The Sunroom Chronicles, Part I

I have been married to my wife for over 50 years now.  She and I are both life-long conservatives.  I have always been fascinated by politics and have followed them rather closely; she has only been attracted to politics in her later years.  Over the last dozen years or so, I have migrated from Republican over to Independent and she remains a MAGA Republican.  She is not a “Let’s burn it down!” MAGA Republican; she is more of an “I am sick and tired of this crazy shit!” MAGA Republican. 

 

She sees Donald Trump as a flawed human, but is very forgiving of those flaws for the sake of him being the only realistic option for her MAGA agenda.  On the other hand, I fall into the category where I am pretty much completely on board with Trump’s policies, but would prefer a more humble and conventional leader to marshal their advance.  The arena where our political discussions take place is the small sunroom in our home and the time of battle is typically in the morning over coffee.  I do not believe I have had much luck moderating her political beliefs and in turn, I think she has a good deal of influence on me when considering the outrages of America’s liberal element…otherwise known as the Democrat Party.  The content of these discussions color my posts online and have thus far been largely unattributed.  In the future, I will be posting some pieces that center mainly on these discussions and will be calling them the Sunroom Chronicles.  I wonder how many similar discussions are taking place all across our great nation.

 

To me, the fundamental problem with our country’s political state is the severe polarization that is occurring all across America…in every single aspect of our lives, our culture, and our society.  For several years now, I have been comfortable in the assumption that about 35 percent of our nation was hardcore Republican, 35 percent was hardcore Democrat, and about 30 percent was independent (small “I”).  I now believe that the red and blue battle for the political control of our country has intensified to the point where those percentages are closer to 40/40/20.  The reds are getting redder and the blues are getting bluer.  The purples are disappearing.  Not only are the political agendas hardening, they are becoming less forgiving and far less tolerant.  This is the great political divide…the great wall…in our political system that is preventing our elected leaders from working together in a civil, effective, and efficient fashion.  It is keeping our government from functioning and has brought us to this political stalemate we now face…a partisan game of chicken.  Both sides seem oblivious to the fact that one of the two possibilities in the game of chicken is mutual and total destruction.

 

Now I have stated many times in my posts that there are worthy goals and pursuits on both sides of the political aisle and I remain convinced of that idea.  Democrats and Republicans both have convictions and even though they might be opposing, they are not necessarily mutually-exclusive.  They are capable of co-existing in our system of government…if a middle-ground of reason and compromise can be reached.  Unfortunately, in today’s climate, that is a reach too far.

 

It strikes me that when we consider the percentage breakdown (40/40/20) that I mentioned earlier, the 20 in the middle combined with the small fringe (moderate) elements on either side of 20 are the people who actually decide who serves in Washington, DC all the way down to our city and county governments.  They are the ones who truly are the “swing votes” in our electoral system.  While I see the 40 percents growing larger at the expense of the 20, my wife sees the 20 and the fringe of the 40s as growing more impatient and frustrated with the outrageous agenda of the liberal Democrats.  I see the polarization intensifying; she sees the liberal extremes reaching a breaking point.  She just might be right; I sure hope so.  I fear she is not.

 

I say “But look at Chicago, look at Wisconsin, look at Austin…”  If people are so fed up with liberal leadership, why do they keep electing liberals?  She says “Look at Virginia, look at Florida…”   She sees the purple states turning red, while I see the purple states simply disappearing altogether.  I say to her “If there is so much outrage, then how did Biden get elected and the Democrats retain Senate control?”  She replies “But they STOLE it!”  And herein lays the crux of the issue.  Which is true?  Is the outrage of the conservative/moderate elements of America’s electorate reaching a boiling point and are they ready to change directions with their voting habits?  Or…are conservatives simply transferring their own frustrations over to the moderate elements of the 20 percent middle and the fringe of the 40 percent Democrat?  I would like to think she is right and a realization is settling in on that group that recognizes the insanity of the extreme leftists that effectively control the Democrat Party.  But when you tally up the scores of the ongoing political contests across the country, I see at best a stalemate between the two camps and a hardening of their political agendas.  She seeks political domination as the only hope; I seek political compromise and reason for co-existence; and what we are actually witnessing lends no hope for resolution of either premise.

