Zomby-Centricism (Or Something Like It)

There are days that I hate being an anonyblogger. It would be a lot easier (and wildly less goofy) to use my real name instead of this Zombyboy thing that I decided on before considering just how much time I would actually spend writing. Given the state of my employment, though, and my desire to not be fired for my past-time, anonyblogging it is.

Of course, anyone who really wanted to could just look up the registration info for the site and find out who I am. Not so fond of that.

Anyway, I was thinking last night about how to introduce myself a little bit better to readers who don't interact with me on a personal level. This post is what I came up with.

Now, this isn't one of those confessional moments that gets all weepy or overly intimate. Unless I've been enjoying the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash (info on the next RMBB coming very very soon) a little too much, I just don't really want to get into that kind of personal blogging. Details slip out now and again because either there's a greater point to be made or because it's impossible to not let a little of my life seep into the nearly 1400 posts that have been made to this site thus far.

This post is personal, though, but in a more political sense. I asked myself a simple question, and this is my answer to myself.

Just What Kind of a Republican am I?

An unfair accusation that Republicans deal with on a regular basis is that the GOP is comprised of lily-white voters all in lock-step agreement with one another on political, social, and economic issues. That characterization is pure BS; there's an amazingly wide variety of people that have joined the GOP, and each one brings their own set of ideals and cares.

If you were to put my partner, SJ, and I into a room and told us to discuss issues, you'd see damned near as much disagreement as agreement. Yet we're both Republicans. Our opinions weren't arrived at haphazardly, but through thought and introspection. We've both been influenced by books, religion, culture, our parents, our own set of standards and ethics, and each other.

As for me, though, this is the kind of Republican that I am.

I am a Christian. Not the type that knocks on doors and pushes his opinions on others, but the type that doesn't back down or apologize for his beliefs. I believe in God and in the bible (although, perhaps, not in precisely the same way as other Christians who visit this site).

I also have a great respect for the wisdom and beauty that can be found in religions outside my own.

I am opposed to the death penalty. This is something fairly new to me and still difficult to deal with at times. I can't imagine a perfect system of justice that would ensure that no person was every executed in error; and one error is enough to invalidate the death penalty in my mind.

I am opposed to abortion. Abortion kills babies, and I can't think of something more terrifying than that. That said, I don't demonize doctors who perform abortions or women who have had them; I've seen, first hand, the effect that it can have on a woman to go through an abortion. And that can be almost as heartbreaking as the abortion itself.

I believe that most politicians, even those who disagree with my view of the world, mean well for their constituents. I believe that the great majority work hard to do what they consider their best, working for good. In fact, I have an overwhelming faith in people; I believe that the majority of people are good at heart. It's this faith that allows me to believe that we can work together for the better.

I don't believe in using "human nature" as an excuse, though. When people refuse to change or admonish others because something is "just human nature", I think they're missing a point. Human nature isn't to accept our condition, label it as morally neutral, and then move on. Human nature is to realize that our behavior isn't morally neutral, and to strive for better. Human nature is to struggle to improve itself constantly. Anything else is just settling.

I'm a supply-sider who thinks that lower taxes improve productivity and can lead to happier, healthier, wealthier workers. I think that most taxes to fund new social programs are just us voting ourselves bread and circuses.

I believe that the government is terribly inefficient, especially at the Federal level. Government can't help it--money that's collected has to be distributed through such a huge network and bureaucracy that inefficiency is a foregone conclusion. It's the job of the voters to help ensure that the government is only doing what is truly necessary; we voters have been asleep at the wheel.

I'm the kind of Republican that has tattoos and piercing, listens to loud music, and drives a bit too fast most of the time. Some of my best friends are gay, and I'm as at ease in gay clubs as I am at local watering holes.

Of those friends that are gay--whether the cause of their homosexuality is nature or nurture, I don't really care--I would love someday to see them have the opportunity to enjoy marriage (or something very like it). While it may be true that "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle", I can honestly say that the happiest, most fulfilled people that I know are married. Their devotion and care seem to keep them much more contented than the single people I know.

I believe in the judicious use of our military to keep the US safe. Sometimes I think that means that we have to step outside of what is, directly, in our interest and accept a greater role in world events. I am, by no means, an isolationist.

But the US can't fight every battle and lift every country out of their depths. We must use discretion when deciding where to intervene.

I believe that value judgments of other cultures are possible. That female circumcision is vile, that jailing homosexuals because of their sexual orientation is horrid, and that destroying ancient religious artifacts because of an intolerant attitude towards other religions is simply wrong. And, yes, I think that our way is better, more equitable, and, in the end, stronger.

We aren't the most important nation in the world because of the mistakes of our past, but because of our willingness to address them and our willingness to inspect our own injustices.

I love this country and the ideals that it stands for--and I love taking part in the great, ongoing experiment that gave me far more opportunity than I would have had almost anywhere else in the world.

I'm the kind of Republican who doesn't think that it's treasonous to dissent, but thinks that it's offensive when others sneer at my patriotism.

That's the kind of Republican I am.

Posted by zombyboy at November 7, 2003 12:06 PM | TrackBack