Political Idealism vs Political Realty

[Stinky The Clown]

Reality bites.

[Gregorian]

1. I'm willing to do the right thing.

But really, Limbaugh walks while Chong cleans toilets in prison. I guess that's what you mean by the "bites" part.

PS- I'm drinking a Sapporo now. And I think this thread is about impeachment. Shit.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. This thread is about all the shit that is shit simply because of political reality

Impeachment and the lack of it.

The war funding bill that was announced just moments ago.

The lack of single payer health care.

Name an issue ..... it remains an issue because of political reality.

And reality bites.

[The Magistrate]

2. Yes, It Does, Sir

"Reality is that which, when you cease to believe in it, continues to exist."

[ecstatic]

3. I don't view justice and bringing the troops home as idealistic nt

[Bullet1987]

5. ...

I don't view justice and bringing the troops home as idealistic

Neither do I...

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Logic and an essentially liberal world view would say you're right to hold those goals

But political reality is what it is.

For what its worth, I agree with you're views.

[PurityOfEssence]

7. Idealism is grandstanding; reality is an excuse

Some wag coined the phrase "Virtucrat" many years ago for those who stand fast in public to espouse an ideal that, although often truly and deeply held, is basically a form of self-aggrandizing narcissism.

Those who constantly slither back to the middle (or the right, or the third way, or whatever) and fend off criticism from the pulpit of "practicality" are either cowardly, unimaginative, ignorant or just plain lame. Still, the point of my argument puts me more in that direction than that of the steadfast loner standing up to the raging wind.

Life exists somewhere in the middle. Practicality that subjugates Idealism is more or less useless and bespeaks a lack of true conviction among other things. Idealism that scorns reality is dangerous to its very cause. There's a time to stand fast to a lost cause and there's a time to think ahead, concede a point or two and keep one's eyes on the prize. When are these times? All the time, and they're very subjective; life is in shades of grey, and those who want to convince you otherwise are best humored, avoided and occasionally confronted.

Much as I hate guns, I think we should pretty much completely avoid dealing with it in elective politics until we've got a bigger margin of power and more of the reactionary crazies are driven back under their rocks. Likewise, I wish the Gay Marriage issue hadn't come up in '04; there's no way Junior and his mob could have gotten close enough to steal that election if it hadn't. (Still, people have a right to this, and I understand the frustration. What the hell, too: the genie's out of the bottle, and the monarchists won't really be able to play that card so well in the future, so looking down the pike, perhaps it was a good thing it happened that way...) Hell, I'd love to go after all this "ceremonial deism" crap in government, take "In God We Trust" off of our money, squash "faith-based" funding like the cockroach it is and drive religion out of government as the law of the land demands, but this is one of my own personal bugaboos and I'm not going to mess up everyone else's lives when it would obviously screw up our electability.

Pick your battles and fight to win. Any good leader will tell you that most opportunities for confrontation simply shouldn't be taken. People who endlessly tout their moral superiority are essentially telling everybody else that they're loser thoughtless lightweight scumbag cowardly assholes not fit to gaze at their righteous halo of genius. Then again, the self-proclaimed "practical adults" are simply snorting at the hothead's adolescence. Both are tiresome.

I'm not trying to thump on you too much, just muss up your hair a little. Besides, from your many posts of the past, your tongue is at least near your cheek on this one...