 

I think that both national parties have as their ultimate goal the assumption of complete control, be it local or national, of the governmental process.  They want the legislative branch to generate their vision of the law, they want the judicial branch to enforce their ideology, and they want the executive branch to lead their political charge.  Historically, and perhaps fortunately, that goal is seldom realized by either party.  The few times that it has been, the power is held only briefly.  It seems that once a party assumes domination of government, the voters eventually realize that perhaps a bit of democracy is not a bad idea after all.  In a visual sense, each party is struggling to climb up a steep slope of the political process to the summit where total control lies.  On the way up the hill, they will promise anything and everything to aid their ascension; but upon reaching the top…all the assurances and intentions are forgotten and the hubris of complete power begins its corrupting influence. 

 

What we seem to be witnessing today is a newfound belief in both political parties that the goal of reaching the top of that hill is somehow more attainable than it used to be.  Their quest and zeal for total political domination is more focused and they have discounted the harsh realities that make that goal so insurmountable and improbable.  They have shed all semblances of principle, ethics, and civility for the sake of their climb up that political mountain.  In their eyes, the goal of victory is sufficiently worthy of forsaking all that is necessary to obtain it.  They give little thought to the historical facts that reveal the dangers of gaining that complete control.  While climbing up the mountain, talk is cheap and the complexities of actually following through on political rhetoric are given little consideration.  That can be put off until tomorrow.  Why permit reality to intrude upon ambition?

 

I am 70 years old and ever since I can remember, the state of California has always been considered the forerunner for America.  It seems that California was at the front tip of the curve while the rest of the nation was back towards the crest.  If we wanted to see the future, we just needed to glance at the Golden State and prepare for those trends to show up in our neighborhoods before too long.  If that premise is valid, then perhaps we are on the cusp of reconciling a portion of our national political dilemma. 

 

There are many areas of our country that are dominated and controlled by liberal governance.  New York City, Chicago, and Madison are enclaves of liberal thought and control.  But perhaps there is no greater incidence of total liberal political domination than what we find in California today.  For all intents and purposes, the term “Republican” is irrelevant in California.  The liberal Democrats have controlled that state for years now and have solidified their governmental control to the maximum.  It can be reasonably stated that in the case of California politics, the Democrat Party has reached the summit of the mountain and have set up permanent camp.

 

But now that the summit has been conquered and camp has been established, the true tests of liberal policies in California are playing out in real time.  The time of making promises is past and the time of deliverance has arrived.  Open border assimilation into culture and society, defunding police and implementing “criminal reform” policies, the proliferation of homelessness and crime, the underlying corruption and enrichment of emboldened elected officials, the actual financial costs of unrealistic “green” initiatives, the flood of residents leaving the state due to the consequences of radical liberal initiatives….all of these things are impacting the residents of California in a very real sense.  Chickens are coming home to roost. 

 

On their way up the hill, California’s liberal Democrats have long promised reparations.  Now that they have arrived at the top, they are facing the expectation of promises made/promise kept.   The cold, hard facts of reality are making it clear that much of the rhetoric that enabled them to conquer the mountain was simply not reasonable or realistic.  No matter what liberals might think, the reach of government is limited and the resources available to fund political agendas can only go so far.  At some point, taxpayers can bleed no more.

 

Are we seeing the residents of California reaching a realization that many liberal ideals are simply impossible to achieve and consist of little more than hopes, dreams, rainbows, and unicorns?  Has California reached a point, in advance of the balance of America, where they are now prepared to make the hard choice of living with both liberal and conservative elements in their politics, their culture, and their society?  I don’t know.  Chicago has not with its new Mayor.  Wisconsin has not with its new State Supreme Court Justice.  New York City has not with its New York County District Attorney.  America did not in its last general election.  For some time now, I have been looking for that moment to occur and have yet to spot it.  Perhaps it simply does not exist.  And if that is true, then one has to wonder…“Where does it all lead to and how does it end?”

