Post 1/Partisanship

I won’t bother with the tedium of an introductory blog post, explaining who I am, and why I’m writing. Obviously, I’m Alice, and I’m writing, because like everybody who has a blog, I want to make some sort of mark on the world, and the easiest way to do that is to commit my words to the never ending pit that is the internet and its memory banks.

I aim to offer up how world events appear to someone who is yet to fully enter the workforce, have to actually manage a mortgage, kids, marriage, and engage in all of the stuff that marks the transition from ‘young adult’ to ‘adult’...whatever that actually means. I am looking at the world which I (and all of the members of my generation) will one day inherit. And this is what I see.  

I see partisanship. When I say partisanship, I don’t simply mean the antagonism that exists between the two major political parties in Australia or America (and the tension that exists between parties on the left and right in parts of the world where there are more than two main political parties), but how it has trickled down to affect the way in which every day citizens interact with each other. I am the first to admit that I sit to the right of centre, and I’m proud of this. I honestly believe that a political party to the right has the policies that should deliver better results. I think that the left has some very valid points of view and occasionally I will see some legislation proposed or passed by the left that in my opinion, has merit. But on the whole, I am right of centre. What this doesn’t mean is that I am pro-life, or support regular culling of the poor, as some people on the left would like to paint me.

And this is where the thorny issue arises for me. Somewhere along the line we started to make partisanship a part of our lives. I have had my peers who are left-wing, sneer at me, call me a monster, and look at me as if I had just told them that I participate in violent sexual acts that are a part of a cult ritual. My personal favourite was when I asked a left-wing friend why his kind all look at me as though I kick a puppy when I tell them I vote liberal. His comment: “because through the policies that you support, you may as well kick that puppy”.

I admit, I have been guilty myself of the odd derogative comment against labor supporters, but that doesn't mean that I don't thoroughly enjoy discussing and debating politics with someone who doesn't share my political inclination. I will never tell someone that they are a worse person for the way they vote. I don’t appreciate the fact that amongst my age group, you sometimes have to admit that you are right wing, in the way that homosexuals used to have to admit to their sexuality fifty years ago – a bit shamefully, and only to the right people. I may not agree with the policies that you support, but I damn well don’t condone treating people as though they are worth less because of the political views they hold.

I’m weary of being viciously told that because I’m right of centre, I therefore support a side that is pro-life or hates homosexuals (the list goes on). Personally, I support the right for women to have an abortion, but I think that it should never be something that is casually done. I think that being gay is fantastic– but frankly, I’m more interested in who you are than with whom you sleep. Not all members of the right believe in those extremes, just like not all members of the left are like Julia Gillard, or Craig Thompson.

I don’t claim to know every single thing that goes on in politics, although I doubt that anybody does. I’m just calling it how I see it. Partisanship is ruining our political system because there is no cooperation any more. But it’s also seriously in danger of damaging our society. Am I the only one who is concerned by this?