Categories: uncategorized
Date: 07 November 2004 13:17:40
I realise that my self-imposed few days off deprived you of my sophisticated political commentary following this week's US presidential elections, though to be honest that was probably no bad thing. I'm basically a bit lost for words, but a poster called Timothy the Obscure posted this on Ship of Fools the other day and I have to say I haven't nodded my head in agreement to a post more for ages:
"I certainly agree that Democrats, and the left in general (to the extent one can characterize the post-Clinton Democrats as "left") have made a terrible mistake in allowing the right to act as if it held trademark rights on the language of morality. People tell pollsters they vote on the basis of "moral values" which seems to mean nothing more than "other people's sex lives." I vote on the basis of moral values too: the moral value of social and economic equality; the moral value of caring for the sick; the moral value of not bombing civilians (or anyone else if you can help it); the moral value of not allowing corporations to exploit and rob workers and communities; the moral value of leaving a livable planet for our grandchildren. These are in no way less serious "moral values" than the sexual virtues that conservatives make so much of (indeed, I consider them far more morally serious and substantive than personal chastity). All the liberals I know are liberals because they believe liberalism to be a morally superior philosophy, and for many of them, that conviction stems from religious belief (Christian or otherwise). We need to say that louder."
Now, I don't think that I'm a particularly raving liberal, and I do think that issues of personal sexuality are desperately important. Nevertheless, I pretty much agree with all of that and only wish I was that eloquent. My own reaction, in the immortal words of one of my favourite namesakes, was basically this:
Arse.