Too many musings

                There is a lot going on in this country today. We’re trying to face the biggest health threat in a century, and by all accounts it is not going well. We’re trying to remember what made this country, and what made it great. By all accounts it is not going well. We’re stuck in a situation where the majority of the population lives in very small areas, and where the minority of the population lives in very large swaths of the country. Because of this, there is a very large imbalance of power within the country. The result of which is that apparently all of America feels as though it doesn’t have a voice.

                Democrats feel like they can’t reach a large swath of the country because people just refuse to listen because they’re Democrats. Republicans feel like they can’t reach their audience because they are banned from spreading lies and false information. Both groups feel as though they are being censured, if you are paying attention you can’t deny this. The difference is that one group feels ignored, and the other claims that they’re being banned for lying and spreading false information, which of course is a first amendment violation.

                There of course is nothing about what many Republicans are crying about that is true. They just don’t understand what the First Amendment is about. It may allow you to say something stupid, but it certainly doesn’t protect you from saying something stupid. That goes for all of us. We are all allowed to say the stupidest thing you can think of, but we are not protected from what we say. Having economic opportunities lost because we said something stupid is not a First Amendment violation, it simply means we said something stupid. Losing the opportunity to act in a film is not a First Amendment violation, you just portrayed yourself as an idiot.

                All of this has just been my musings. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to think about who I am and who are those around me. I still think of myself as a political moderate, in that I am without a doubt socially liberal, but also very fiscally responsible. I believe that the LGBTQ+ community needs more protection than it currently does, I believe that systemic racism is the most important social ideal that faces us at the moment. I believe that health care in this country is absolute garbage, we’d be better on the black market than with what we call “capitalism”. At the same time, we need to be mindful of the budget, we need to cut our deficit, we need to think about impact on jobs.

                Through all of this, I am trying to understand what Republicans actually stand for. I know what Democrats stand for, they campaign on it. I don’t know what Republicans want to accomplish, all I get is that they don’t want Democrats to succeed. Which sure, fine, I suppose that’s valid, but what do you stand for? The only thing I can gleam from campaign ads is that you are pro-racism because Democrats and are anti-racism. You are pro-executive privilege, because Democrats are against it. I really don’t think I’ve seen a Republican explain what they stand for for years. They just merely run on “well I’m not a Democrat” so I’m better. Whereas I know what policies the democrats are pursuing.

                Maybe its my bias, and I can’t rule that out, I’m not perfect. However, I’ve spent hours trying to figure out what republicans actually stand for. I can’t figure it out, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to think about it. If I can’t figure out what they stand for, why would I ever vote Republican again. Someone please tell me what the republican platform is.