Thursday, November 08, 2012

Kansas Politics

What can I say? As happy as I am to be at home, close to family and close friends, I HATE the politics in this state. And it's not even that it's a Republican state. It's that there appears to be no true discourse. People are very much the conservative, right-wing, Republican that apparently thinks that Democrats, or worse, Liberals, are some evil cabal sent forth from Satan himself. There doesn't seem to be ROOM for other ideas.

Case in point - we now have a legislature that will rubber stamp any thing the governor wants. And what's funny, is that, in this day and age we NEED people that will say "hey, let's think this through!" But that just won't happen. The political process is basically stalled here because there aren't enough people that will fight the rubber stamp process. Of course, the majority has spoken and so I respect that that's what people want (I may not respect WHY they want it or their reasoning, but I do respect that it was their vote and we have to deal with it - much like I hope the Republicans will respect that the people have spoken and now they have to deal with it - nationally). That doesn't mean I'm not worried. My values and my philosophy, if you will, say that an all right-wing Republican government is going to be bad for the state. I think they're too mired in the 1920s or the 1950s, hoping that things will go back to "traditional" society. I have no doubt they think this is a GOOD thing, and when I'm older I will probably look back and think that our generation (the "traditional") was the best.

But it's just not good. It's not good for education. It's not good for the poor. It's not good for women. It's not good for children. Because, on the altar of free market society and the whole idea that the wealthy are wealthy because they are BETTER than others, social programs that benefit the most vulnerable (the poor, children, the working poor, and even the middle-class, etc.) will get axed. And somehow, this is going to create jobs. I am not sure how. I hate to break this to people but Kansas, while having some highlights (beautiful sunsets, wheat, sunflowers, my family and close friends), is not really a place people want to live. Job creators, unless they are already here and have ties, do NOT want to come to a place where the arts and education are considered nothing worth investing in (at least officially....I am aware that individuals consider these things great...just so long as they don't have to pay taxes to support them). Where science is ignored for religious, moral, and fear-based reasons.

And I'm generalizing here, I realize that. But living in a state that is so red that anyone who is even slightly NOT red (pink, maybe?) is considered a socialist, evil, dictator-loving, heathen who will ruin the country if they ever get any kind of power...well, who wants to live in that state?

Then again....we do have awesome sunflowers. And wheat. And my family is here, and they HAVE to love me because of that whole blood ties thing. So maybe I'm just being cynical.

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