.tumblr.com/

Our Guest Bloggers From the Past:Guest Blogger, Kerry Stott (@kerrystott), Writes About...

• Our New Guest Blogger (2011)
• Depression (2011)
• "Us & Them" Mentality (2011)
• Suicide (2011)
• Endopsychic Energy (2011)
• S.A.D. (2011)
• Anxiety (2011)
• Fear (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month) (2011)
• Insomnia (2011)
• Personal Problem Solving (2011)
• Our Guest Blogger Writes About...Meeting Us! (2012)
• How Risk Feels (2012)
• Therapeutic Alliance (2012)
• Personality Disorder (2012)
• Psychiatrists, Are They Devil Incarnate (2012)
• Stress (2012)
• Diagnosis (2012)
• Positive Affirmation (2012)
• Anger (2012)

The Single Mom @singlemomdate

• We Get A Guest Blogger - Kinky Sex!  (2011)

Jake @Onezees

• How To Tie A Nose With Words  (2011)
• A Guest Blogger Writes Stuff  (2011)

Socialism, Democracy and Patriotism...

A little background for those who will read my blog. I live in Canada, I have lived here almost 5 years now, however, I am American. I love Canada and am falling back in love with the United States. Most of my political commentary is about American polotics.

This post was fueled by a Facebook friends comment about not being happy with the new president and the fact/assumption that he is leading the United States towards a Socialist society. (That was an elequent paraphrase of the comment he posted.)

Disclaimer: I am not accusing anyone of anything or implying anyone is anything based on the commentary in the following paragraphs - these are my views and feelings.

I shall start with these quotes.

“Socialism refers to any one of various economic theories of […] organization advocating state or cooperative ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equal opportunities/means for all individuals with a more egalitarian method of compensation [a belief in human equality, especially with respect to social, political, and economic rights and privileges] based on the full product of the labourer [in which each worker is rewarded in accordance with the amount of labour that he contributes to society]. “Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital”

“In political theory, Democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. Even though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes. The first […] is that all members of the society have equal access to power and the second that all members enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others.However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated to avoid an uneven distribution of political power with balances, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.”

Democratic: 4 : favouring social equality : not snobbish (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

The United States government funds libraries, healthcare and childcare for the poor, education, etc, etc. The only thing that differs who we already were, from the socialism people claim we are headed towards, is that our government does not pay 100% for ALL of these services (certainly some) but strives to create equal opportunity by providing basic healthcare, education, and services. However, we still have a VERY unequal society in which many feel they don’t have equality, we have a larger number of people living in poverty, 37.3 million people in poverty in 20071 , and among industrialized countries contain the highest poverty rate.2 This reflects a high degree of inequality.

The cornerstone elements of democracy include basic human rights, freedom of opinion, separation of powers, religious freedom and liberty, and good governance, defined as the “focus on public interest and absence of corruption”, a government that does not manipulate people to achieve personal goals based on personal interests.

When there is an administration that does not allow a freedom of opinion, where individuals were labelled anti-patriotic and put on a watch list for saying anything negative about an administration, where individuals are suspect because of their religious views, were individuals feel powerless to a government who favours personal interests and big business, individuals are having their basic right impeded on. Ask these people if they feel they were having their basic political rights stripped from them and you will be met with a resounding “yes”. Not a very democratic environment. We already have a government that is a juxtaposition of socialism and democracy, they have intertwining philosophies. I think the mistake people make is that they view non-democratic societies as those that have no say in their government and who think they have no say in things that go on. Step back from your political affiliations and LOOK – really LOOK at who has and has had the power, it is already a division of power based on many factors that are largely out of the control of the common man.

On a personal note, I don’t remember learning about socialism in school so my only research has been that of an adult. As an adult, I can look at it with eyes of a person that is not being told how something was/is by one school and one teacher who chooses the text we read (The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict what Students Learn By Diane Ravitch and that’s just the tip of the iceberg on that – don’t get me started).

I am not advocating a pure socialist society (such as Sweden) but as a society that already has socialist aspects one should step back and be thankful. Be thankful we have a government that is developed, that provides for those lower and lower-middle class peoples who can not afford basic rights that are modern human rights [not to mention NECESSETIES}, that provides some basic equal opportunities, like educations and libraries. It is what separates us from a few of the countries we scarcely understand and whome we fight wars with. It is what makes us the country we are, the country that in the past, and now in the future, people strive to be a part of. It is what makes us America.

So, when the government makes changes to some of our basic policies we must believe that they are doing it for the better of the country and to trust them with our country and our well being is as democratic and as patriotic as one can be.

I welcome all comments especially from those who can provide a valid rebuttal to this, but please have some information to back it up – nothing is worse that someone with empty comments.

1US Census Bearau and News http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/012528.html

2Bradley, D., Huber, E., Moller, S., Nielson, F. & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies. American Sociological Review, 68(3), 22-51.