Hello, I'm M.G. [View all]

[M.G.]

Last edited Wed Oct 9, 2013, 10:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Hello everyone,

My name's M.G. and I reside in the Notheast.

Twenty years ago I was an active member of the College Republicans. In fact, conservative campus politics was both my main extracurricular activity and my primary social outlet. I was a moderate Republican at the last historical moment when they had real say in the party. (I was a big supporter of Jack Kemp, and Governor William Weld of Massachussets was a personal hero.) That said, a lot of what I stood for was still pretty bad. I was passionately opposed to social spending and unions, and often grossly insensitive or downright confrontational on issues related to race and gender.

As I matured a bit it became clear that a fairly high percentage of my fellow young Republicans were, well, damaged. Not stupid, but generally either eaten by anger, spitefully bigoted against African-Americans or Gays, or gripped by a theocratic religious fundamentalism alien to me.

I began to look at my own motives for associating with this crowd and I eventually realized that I was literally seething with buried anger issues. What I believed were sincerely held political convictions turned out to be convenient poses for venting unresolved personal resentments. I was also lonely, neither a drinker nor good at socializing, and my political affiliations gave me the kind of bonding experience other students got from church or fraternal groups. Oddly enough, a lot of the accuracy of my self-analysis came from cannabis use (which I honestly haven't done in years), which gave me just enough distance from ordinary consciousness to honestly see how my politics were a product of neurosis.

By my late 20's I had become a proud Democrat and never looked back! Yes, the party is flawed, weak, at times captive to lobby interests, and occasionally corrupt. What else is new? The GOP are a bunch of angry neurotics and backwards fundamentalists; the Democrats are a flawed political machine which aspires to decency and occasionally reaches greatness. I know which I prefer.

I've been perusing this site since Bush Junior stole an election in plain sight, but I've finally decided to start posting. So happy to be here, and thanks for reading!