In all of its superfluous mild manners and economically unstable glory, I like Mississippi. All the headstrong people fascinate me, and I’ve come to accept the fact I may always be here, reading of more and more homicides in my home in Jackson and probably wallowing in poverty before long. But after watching “Slumdog Millionaire” over Spring Break, how much can I really complain?
Another fact I have come to accept is almost everyone in this state is die-hard Republican. Something about this bothers me more than anything else. So many of us are followers of anyone who has a country accent like ours and sits on the right side of the aisle, especially in national politics. Perhaps the same kind of thing could be said about a blue state.
I often contemplate on and synthesize the convictions and rants of different people I talked to during and after the election campaign, and what I’ve found is very interesting. Among the most extreme views to which I gave ear were that Barack Obama is black and therefore shouldn’t run the country. As a matter of fact, if you’re black, you probably shouldn’t try your hand at statesmanship, according to some Mississippians. Just look at Jackson Mayor Frank Melton!
But then there are the humans who live in Mississippi and who aren’t so racist but still have conservative reservations about Obama. That’s good, at least in part. I disagree with the government convoluting with corporations in the name of helping Main Street, a type of behavior the Democrats jumped on even before Republicans last year with regard to the Wall Street bailouts. In fact, Mississippi senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker both voted against those bailouts.
I also don’t agree with inflating the money supply or expanding the type of centralized banking we have with the Federal Reserve. Perhaps Obama will get our economy back to good times with the economic system we have, but as long as we continue to tell ourselves there’s nothing wrong with giving taxpayers’ money to banks, our economy will continue to be in a state of flux.
These economic problems are reason enough to be against Obama’s administration, not to mention the president’s support of abortion and embryonic stem cell research if one happens to be against those things. Nonetheless, the conservative concerns for the economy apply to every politician, not just Democrats. Why do we so often forget that? Republicans voted for the bailout, as well. George W. Bush expanded the size of government also. Republican neo-cons are too used to thinking they can fool people into viewing Republican leaders as deregulators because they make a few tax cuts, which won’t fix our economy in themselves.
Yet, I still hear good ol’ Mississippi neo-cons ignoring these truths or trying anxiously to dismiss them. With Bush, it was different because we were in war fighting for freedom. Freedom? Really? Were we not free before we toppled Saddam Hussein?
Or they might respond to a criticism of Bush by saying, “We have to respect the office of the presidency, which means submitting our consciences and our very being to our leader, who is a Christian by the way.”
Bush’s term ended, and what do die-hard Republican supporters do? They take all the criticisms the left had of Bush and put them on Obama. Suddenly, all Obama fanatics are starry-eyed dreamers who don’t know anything about life, freedom and democracy. And this is probably true, but it was also true under the Bush regime. Anyone who blindly follows a politician is a starry-eyed dreamer who doesn’t know anything. Period.
Matt Watson is the opinion editor of The Reflector. He can be contacted at [email protected].