How to Silence an Uneducated Liberal 101
Posted by Rebecca Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:11:00 GMT
Before you get upset at the title of my article, please stop and consider that adjective which modifies “liberal.”
I never have problems with the opinions of those who are truly educated, no matter what party they belong to and no matter how much I disagree with them. I think we need balance in this country. I can’t fathom how freakish our nation would be if we were all left or all right.
The bottom line: if you are an educated liberal, this does not target you. And if you are an uneducated Republican, there are other scenarios in which this principle can apply to you.
That being said, I will now mount my political soapbox, which I rarely do.
I have a friend who is more educated on the war and foreign policy than I am, but I have hands on experience with the injustices people face here at home. And I have to say, I am really tired of people complaining about the government not taking care of people, or how people are selfish if they don’t want social programs. I have noticed that these complaints often come from people who never roll their sleeves up and get dirty doing work. In general it seems that these complaints come from people who are too caught up in their own lives to look past the ends of their noses and actually help another soul on this planet. If this is not you, then feel free to disregard the impending tirade.
I had a conversation about that with a friend today. He is a liberal non-practicing catholic and I am a moderate-leaning towards conservative evangelical christian. We’ve been friends for nearly 4 years and God only knows how. He was whining about social programs and how in general, Republicans tend to not support them.
I told him that I have no problem with social programs if the programs actually work. But the one that I have seen in action (namely welfare) fails miserably in my eyes. I am not saying this because I think people don’t need welfare. I know firsthand that plenty of people need welfare. But they also need an education.
I spent two and half years working with inner city children who live every day of their lives in east Austin. Most of them never ever see other parts of the city. They never have a chance to witness what life could be. Their reality consists of poor education facilities, not enough food, multiple men moving in and out of the house, and unsafe streets.
I have been inside the homes of their parents, parents who intentionally have more children because they get a bigger welfare check. These kids often miss meals and rely on school lunch programs to keep their stomachs from aching with hunger. They grow up in government subsidized projects where rent costs their parents a mere $4.50 per month. You’d be amazed at what you find in their homes. They often have luxurious home entertainment systems including stereos, plasma TVs and every kind of video game console you can imagine. Your tax dollars hard at work. And their children are starving.
It’s not that these people don’t need the money, it’s that they need money management education and accountability. You cannot break the poverty cycle without education. It will never happen.
Of course, if you break the poverty cycle and educate a large portion of your constituents, you run the risk of them becoming educated and possibly leaving your side of things. So why bother educating them when you have them right where you want them? If you really care about people, why don’t you take the silver spoon out of your mouth and go see the shit hole they get raised in? Why don’t you process legislation that will change the world instead of keeping it the way it is?
Now, you can argue that the other side of government is just as corrupt. I will agree with you. There is no innocent political party. Both sides lie and both sides work hard to keep their people voting for them. My point is that if you are going to buy into the party line, be responsible and check things out for yourselves. Take the bus instead of driving your gas guzzler. Walk 20 steps to the recycling bin instead of tossing your coke can in the trash receptacle under your desk. And for the sake of those people who you swear in your heart and by your mouth to help and defend, get off your lazy ass and get involved. Until you do this, I don’t want to hear one word from you, because if you are not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.
When I told all this to my friend, he was silent. After a few minutes, he changed the subject and began rattling off all the things he had to do at work.
The scary thing is that I think that what I said didn’t even phase him.
Next week, if you’re lucky, I’ll get on my soapbox about the American soldiers who have perished in Iraq. That’s bound to be lots of fun.
Dismounting soapbox.
