General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Sic semper Naderus. (A response to the recent pro-Nader posts) [View all]freshwest
(53,661 posts)But to clarify, I also don't support the 'No Label' movement that was used to peel off Democrats, with false claims that 'both parties are the same.' That's the Libertarian party mantra to make themselves higher than the two major parties. It is not serious thinking, it's self serving, deliberating misleading, dishonest and intellectual laziness.
I'm talking about the meanings. There was a quote from years ago, but I didn't file the exact wording. It read, in my own words.
'Do not seek to imitate the answers your fathers found when seeking the truth (god, reality, etc.) and accept it as the last word on the subject. Seek instead, what they sought.'
That intent disposes of dogmas and parroting. Ideology is great for gathering a group. But individuals in that group need to remember that the group is not the end or the solution. It's just the beginning.
FDR had many failures but kept trying. He said, 'It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.' This is what I see in Obama, that same method, applied to our time and circumstances. Many of the people that supported FDR and the New Deal would be anathema to the Democratic Party of today, partcularly those who believe in equality for all.
Another one from FDR, 'The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.'
This is the core of Obamacare. The complaints come from those who have much, and the praise from those who have had too little for too long.
For persistent naysayers, so quick to criticize, FDR said, 'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.' Obama is an idealist, not an ideologue.
Skepticism taken to the extreme is a dead end road, as well as some of the conspiracy language. 'It's all hopeless, all pre-ordained, unless something comes to save us.' To which I say nothing is that way and no one is coming to save you.
That is how I see the phrase, 'We are the ones we have been waiting for.' The source of it is the Hopi Elders and it means much more than what I say.
Cynicism always supports the status quo no matter what label it wears. Those advantaged by the status quo will tear down every attempt to change it, and call themselves wise or principled, like Nader was, unwilling to 'settle for less than the best.' Those in dire straits aren't afforded such a luxury, and are called names for not having lofty goals. But survival is good enough to have the chance to make a better future.
Yet another quote, since I love FDR so well, think of this process, 'Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.' Instead of sitting back and living in the past that we scarely know, a future we can only guess, and ignoring those around us.
Feel free to steal at leisure. To attempt to own a thought or words, is to deny that many of our thoughts are shared and should be as freely returned to others as they gave them to us, JHMO.