Libertarian

I joked with my cousin about 4 years ago that in 5 years I'd either be a screaming left-wing liberal or a Libertarian-- which seems quite hyperbolic when it comes to the political spectrum but I think it proved prophetic. Having reached a point where I can no longer get behind the out-of-control spending of democrats that have our economy tanking, and getting personally tired of social security sucking up 10% of my pay that could be, instead, making me a millionaire by 65, I can no longer support democrats. However, I also reject the republican notions of controlling and legislating morality and limiting freedom of expression and privacy, and their naive and at times, racist immigration policies and rhetoric, I find myself falling squarely into the belief structure of main-line libertarians. (I don't care about gun-rights as much as they do, but as slam poet Michael Mlekodaj says, "a well armed lego population is the best defense against lego tyranny"-- check him out!)

Its an interesting epiphany when you come to the realization that your politics have changed without you really knowing it. Now I just have to decide how to vote when the only states actually electing libertarians are Idaho and Wyoming. :)

Please don't confuse Libertarians, incidentally, with the crazy tea-partiers. Some are, some aren't. The tea party immigration rhetoric makes me so angry I could crush rocks, they are too socially conservative for me as well as for many other libertarians.

Poem

I'm currently working on a poem called "Bomber" which contains the line "my heart is a suicide bomber." The poem is about love, which I never write about because my own experience of love is so different from the trite love poetry you so often hear or read. I think true love, contrary to the storybook endings and romances of Hollywood, is a cycle of violence and repair. If you're in a relationship with someone long enough, either you do them violence or they do you violence, and it requires repair to maintain the relationship.

On the other hand, some relationships have only the violence of neglect. I think sometimes neglected or stagnating relationships need a good prairie burn or forest fire to clear out all the junk that's accumulated beneath the trees and give them a chance to grow again.

I've seen both of these instances in my own marriage, my friendships, my family. My mom's cancer was the best thing that ever happened to my parents' marriage, in my opinion. It doesn't get any more violent than that, but there was some crap that needed clearing out.

In either case, true love requires pain, it requires a certain violence to stay alive.

If you want love that lasts, be ready for violence that burns.


Check out my new article on enoch.com called "The Problem of Pain" here

Slam video of the day-- this guy is AWESOME!

This blog...

Was named for a famous quote of Ernest Hemingway: "A happy thinking man is the rarest thing I know." Now, it comes as no surprise to those who are fans that Hemingway would say something so ultimately fatalistic. However, I hope that both my life and this blog will prove him wrong, that even in the midst of the American Nightmare, its still more fulfilling to think than not to, because by thinking and speaking truth into the world, we can change it.

This blog will chronicle my SLAM poetry work, my thoughts on education, politics, economics: generally my belief that in order to live the American dream, we have to re-invent it first. Follow my madness if you dare!