Why I’m a Democrat

It almost goes without saying that a black man in America, and for that matter black people around the world, by and large associate with the Democratic party though they are noticeably ignorant and only blindly subscribe to their policies. The simple truth of the matter is that if you really stop and think about it, blacks are much more attuned to the ideology of the Grand Old Party than to the Democratic or Libertarian stance. It was a Republican (Abraham Lincoln) that signed the Emancipation Proclamation (albeit under duress) formally abolishing slavery, Republicans support less taxes and less involvement in the day to day lives of citizens, and the laundry list goes on and on.

If blacks do indeed have the same ideals as Republicans then why do so many identify with Democrats? I believe a lot of it has to do with the GOP’s name. It sounds classist and exclusionary with a huge throwback to slavery and the Great House. All in all it kinda rubs you the wrong way. This alone couldn’t be the reason however (one would hope) and I’m sure each person could give their own story. I’m no exception.

Again, if the views of republicans line up almost purposefully with my own, then why do I trumpet my democratic status. It’s simple really; I’m a Democrat because Republicans are nonsensical and oxymoronic. If that comes off as a little too harsh then lets just say that at the very least they’re…convenient.

Their policies of less taxes and more independence come from the concept of “small government”. The idea being that citizens should not have the government interfering with there day to day lives, and should be granted certain inherent freedoms. This comes from the belief that the Free Market is a perfect, self correcting entity that will always work out for the economy’s and its citizen’s best interest. Now while there are many instances of the market healing from a scratch or a jolt, there’s zero evidence that this mantra holds true for gaping wounds. The Great Depression (1929) and The Greater Depression (2008) are both instances of the market failing horribly and in both instances the government (correctly) intervened. The idea that if left alone, the market will always (eventually) be in the right seems to be an unrealisable fantasy. None the less, this is what Republicans believe and while I disagree with it, that’s not what I have a problem with. My problem is that their idea of small government only extends as far as giving you freedoms that do not trample on their own moral judgement. The things that are personal and *should* be left to individual judgement are being governed by persons with a “I’m right, fall in line” mentality. If they believe that the government should stay out of our lives then they have no business legislating about issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Regardles of my own stance on those or any such issue, I don’t believe the impact on my own sense and sensibility gives me right or reason to impede on someone else’s decisions. In other words, stay out of their lives. Be a small government.

The moral right is highly subjective. Parents, friends, school, community and church have the voting majority in moulding your view of the world. It seems to me that Democrats realise this, and as such don’t impose their will in areas where shades of gray exist. When it doubt, let them work it out. When you start to govern with a view of not just managing the business of the country but also its moral fibre, then it’s easy to develop a school of thought that those who don’t agree with you are against you. And we’ve seen where that leads.

So I’m a Democrat because I differ morally with some beliefs of Republicans and the convenient way in which some issues require small government while others do not. My wish is that more (black) persons would pause for a minute and figure for themselves why they’re drawn to the party, though it might be too late to make sense from all the noise. With Obama in the White House, it’s pretty hard to think you need any reason beyond that.