Walking the street, Thinking of Appropriate Rants...

Sometimes I want to rant like a college sophomore, cross-legged, tumbling out a Nietzsche here, a Chomsky there. "Don't you get it, man," I'd say to those assembled, "Don't you understand the freeing nature of nihilism? Stop using the man's language. You're only oppressing yourself while the political process just sweeps more money into power."

It's not that those things aren't true even within the parody. But somehow discussions at that level both over-reach and under-reach at the same time. Theory goes too far when we want a practical solution that gets at our current -- and real -- level of dis-satisfaction of the current political winds. Thus, a near full six years into the Obama administration and two truths emerge: A redesign of the system to pull some of the goodies away from the wealthy just didn't happen, and, two, the backlash to a black, moderate-to-conservative Democrat is more nasty and nauseating than anyone foresaw. But practical solutions come up short when our methods of describing our dilemma come boxed in with so much discourse left outside. The lines are too narrow. We can't adequately describe the problem -- or get a solution -- when our political debate narrows itself to vapid discourse that barely tilts left or right of center.

Now, dissecting of the mid-term losses by Democrats today involve both the former (bad campaign, poor strategy) and the latter (lack of appeal to voters outside the regular messages, poor use of over-arching themes that capture ideological truths like income inequality). Neither is right or wrong. The truth is that a practical politics is possible within a theoretical and -- yes, radical -- framework. The trick is simple and difficult. We need candidates who bring a philosophy that encompasses the known truths -- wealth inequality, facts on foreign policy that come attached to human rights and dignity, and an awareness of how humans are limited by the resources around us. We need an understanding that the wealth of our planet can be shared without the idea of winners and losers. All of this can be implemented within the campaign framework if candidates come at an election with truth and courage. Our consultant-election complex tends to lean toward swipes and counter-swipes that leave us afraid of our own values. And if Democrats (or another, progressive form of Democrats) can just believe that what they have to say matters, the strategy will work itself out.

More later....