August 10, 2007

A Tinge of Orange

Oh, and a lot of stock brokers used to be broke
A lot of really straight people used to do coke
Oh, and a lot of hip-hoppers used to like rock and roll

But as a matter of fact
We're all doing fine
And I'll just sit and relax
While you're all changing your minds
And I'll just be over here
So just leave me the fuck alone
How 'bout that, yeah
Gisli, How About That? (2004)¹

For those that do not know me outside of my manifestation of rohitsrealm.com blogger—and cynic extraordinaire—it might seem natural to assume that since I attended the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!), an institution long associated with dirty, unkempt, high-as-a-kite hippies, pinko Commies, God-less lib'ruls, and any number of social ails imported directly from France, that my personal politics likely conform part and parcel with that of a stereotypical Berkeley graduate. And while I certainly will not deny that I am generally receptive to progressive social causes, economic issues are an entirely different story. In that realm, I differ quite significantly from many of my comrades at Berkeley, as I am guided not by the four years I spent at Cal, but by the 12 or so years I spent behind the infamous Orange Curtain, i.e., in Orange County, Calif.

As a general rule, my politics are quite consistent with those of most well-educated, well-to-do young urban professionals of upper middle class backgrounds (i.e., the people with whom I mostly associate): I don't care who screws whom, how they do it, or why they choose to; I believe in free markets and the benefits (and inevitability) of globalization; and in general, I prefer less governmental intervention to more, if only because I do not trust others to make decisions for me that I would rather make myself. Without a doubt, I am an unequivocal Quadrant 3 dweller on the Political Compass (that's the bottom-left one, morons). Of course, in traditional political science discourse, this philosophy has a name: libertarianism.

Now, last month, Jon, a fellow defector from behind the Orange Curtain, wrote about the appeal of libertarianism, concluding that though as a political philosophy it was quite sexy, it lacked completeness required for him to adopt it. I would add that, for myself, the general nutbaggery and pseudo-Anarchism of (relatively) mainstream proponents of the cause (see, e.g., Irwin Schiff, who maintains federal income tax is voluntary, the 16^th Amendment and numerous court rulings notwithstanding) makes it difficult to credibly support it.

However, if one dismisses libertarianism proper (as I have), one is left with a hodgepodge of political hacks touted by the two major political parties, which I would argue are both simultaneously (and synchronously) moving in the exact opposite direction of my personal political views (see, e.g., the compass of candidates for 2008). Whereas I believe in freedom of markets, almost all the candidates in today's field are touting their willingness to return to Smoot-Hawley; worse, whereas I would prefer less tyranny of the minority from religious fundamentalists, each commanding their own brand of sanctimony, hypocrisy, and homophobia, candidates left and right are besides themselves to show how they might further dismantle barriers between Church and State (lest another hurricane devastate America for tolerating the gays).

Faced with the prospect of yet another election with no candidate to get excited about whatsoever (if there was to be one, it would be Barack Obama, as I wrote earlier, but in reading his second book, my excitement has cooled significantly), I once again find myself debating whether voting is even a civic responsibility worth keeping up with given the fact that I will inevitably have to contradict my own beliefs in choosing a candidate. Alas, I am a pragmatist, however, and will sooner plug my nose and pick the least bad candidate than risk the introduction of someone truly detestable into power—but that does not mean I'll be happy about it. A vote for status quo, given the status we hope to quo, can hardly be considered a vote at all.

¹ See, e.g., Gisli on BBC. Thanks P-Diddy for the introduction to this awesome album.