Why Am I Here? Please Read Me First.

Simple, really. In his farewell address, President Obama said that we all needed to step out of our ideological bubbles, lest we stop accepting new facts that disagree with our preconceived notions, and thus stop testing and adjusting our opinions. I consider myself a proud Democratic Socialist, and although I have a few very bright conservative friends, and try very hard to listen to and appreciate/understand their opinions, I fail more often than I should. However, I also think that many of the things that our new President does are beyond the pale, and not only go against everything I stand for, but also seem to totally belie most notions of traditional American conservatism, let alone republican democracy. It is in this vein that I would like to start this “blog.” I have two goals: First is to try to further my understanding of conservative thought, as well, perhaps, as “Trumpian” thought (I would love to discover a coherent ideology behind his support, as well as people who can argue that he ISN’T at least moderately fascist), and perhaps help those people understand where crunchy super-liberals like me come from. Second, is to perhaps create a broader coalition against Trump, whom I am very afraid is leading this country towards neo-fascism. Whether you are a conservative, moderate or liberal, I hope that would seem very scary, and is a threat that, in my view, needs to be confronted before we can even decide what to do about the stereotypical issues that usually define the liberal/conservative divide.

I encourage ANYONE and EVERYONE to comment thoughtfully on the things I post. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with me. I do care that you are respectful, and that your comments are based on facts (hey, cite/link when you can). Trolling will not be tolerated. Unfortunately, I am the only one around to determine if a comment is trolling, but, oh well, such is the nature of the internet these days. Thanks!