by Avatar » Wed Nov 05, 2008 3:47 pm
Nice thread guys, generally polite, generally interesting.
Of course I don't have a crystal ball, I can't predict the future. We even argue over changes within Sloth, and I'm sure a lot of us have been wrong even about this game that we like so much. Sometimes it seems like a new change will have incredibly terrible effects on Sloth, but then after a while we get used to it and have trouble imaging Sloth without the change. The biggest I can think of was the mini-ticks and constant regeneration. There was a lot of negativity and uncertainty about the change, but I think we can all agree now that the game is better with those than without.
No, I realize I can't predict the future. I realize that you all can't predict the future. That's why I think it's silly to speak in terms of absolutes when we talk about politics. It's sounds ridiculous to me, when someone says that Obama will be the worst president ever. Really? Is that a crystal ball in your pocket, or are you just happy to see McCain?
I was raised in Indiana, I was raised to be a Republican. This year I supported Obama. I wasn't even tempted by the Republican party. I understand which issues are important to me, and decided based on those issues. I don't want to argue specific issues, but I hope you believe that I did research to educate myself on those issues.
My point today is that we should take care when tossing labels and assigning people to specific groups.
It's clear that religious conservatives have held a lot of power in the Republican party over the last 10 years. It also seems clear that this group has not supported the ideals that the Republican party used to represent (fiscal responsibility, state rights, limited federal government, etc) though they have supported (to an extreme) a free-market economy. I think this is why the Republicans lost this election. A lot of us seem to support the old platform of the Republican party, but not the current set of people running the party. The current set of Republicans seem to think in extremes, even with the free market position. I think it is clear now that our financial markets cannot operate without some higher amount of regulation.
I used to consider myself religious, but I never felt a need to enforce my beliefs on other people. I can be happy without hindering other people's lives. It seems to me that religious conservatives can't do that, that they can't be happy without enforcing their beliefs on others. If I have a choice, I won't support that subset of the Republican party gaining more political power in the US.