As the child of two very progressive Democrats, I inherited the vast majority of my parents' political beliefs. As I got older and more interested in politics, I discovered some bombastic, conservative voices on AM radio that projected an ostensible self-assuredness that I found appealing. Eventually, however, it was this self-assured attitude that analyzed the world without an emotional focus that molded me into a committed Democrat.
The Republicans like to chide us for having a political outlook influenced too heavily by emotion. This attitude in the modern day conservative movement also intertwines with their criticisms that we are too idealistic. "Socializing medecine and providing universal healthcare is a great idea in theory, but would never work in practice" is something I hear far too often from the other side.
I proudly concede to our political foes that we are the more emotional force in American politics. The absence of an emotion-influenced outlook amongst most Republicans highlights the central difference between us and them: We have extended the maximums of our humanity into politics while they have not.
*I started writing this as more general analysis but it developed with a focus on Iraq.*
Without the ongoing bloodbath in Iraq, I never would have uncovered this critical point of contrast for myself. Whenever I argue with a pro-war Republican lately, I always bombarded with questions that implicate that a genocide would unravel against the Sunnis if we withdraw. Putting aside the fact that such a scenario simply will not happen because of our withdrawl, I cannot help but respond by diverting to a less political, more personal question: "If you are so adamant about remaining in Iraq, why can't you honorably defend your beliefs by enlisting tomorrow?"
None of the able-bodied, young chickenhawk neo-cons I talk to would ever seriously consider joining the military. While just about every Democrat I know is naturally repulsed by the egregious hypocrisy, these neo-cons see it as an irrelvant diversion. Unaffected emotionally, they respond along the lines of "If we can secure Baghdad with this surge, we just might win, and all you pathetic lefties will go down as American history's greatest loosers."
Excuse me while I pickup your pre-occupation with my place in history, Mr. neo-con, but I still don't hear a firm agreement to enlist in the military. As a progressive Democrat, nothing inflames my anti-war sentiment more than an article or a television piece that documents the pain that our nation's military family's go through every day. While purporting to sympathize with our troops, the real bedrock of the neo-con's passion lies in pedantic garbage from the likes of Norman Podheretz and Bill Kristol's dad.
When I cry during a a discovery channel documentary about a family of a deployed solider in Arkansas, my anti-war passion is almost exclusively emotional. My angry reaction against the government putting through this poor family through so much pain is not in the least bit ideological. Instead, it is simply how any compassionate human being would react.
When I feel sympathy for military mothers like Cindy Sheehan who have tragically lost their own blood in a senseless war, damn right I am mixing my emotions with politics.
I feel a strong mix of anger and sadness When I wake up in the morning and hear that three more flag draped coffins have arrived on American soil.
I feel enraged when I hear stories about how awful veterans' benefits are for our troops in Iraq.
I feel disgusted by the way our wounded soldier's have been treated at Walter Reed medical center.
And of course, I feel baffled by the hypocrisy we see in so many neo-conservatives who cheerlead us into a war in wihch they refuse to enlist.
This summer, I work at a place in town that throws parties for little kids. The other day, I hosted a family that was celebrating their daughter's sixth birthday. The father came dressed in his U.S. Air Force uniform and while that does not automatically mean that he is fighting in Iraq, I could not help but think that he could be witnessing his beloved daughter's last birthday. The inhumane injustice of being denied the opporunity to raise your your own daughter arouse a feeling that combined almost every emotion I have mentioned so far.
These reactions are not ideological in the least bit. From many perspectives, they are not even inherently political. They are simply human reactions that are as natural as breathing. As progressive Democrats, we extend these human reactions into the realm of politics.
The Republicans, however, do not and never will. They deliberately sacrafice their humanity at the alter of pedantic, pseudo-intellectual nonsense that makes the diminishes the death of a sixth year old's father to a level of unimportance.
So whenever a conservative Republican accuses you of letting your emotions interfere with your politics, stand up and agree with pride. The conservatives Republicans, however, will never let their humanity mix with their politics. If they did, they would all become Democrats:-)