Wednesday, February 23, 2011

"People's Court"? Sounds kinda communist if you ask me...

Nuanced views are what we're supposed to strive for right? Nothing should be clear-cut. Are the workers right in Wisconsin, or the Governor? Is a non-violent revolution in Egypt a good or a bad thing? Is the end of what's-his-fucking-name's reign in Libya awesome? Or not?

I struggle with this stuff. I was raised pro-union. My Mom was president of her teamsters local. My best friend's dad was a union rep for AAFSCME and fought for the rights of public workers in the state of Minnesota. My dad had a beard in the early 60's. I'm a dues paying teamster myself. But I'm also on the negotiations committee for my local schoolboard and have to negotiate a contract with a bunch of union teachers every 2 years. Is there an answer to Wisconsin's problems? No. Unions don't fix everything and unions don't ruin everything. They're just supposed to address SOME needs. That, I think is a nuanced view. I think the governor of Wisconsin is a fool to try and destroy public unions. I think "fair-share" membership in unions is an idea whose time has passed.

Why is humanity so hamstrung by the "US vs. Them" mentality. To be right, someone else does not have to be wrong.

Read the comments on any news site's coverage of the recent political upheavals. Apparently Egypt will be free and awesome or sink into an Iran-like era of radicalism. Only. The leaving of Quaddafyi (I think I made that spelling up) will be the greatest blow ever struck in the name of Democracy or it will mean more bloodshed and anti-Americanism (a rather selfish perspective).

This is, of course, not a new problem. And I don't have any answers. I just wanna feel like I'm not supposed to get angry every time I open my eyes a little farther. Maybe I should blame Twitter. I'm pretty sure Gadhafi does.

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