Look, the hyper-partisanship needs to end, on this we all agree. But the approach of No Labels is the same old dreary centrist dogma that if two sides are fighting then the answer must lie in the center  Well, no, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the radicals are right and the centrists are wrong, like with John Brown opposing slavery or Mandela fighting apartheid or the early protests against the Vietnam and Iraq wars.
No Labels just seems, well, mushy. Of course we should respect others, but that doesn’t really do much to end the very real political differences in the country. Plus, they continually wrap themselves in the flag of American Exceptionalism, saying how wonderful the US is, except for this blasted pickle of a situation we’ve gotten ourselves into, that is. Apparently their remedy is to be more cheerful, and to ponder how “The US must remain the world’s premier economic power”. Huh?
As for any genuine dissent, like questioning the financial system and the obvious and glaring corruption, there is precious little of that. Instead they propose a code of conduct for Congress. Good grief (and good luck with that.) They seem earnest and well-meaning but this is like Boy Scouts asking drug lords to be more polite.
Their slogan
We are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America.
So, we should forget our political beliefs because they are mere labels, then pick them back up again after we’ve sung Cumbaya and presumably saved the nation? The more I read that slogan the less sense it makes. Just what, precisely, is one supposed to do?
I always get a bit worried when people say “Do what is best for America”, what is America? Is it the all those corporations and big businesses, is it the environment of that country, or is it the ordinary people. Is this “best for America” at the expense of other people, other countries, other environments? We need to step out of this nationalistic mind set and start to think what is best for all the people of this planet, no one tiny little segment where we happen to live. “Best for America” to me rings much the same as “Germany over all” ” rule Britania” all all those other slogans that do nothing but divide people.
PATRIOTISM.
No, I shall not die for the fluttering flag,
if truth be known, ‘tis nothing but a multi-coloured rag
held aloft by some foolish hand
inciting worker and peasant to kill
on some green and wooded hill,
peasant and worker from some other land.
Nor shall I shed blood for the fluttering rag
that brings out fools to stand and brag
of brutal deeds painted grand,
deeds where rustic and craftsman lie so still
killed by my brothers’ misguided hand.
No allegiance have I for the Nation
this man made autocratic creation
that divides my brothers in a world so small,
binds us to a country’s cause, right or wrong,
bids us follow its drum, sing its song,
then sheds our blood in some border brawl.
No, I’ll be no slave to flag or nation,
have no ear for power oration,
though its iron heel is on my breast,
my back feels its leather thong,
at patriotism’s barracoon, I’ll be no guest.
Besides, nationalism can detract from solving problems at home, because outsiders get blamed instead, and from the “we’re so wonderful so we don’t really have problems at all” mindset.
Nationalism is a core to Fascism. Or Corporatism, as Mussolini defined it.
Then when do we ditch it??
What really pisses me off is here in Oregon we have for the past twenty years or so had the option to register as a No Party Affiliation voter – which doesn’t mean “independent” or “swing” or what the frak ever. It means we don’t belong to any political party, don’t identify with any one set platform, and don’t appreciate being pigeon-holed with a bunch of Tin Foil Clad Tea Baggers. This is not an attempt to reach out to we NPAs but rather a strategy to further marginalize us through make the “center” as extreme as the right or the left.
Again for the record, if I were to belong to a political party, identify with one set platform, and pigeon-holed with the tin foil clad, t would be as a Socialist. Talk about a worthless party.