by Ken Hurley
Methinks he doth think too much. Methinks he doth wait too much too.
I have become good at waiting. It's not a skill. Everyone can wait. We're all waiting for what's next. I am still waiting to meet a politician who does not suffer from delusions of pander.
We wait for Ubers, buses, trains, planes, for food at restaurants, appointments at doctors, dentists, and lawyers. We wait to speak to customer service representatives, for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays to celebrate with family and friends. We wait for Golda to stop playing the bagpipes. We wait to purchase items on sale. We wait in line. We wait for responses to emails, text messages, or phone calls. We wait for injuries and illnesses to heal, for a proposal from a significant other, for a paycheck or benefits to arrive. We wait for spring, summer, fall, or winter, babies to be born, for family members to return home from military service. We wait for a greater understanding that "family values" also means families different from yours. We wait for the release of new electronic gadgets, software, or games. We wait for wars to end. We wait for flowers to bloom. We wait for the downbeat. We wait for election results. We wait for our thoughts. We wait for the next pitch, serve, goal, hike, penalty clock to end. We wait for balanced budgets. We wait for our lives to improve. We wait for the punchline. We wait for a better understanding of people antithetical to our worldview. We wait for the weather to change and the sun to rise.
We know time waits for no one.
Yet there are many things we can not wait for. We have to accept certain ideas for society to work well. Let's accept the idea that government is run by people and can be a powerful force for good or bad, depending upon the people within the government. Government should not be a fearful notion that is done to us. Since the beginning of American government, people have squabbled over the form, size, and type of government we should embrace.
Sometimes we wait for things that will never be. We wait for our ability to persuade those who call themselves conservatives to change their worldview. How many conservatives does it take to change a lightbulb? None. Conservatives are afraid of change even if it makes the world a brighter place.
Let's remember that conservatives have championed ideas that include: Slavery was necessary for a good economy, women must not have the right to vote, quality healthcare is a privilege not a right, the buggy whip industry must outlast the automobile industry, poll taxes are good to ensure only wealthy educated people can vote, people and dinosaurs coexisted, Creationism should be taught on par with Evolution in the public school science class, the Lord's Prayer must be recited every day in public schools, segregation is the way God intended people to live, redirecting funds from the public treasury to private religious schools is fair and reasonable, unregulated free markets benefit the wealthy, the "sanctity of life" is precious until you are born, and oil is more important than water. Immigration is only for your ancestors. Same-sex marriage is bad for all marriage. Ronald Reagan was the greatest President.
War profits are more important than peace austerity. Exclusiveness is better than inclusiveness.
Conservatives claim "fiscal responsibility," yet their actions prove differently. Conservatives worked to elect Trump, twice. Maybe thrice? Too many conservatives disavow culpability for the actions of the deadly, seditious, blood-raged mob on January 6, 2021. Conservatives overturned Roe v. Wade, made abortions illegal across state lines, signed a six-week abortion ban into law, ended concealed weapons permits, banned gender-affirming care for trans youth, enjoy drag races but despise drag shows, expanded "Don't say gay" laws, blocked African American studies, banned books, banned teaching Critical Race Theory, and prohibited vaccine mandates. Conservatives deny global climate change, seek to end food assistance programs,
are fond of saying, "guns don’t kill people - people kill people," oppose embryonic stem cell research, scoff at the Paris Agreement, seek to ban Tik Tok, insist that Santa Claus must be white, enjoy the "War on Christmas," "The War on Woke," "The War on Couch Potatoes," and despicably wear AR-15 pins in Congress as they actively work against meaningful gun reform legislation.
The list of ill-informed selfish me-isms regarding conservative thoughts and actions is regrettably long and seemingly endless.
Yet we wait for our actions to effect the social changes we seek. We wait for conservatives to change their mind and come to an agreement that being socially involved as we see it is good. We wait for conservatives to stop demonizing the word social.
We know we enjoy Social Security, Social Media, Social Networks, Social Studies, Social Services, Social Workers, Social Clubs. But beware of Social-ISM (cue Beethoven’s 5th). Conservatives enjoy their ability to be frightful.
We wait for our fears to end. We wait for the big lies of conservatives to end. We wait for a better understanding that we are a socioeconomic blended society that seeks to use the best from each and make it better. We wait for more people to learn the word "Social" originates in Latin, whose main forms are Socius and Socii, which translates to "allies." The term "social” refers to society and its organization relative to the interaction of people regarding their collective co-existence, which includes Golda and her bagpipes.
To be social is generally considered to be a good thing. For example, I remember fondly the days before social media when the joyful screams of feral children could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Ah, the good ol’ days when our unsupervised neighborhood rumpus offered a clamor in which mom and pop delighted, as long as the ruckus was outside. Even television public service announcements were needed to remind our parents they had children, "It's 10:00 pm. Do you know where your children are?"
