Clinton's speech changed my mind. How about yours?

Please post your experience if Clinton changed your mind.

I watched Bill Clinton give an incredibly good speech at the Democrat Convention last night, and it gave me pause. His masterful rebuttal of the standard conservative talking points was clear, insightful, logical, reasonable, humorous and respectful; and it expressed the higher perspective that I've been looking for.

For many years, the contempt I held for Clinton kept me from fully appreciating his extraordinary talent for clarifying complex issues. I'm not saying that he has changed my intentions in the voting booth, yet, but he certainly wiped away much of the smear on my windshield, so to speak. There is still a lot for me to reconsider before November, but I can do so now in a clearer light.

To say that I "drank the Kool-Aid" is distasteful to me, because it evokes images of the mass suicide of the Jim Jones tragedy, but I had fully embraced the conservative rhetoric. I hated the idea that our individual liberties are being insidiously subsumed by an overarching bureaucracy of lemmings that only grows larger and more unwieldy. My beliefs were couched in paranoia; that our lives are being manipulated toward a new world order, that privacy is disappearing, that our freedoms are being systematically and relentlessly suppressed. I still have those beliefs, but a veil has been drawn away that prevented me from seeing an alternative perspective.

I had a nostalgic yearning for the America that we grew up in, but the world changes. It can never again be what it once was, primarily because of the internet and our advanced communications technology. My fears of an Orwellian society will have to be set aside, or at least moderated by the hope that Americans simply won't allow such a draconian rule.

I've come to accept that a return to the American ideal of self-reliant individualism just isn't possible anymore. The younger generations are too ignorant and device-dependent to thrive without subsidization and support. A larger, more intrusive bureaucracy will be necessary to take care of them. This is what democrats do best.

So, I will try to disregard all the hype and hyperbole from both sides, and I will (probably) vote in accord with a philosophy of cooperation and compassion. Saying this provokes an involuntary flinch that reminds me of my choice for McCain over Obama four years ago, but maybe it's better to make choices from the heart rather than the head, particularly in this transitional age of the human race.

Then, I'll cross my fingers!

:-D

Tags: Democrat, Obama, Republican, Romney, conservative, harmony, liberal

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ritalin-Bunny on September 7, 2012 at 4:31am

You're describing a dystopian future, of which the foundations are being laid today. I'm of the opinion that it makes no difference who wins in an election. It's a big dog and pony show. Entertainment, distraction really.

I think the evolution of the democratic political system has been usurped by corporatism. All forms of tiered power sharing ( the systems that have historically governed and the evolved mass participation ones as well ) are excellent environments where the sociopath flourishes. The corporation is a sociopathic device, treated as an entity in modern Western society - with out the checks and balances that an individual is subjected to, and as such has now assumed supremacy over the masses.

We are in those waters now my friend. Here there be dragons.

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Permalink Reply by Gilfur Ashardi on September 7, 2012 at 8:35am

Indeed.

Thank you for your comment, R-B. Always insightful.

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Permalink Reply by Gilfur Ashardi on September 7, 2012 at 10:21am

Obama always gives good speeches, for what that's worth. He didn't say anything we hadn't heard before, though. It was Clinton's that shed new light for me.

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Permalink Reply by Níos Sine Dia on September 7, 2012 at 9:14pm

"Gilfur, I'm a registered Independent voting for Obama and thought it was a good move on his part to have Clinton speak."

Registering I, in my opinion, is foolish. Unless one lives in an open primary state, you are giving up one of your votes.

It is unAmerican that every state doesn't have open primaries.

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Permalink Reply by David J. Mcessey on September 7, 2012 at 7:28am

“There is no denying that Hitler and Stalin are alive today... they are waiting for us to forget, because this is what makes possible the resurrection of these two monsters.”

Simon Wiesenthal quote

“Technology without hatred can be a blessing. Technology with hatred is always a disaster.”

kallesan

Simon Wiesenthal quote

President Cliton Stated that there was an answer to our problems somewhere on the

planet. I am glad of what he is doing, and I back the President because I do not want

to see the REP's do a repeat

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Permalink Reply by Gilfur Ashardi on September 7, 2012 at 8:37am

Let us keep our eyes on the horizon, rather than directly in front, to beware of what may come.

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Permalink Reply by Angji on September 7, 2012 at 9:14am

I figured it is just des not matter.... Matter a fact I lost more respect for them man. He had to have Clitnon come and say come vote me his, pretty bullcrap speechs are not fooling anyone anymore. But it is either Romney the Devil I do not know or the Devil I do know Obama.

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Permalink Reply by Maris Hellfaerie (Maire) on September 7, 2012 at 9:19am

you still have time to remove that one typo up there that is really bad.

C L I N T O N, folks.

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Permalink Reply by Gilfur Ashardi on September 7, 2012 at 9:25am

:-)

You're a doll, Maire. You make me smile.

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Permalink Reply by Níos Sine Dia on September 7, 2012 at 3:38pm

"I figured it is just des not matter"

Obama wins, you get tax breaks. Could you use more money? If not you spend it, help the economy.

Romney wins, you pay $2000 a year more in taxes, rich folks keep more of their money. What does the 1% do with their money? Put it in over seas banks. Invest in foreign businesses.

Poor and middle class folks stimulate the economy with spending, saving, and investing locally.

Rich people take money out of our economy.