Political Manifesto

It's easy for one political ideology to point out the mistakes and hypocrisies of the other — all the while ignoring its own. We see this all the time, ad nauseum. It is directly responsible for the insane, trench warfare of political rhetoric that we suffer from today, and the tearing apart of Western culture.
     Neither side listens to the arguments of the other except to capitalize on its weaknesses. Each represents special interests that have no concern for national unity or the well being of average citizens. Political tunnel-vision completely ruins our entire system. It deserves to be recognized as undemocratic and a threat to freedom.
     Let's look at the facts:
     Conservatives have some good ideas about government limits, religious freedom and family values.
     Liberals have good ideas about making our systems inclusive, protecting the environment, and compassion for one's neighbors.
     In their obsession for attacking each other, they fail to live up to their own ideals.
     Conservatives have built the largest government we've ever seen, while people still buy into their "small government" rhetoric. They have chipped away at our civil rights and defined family values in terms of politics and discrimination. They have damaged the autonomy of our three branches of government and tried to blur the separation of church and state that makes true democracy possible (check out governments that don't keep them separate). Family values are quickly set aside for corporate interests. Their idea of patriotism has nothing to do with a government "of, by and for the people," but of falling in line with one's leaders out of national pride, like any Imperialistic monarchy. Their crusade against taxes smacks of arrogant hypocrisy while propagating the largest deficit ever. Their lockstep mentality curtails free thought and creativity, and fails to hear the cries of those oppressed.
     When liberals represent certain groups and not others, they fail to include all Americans in their so-called inclusiveness, subversively adding to national division. Failing to provide moral leadership, they treat social problems through expensive government programs that treat only the symptoms and not the cause. Their attitudes toward businesses ignore how families depend upon businesses for their livelihood. They are so fearful of religious oppression that they consider sectarianism as the enemy. Their concern for minority rights borders on excluding them from what we have left of our national culture. Their biggest blunder is losing sight of the very things they claim they stand for while competing with their opposition. They feel they have all the answers, when fail to even hear the questions.
     Each extreme will say or do anything that benefits, not their cause, but their thirst for power. They don't even see how their tireless animosity produces only contention, failure and disappointing victories.
     To make it worse, they have convinced many of us that if we support one party, we cannot believe in any truth the opposition advocates.
     Both feel that they are taking the moral high ground, when in fact they suffer from the same short-sightedness.
     It is time that we question each party severely, and leave no quarter to hypocrisy or maliciousness. We must do this from the standpoint of our moral convictions, something they both lack, despite claims to the contrary.
     With this in mind, I present the following Political Manifesto for you to consider.

A Political Manifesto for Chivalry-Now

• I will apply my search for truth to political issues, and not allow any party or political leader to unduly influence my values or my vote.
  
• I will be critical of political strategies that tell me what to think in order to increase the power of a particular party.
  
• I will question what the media tells me, and be aware of their opportunistic, sensationalistic priorities that are ruining both politics and culture today.
  
• I will examine political statements for what they are not saying, and for what they are meant to steer our attention away from.
  
• I will reject clichés and political rhetoric that attempt to stop me from thinking beyond them, no matter how comfortable they feel.
  
• I will take responsibility for my own political choices, and not blindly follow those of my parents, friends or advocacy groups.
  
• I will support political leadership only so long as it represents what is good, and performs its duty honorably.
  
• I do not expect perfection from a leader, but will actively condemn hypocrisy, dishonesty, manipulation of the issues, nationalistic creeds that try to shape my opinions, and "patriotic" rhetoric that tells me to stop thinking and fall in line. Such oppressive tactics oppose everything that Western freedom and democracy is all about.
  
• I will write letters to the editor, send opinion to my representatives, and positively articulate my opinions — with a constant sense of courtesy and perseverance.

Freedom is never about who we follow, or which candidate we throw our hopes on. It's about what we decide to do for ourselves and for others.
     I, for one, listen carefully to what people have to say about the issues, and critically decide what appears to be true. So doing, I refuse to have my opinion shaped by anyone. There is no leader in this life, political, racial, religious, philosophical, or anything else, that supersedes my responsibility to think for myself. Chivalry-Now would be just another movement if it demanded anything less.
     Who are these authorities who wish to control us? People like anyone else, but with particular agendas that we cannot know for certain.
     Trust and loyalty are chivalric virtues, but they should never mean foolishly surrendering one's integrity for another.

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