We wait for an acceptable understanding that liberalism embraces issues such as same-sex marriage, transgender rights, reproductive and other women's rights, voting rights for all adult citizens, civil rights, environmental justice, universal healthcare, the abolition of capital punishment, and the right to a respectable standard of living.
Liberals enacted Social Security, which has provided generations of Americans retirement benefits, and minimized poverty among the elderly. Conservatives seek to privatize or dismantle Social Security.
Let's remember that conservatives fought against, and liberals fought for, the Interstate Highway System first proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, yet built by Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Interstate was a huge government project responsible for tremendous economic growth, and prosperity.
Liberals enacted the GI Bill, which enabled millions of Americans to get college educations.
Liberals championed labor laws, which ended child labor and crowded deadly sweatshops, provided a forty-hour work week, the right of employees to collectively bargain, overtime pay, and workplace safety.
Liberals recognize that foreign aid can be good, and enacted the Marshall Plan which helped rebuild Europe after WWII.
Liberals enacted environmental laws, which helped clean our rivers and air. Conservatives seek to end the Environmental Protection Agency.
Liberals enacted food safety laws, which help consumers know the food we buy is safe to eat.
Liberals recognize that healthcare should be a universal right, and enacted Medicare and Medicaid despite the cries of socialism from conservatives.
It was John F. Kennedy who challenged our space program to go to the moon, which provided lots of ancillary benefits for the people.
It was also JFK who established one of America's greatest exports - the Peace Corps, which inspired thousands of Americans to ask what they could do for their country.
It was Barack Obama who worked toward universal healthcare by enacting the Affordable Healthcare Act, despite strong opposition from conservatives and more cries of socialism.
Liberal ideals guided the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Americans who believe in freedom of opportunity can take inspiration from the life-and-death struggles of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Conservatives fought against civil rights.
Liberals fought for a universal public education system in which public schools are where every student, regardless of economic background, can be taught basic skills, knowledge, and citizenship. Conservatives fight against our public school system and have weakened it greatly despite state constitutions.
Liberals created the National Weather Service, Family Medical Leave, and National Public Radio. Public Broadcasting is how millions of children learned from Sesame Street, Mister Rogers, and more. Millions of adults continue to learn from shows like Nova and Frontline.
Liberals created product labeling and truth-in-advertising laws. Liberal legislation provided for improved public health, where government-funded water and sewage systems help ensure clean water and proper waste disposal. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control play an important part in maintaining national health and preventing epidemics, through research and vaccination programs, thanks to the liberals.
Liberals seek to remove the AR-15 and other similar weapons from easy public access.
Liberals are known to be progressive advocates of social justice and equality, and open to change. Conservatives are known to be regressive, believe in preserving the status quo, and take a cautious, if not reactionary approach to social, cultural, and societal changes.
To be fair, both groups are politically active and participate in political campaigns and rallies. Both groups claim to care about the well-being of America. Both groups can have diverse opinions on various topics, depending on personal beliefs and experiences.
Liberals and conservatives tend to have different views on social issues such as immigration, gun rights, marriage equality, healthcare, women's rights, military spending, and religion. Liberals tend to favor government involvement when it comes to social issues, while conservatives claim to believe in less government involvement. Let's remember government is supposed to be by the people and for the people.
Have you ever known a liberal to be viewed as a Christian Nationalist? Have you known a conservative to be viewed as a Christian Nationalist?
Remember, it was the late Rev. Pat Robertson, an American media mogul, 700 Club founder, political commentator, presidential candidate, and Southern Baptist minister, who advocated a conservative Christian ideology, claiming that Americans’ immorality and sinfulness were the causes of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He also said that liberal Protestants embody “the spirit of the Antichrist” and that feminism drove women to witchcraft. He believed that his prayers could change the direction of hurricanes.
Conservatives are more likely to prioritize the military, and economic policies that help the aristocratic oligarchy with tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy and large corporations, and are a major contributor to the soaring national debt. While liberals make efforts to seek clarity, they're still capable of extreme judgments. Yet liberals tend to embrace science and cooperation, read books rather than ban them, respect others’ rights, focus more on the improvement of healthcare, education, civil rights, women's rights, police reform, affordable housing, and ways to effect a greater sense of world peace. Yet, each group looks at the other as the problem to be solved.
While we wait, let's wonder, when it comes to a reasonable understanding of how our governments should work best, if it is fair to say: conservatives are stingy, exclusive, and embrace a cataclysmic kakistocracy of inequality and prejudice that is founded upon obstruction, deception and lies, as told by ultracrepidarians; while liberals are generous and inclusive people who seek equity and equality, and struggle to remove prejudicial barriers and other obstacles that inhibit the pursuit of a meaningful life.
What are two things conservatives dislike? The way things are… and change.
Meanwhile, we think, we act, and we wait for conservatives.
Do you agree? Care to share your thoughts regarding good or bad things liberals and conservatives do? What are you waiting for? I invite your corrections, concerns, and well-wishes. kenhurley88@gmail.com
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