 

I would like to think I am a reasonable and logical person.  I realize that even though I strive to find a middle ground in the political sense, I clearly lean towards the conservative side of the aisle.  I acknowledge and accept my bias.  But I cannot help but think that in their battle to reach the top of the political mountain I have been discussing, there is a fundamental difference between today’s conservatives and liberals.  I remain convinced that both sides have sincere agendas and that each contains some worthy elements and ideals.  I also recognize that each camp has flaws and raw political ambitions that lead to corruption and abuses of power.   But here is what I see as the critical difference between modern day liberalism and conservatism…

 

Conservatives want to reach the top of that hill just as badly as liberals do.  They want to achieve total political domination that enables them to freely implement their ideological agenda.  But part of their agenda is the ideal of “live and let live”.  Within their policy catalog is the chapter that contemplates and provides for dissenting opinions and ideas.  They want to preserve the rights and liberties that exist within our Constitution; and they understand that different people may choose to live differently.  And that is acceptable…as long as they don’t infringe on everyone else who may disagree with their philosophy.

 

On the other hand, liberals appear to have a different goal upon achieving that camp at the top of the hill.  They eschew the “live and let live” doctrine for one that is better described as “live my way or else”.   Today’s liberal philosophy requires a total embrace of limitless tolerance for all things, both public and private; excepting of course…dissent.  You WILL toe the liberal line…or you WILL be ostracized, ridiculed, excluded, marginalized, and perhaps even eliminated altogether.  To me, the problematic element of this philosophy is not so much the policies involved; I understand and accept the freedom of people to live according to their beliefs whether I agree with them or not.  There is certainly room in the liberal world of government for a person to have a good and fulfilling life…if you are a liberal.  But the requirement that I must, as a conservative, surrender all of my personal beliefs and principles to be part of the collective…the citizenry of this nation…is simply a bridge too far for me to cross. 

 

I cling to the notion that this nation was founded upon the principles of individual freedom and liberty and no party, Democrat or Republican, should have the power to take away those rights that were pledged to me by our Constitution.  While placing increased emphasis on some, today’s conservatives accept all of those rights and the choices that go with them.  Today’s liberals want to cherry-pick some of those rights and prevent some folks from exercising others.  Indoctrination is anathema to the fundamental principles that founded this nation and indoctrination has become part and parcel of today’s liberal philosophy.  The plain fact is that today’s Democrat Party is controlled by a liberal element that embraces this philosophy.  It is now pursuing the summit of that national political mountain.  If it achieves its goal, will the results be the same as what we have witnessed from the California Democrat’s successful trek up their state political mountain? 

 

If that is true and the next two years of the Biden Administration plays out like the first two years, then we are going to witness California redux on a national scale.  We are…perhaps…in a true struggle for the very soul of our nation.  There are a lot of people in America who will not accept many of the principles inherent in today’s liberal philosophy and they will not allow themselves to be indoctrinated into those beliefs.  Tolerance has its limits.  When tolerance reaches the point where personal convictions must be surrendered, then tolerance is no longer acceptable.  If the liberal element, through the Democrat Party, reaches the mountain top…there will be a reckoning in this country.  I don’t think anyone has an accurate understanding of how that reckoning will play out, but there is little hope that it will be civil, reasonable, and without severe collateral damage. 

 

I believe the best hope for America is that neither national party reaches that summit and makes camp.  And if they do, that their stay at the top is very brief and they have little opportunity to take full advantage of their temporary position.  It is my fervent hope that the liberal elements in our country that are running unbridled through our government, culture, and society will topple from their cliffs of power and influence before they ever reach the top of that mountain.  We need to get back to the point where the goal of either party is not the top of the mountain where complete control and domination is possible…but rather some place short of the summit, where marginal control and influence is possible with meaningful input from the opposing party. 

 

Like any American who loves this country and is grateful for the opportunities they have received, I am heartsick to see what is going on across this home of ours.   Families and neighbors have been torn apart by the partisan venom flowing between our two national parties.  Looking ahead, it is hard to see a peaceful reconciliation occurring anytime soon.  We should all hope and pray for strong leadership to step up for both parties and somehow lead our nation back to where we were not that long ago.  

 

It is Easter and we must never forget….the true salvation of mankind lies with the living Christ, whose Father made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have forgiveness for our sins and hope for our futures. In His teachings we will find the true solution to the chaos that surrounds us.  Praise the Lord.