New Year’s Wish.

I’ve been thinking about a new year’s resolution and have decided that instead, I’m going to make a new year’s wish.   I wish I was considered a real American by Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty.  They all have books out with the general theme of dividing Americans into real and fake.  Oh! And coincidentally they all seem to be planning a run at their party’s presidential nomination in 2012.

They make a strong case for coming from a childhood of meager beginnings (except Romney) and growing by their own unaided efforts into famous politicians with an enduring desire to help others see the “right” way to greatness and of course the American dream.  Much like John Boehner did.

Well what makes me think I’m not a real American?  In other words, where do I fail this test?  Let’s see.  I believe in individual responsibility and hard work.  So far, so good.  But I also believe that the measure of a great country is how it treats its less fortunate

Okay, next I believe in smaller government and dislike it’s intrusion into our private lives.  But I also believe that some government regulations are necessary to protect us from unscrupulous business practices, particularly in the financial arena. 

Let’s see.  I believe in letting people keep as much of their hard earned money as possible.  I hate the confiscatory power of the IRS.  Wait!  I also believe that we have to pay for the programs that we all want from the government – (by the way that’s the government that we don’t want.) 

President Reagan would be proud of me because I think that government is very often the problem.  Sorry but I also believe that some problems can only be fixed by our government.

Next!  Same sex marriages.  I believe that marriage is a religious as well as a legal arrangement.  I think that churches have the right to allow or disallow same sex marriages on religious grounds.  I think the legal part is a civil rights issue and that civil unions should be allowed. 

So just where do I fail to meet the criteria for being a true American?  The answer is relatively simple.  I don’t blindly subscribe to conservative values and anyone who questions those values is an America-hating socialist, don’t you know.

Okay, I’m being a bit extreme to make my point.  With the New Year will come a new presidential campaign cycle.  And with that will come the core issues that will define the debate between the parties.  If I don’t miss my guess, we’re going to hear lots of talk about American Exceptionism and conserving our core values and how anyone who disagrees is automatically not a real American.  And further anyone who believes that we will not find our answers in conserving traditional values is an enemy of America.

So get ready folks.  We’re going to be bombarded with rhetoric that will further divide this great nation into the real and the fake.  As for me, I was born, raised, educated here and have been paying my fair share of the taxes since I was fifteen.  And until recently, I’ve believed that I was a real American.  But in the last few years the conservative extreme (the one that gets all the media attention) has decided that unless I agree with them, I’m not a real American.   

That unless I agree with them, I’m a left-wingnut who wants America to fail because I believe that we now have such diverse demographics that our values must evolve to include us all.  Wow!  What a radical thought?

Well anyway, my New Year’s wish is that we can figure out a way to include all Americans when we call ourselves the United States of America.  I just keep wishing!   

Robert DeFilippis