Pearl Jam and off he goes...

Tuesday the new Pearl Jam CD came out, and it rocks. It is sad, but hopeful. There is a lot of music devoted to the American victims of war and their families. At times it is very sad, but every song seems to add a glimmer of hope. It is also very rock and roll which is sweet. Right now my 2 favorite songs are Severed hand, and Come back. I really like the lyrics and quite a few songs lend themselves to wondering what Eddie thinks of God these days. All in all I really dig it, but then again I dig them all. I'm not objective. They are the best band of my lifetime.

So my pal, newbs has prompted me to think about politics for a minute so here comes some reflection. By the way his blog is irish-salsa.blogspot.com, you should check it out. He is a Republican, and aspiring politician. I really like to hear his thoughts on matters of public policy and government and what not. Nevertheless something I have thought about a lot over the last few years is what I think is a cancer in American politics--partisanism(pardon me if this is not a real word, it fits). GWashington in his farewell address after his second term as president warned of three things, one of which was the danger of political parties. We live in that reality. It bothers me how so many intelligent people can blindly or thoughtfully agree with any political party down the line. Furthermore it is particularly vexing how someone of faith can do so consistently. It seems to me that almost every political party out there does things well and poorly. Therefore I am perturbed by people who have chosen to give their unceasing loyalty to a party rather than ideas or the like. Occaisionly I overhear my roomate listening to a political talk radio station and the way this one DJ relentlessly attacks the "left." I am not saying that some of his ideas aren't valid and warranted, however he does this same gig everytime I hear him. It is never a show about issues inasmuch as it seems to be about his parties opinions on issues and why they are right. The real danger with party loyalty to me is the way it limits you from being able to think as objectively as you can about a given topic. I know being objective alone is really not possible because we are all slaves to the conventions that shaped us, but nevertheless I think far too many people agree with one party's stance on "a" issue so that instantly translates into the credibility of their stance on another--therefore we all choose not to think but merely agree and champion a party rather than work to figure out what we should understand about a given issue.

This is beginning to sound like a bit of a tirade from someone who has been out of the "political loop" for quite some time, so I will attempt to reign it in. I am simply writing this to say that I think people should really make sure they are thinking for themselves about things. I think our world(namely, 21st century, middle class, America)is set up to allow us to live our lives without thinking of things of consequence ever. You can spend hours in front of a television without ever really ebing entertained, you can spend tons of money on material and never be satisfied. You can watch the news that tells it the way you want to hear, or read the paper, or listen to the friends that agree with you. All the while I think we conciously, or unconciously let our minds be lulled into a slumber and allow others to think for us. This is a crime, we are all to precious for that. There is no objective news--liberal or conservative. There is no objective history--it is either told by winners, losers, or bystanders(and they were for a reason). Nevertheless the weight is on all of us to seek out truth and let it form our opinions. I think to be free we must think for ourselves, if we do not we bend the knee to the tyranny of ignorance or sloth. BHarper says, "You gotta fight, fight, fight, for your mind, mind, mind." I agree. I hope this does not sound as harsh as it felt written. My intent is not to change any minds but rather to encourage every mind.