Apparently a year has gone by since American Voyages has come into existence, and the thought only really occurred to me because we had our first snow of the year here in southeastern Michigan, the same thing last year being the inspiration for the blog. In this time, the focus of the blog has shifted a bit from the natural world to a bit more history and politics than I had intended to cover, but the best intellectual constructs in human culture are usually the result of organic development. History and geography, of course, are very much interrelated. While people have migrated, fought wars, and developed cultures over ideas, more often than not they settled, sued for peace, and changed cultures because of "background" things like geology, zoology, and botany. Yes, the Puritans came to New England because they wanted religious freedom, but they really showed up there because the New World really was new. Our continent contained, and contains, many unique wonders that made them consider settlement here. I firmly believe that our shared drive as humans, despite cultural differences, is a desire for exploration and growth. This blog is, and will remain, dedicated to this thrill of discovery regarding our new world that is still new after 500 years.
That said, I still get the odd question over e-mail, most of which get tossed my way when I say something provocative about history and politics. Here's one:
Q: Just where do you stand politically? I could take your ideas a bit better if I knew where they were coming from.
A: Everyone has a bias when coming to a conclusion about something. While objective truth does indeed exist, we also have to remember that we view it through an imperfect lens of human experience. When we debate politics and culture, it would be wise to remember this, and not just label the "other side" as stupid or responsible for bringing about the apocalypse. In the wake of the recent American election, we are seeing this in spades from every camp out there. In some ways, this is good. Such camps are a sign that democracy is functioning as it should, and that free development of ideas and attempts at self and societal improvements are flowing around without the need for tyrannical oversight. We have a free society in the United States, Canada, and even, despite what everyone might think, Mexico. On the other hand... "If we do not hang together, we shall all hang separately. " Benjamin Franklin said that when he noticed that the other founding fathers were being diverse to the point of polarization.
Anyway, where is my camp?
My camp is anywhere where all life, human or otherwise, is properly respected. My camp is where individuals have the right to self-determination inasmuch as it does not negatively impact the lives of others in the same regard. You can pretty much guess where I stand on a lot of issues from those two statements, but if I need to be more specific, I am not best labeled as either conservative or liberal. Being a Canadian, I could not vote last week, but I would have been hard pressed to favor either presidential candidate. Both have skewed ideas about what the above statements mean, and exist largely to curry favor with private interest groups or their own agendas.
I do find the present political climate hopeful though; now that Mr. Obama can no longer run again for president (term limits are a very, very good thing), both he and his opposition can more freely find the common ground they need to find to keep us walking in the right direction. As a result, I am very interested and following very closely the current path of John Boehner. He and the president, as respective men of repute and importance in their parties, have the chance to do remarkable things in American politics. Likewise, in my home state of Michigan, I wish I could somehow merge the drives and agendas of the current governor, Rick Snyder, with those of the former, Jennifer Granholm. The best of both of these leaders have been very good things for Michigan, in my opinion far outweighing the worst of them. In Canada, I am finding growing respect for Mr. Harper, while I am positively giddy about the prospect of a Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, because if he is even half the man his father was, he will rank among the best world leaders we have ever had. In Mexico, well, let's just say I hope that the PRI learns to grow up, and that no one is making deals with the cartels. Really, I just hope we can stop buying drugs here north of the border, because brother is it ever screwing with things south of it.
In short, I am hopeful for the future. I truly believe that we have a beautiful continent full of beautiful people, and I don't give a damn whether they say si, yes, or oui to what I think. I prefer being able to do all three!
Bring on the new day!
No comments:
Post a Comment