Out of step with the prevailing view?

Just what is wisdom?


It is hard to be out of step, coming down on what feels like the wrong side of issue after issue in my previous blogposts (to which I have linked in each bullet).

Exploring the conventional wisdom on why it is thought to be the wrong side is the subject of this post.

• Seeing Congress as a potentially positive force for change: With Senators and Members of the House needing to spend so much time raising campaign funds (mostly from special interests to whom they are then beholden), they do not have time to write legislation, serve on important committees, or stay in touch with what their local constituency needs. Most of them have "safe" seats because of re-districting.
• Favoring former President Clinton's New Democrat Third Way ideas: Clinton's Third Way has been discredited because of his impeachment. Free trade has hurt United States workers. His 8 years did not produce any real reform, just small change around the edges. He was weak on foreign policy. His Third Way is too "touchy-feely," all charm and no substance.
• Being Just Left of Center along the political spectrum: The only way for Democrats to differentiate themselves from Republicans is to get back to their most Liberal roots. Centrists don't really stand for anything; they are boring.
• Working to find common ground with opposing views: Bloggers have to hold very strong positions in order to differentiate themselves. Rants get noticed. A good argument gets the juices going. Conflict is healthy for the body politic.
• Having nostalgia for the Kennedy inspirational years: Get over it; they are almost all gone. Besides the times have changed; the sixties were awful anyway. Those were never the good old days. You must keep up with today.
• Worrying about poverty and hunger: We can no longer afford a welfare state. We are the richest nation in the world. The rising tide has floated all boats. Single mothers are to blame; if everybody would just get married there wouldn't be a problem.
• Giving credence to what is in mainstream media: The concentration of ownership into just a few stratified companies means that corporate interests trump the interests of journalism. All reporters do, anyway, is just report the two sides in a conflict. There is not enough money for investigative journalism. Public trust of the media is at an all time low.