Ideology: Democratic vs. Republican

by Becky A. Coats
January 30, 2007

I am the eldest child of a seriously neo-conservative Republican, retired trust banker who holds a specialized degree in banking and is a former President of the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce. As his daughter and part of the first eighteen-year-old voting demographic, I asked Dad what I needed to know before my first vote. His emphatic reply, "You are a Republican and that is all you need to know!" So- on my first voting day, I proudly walked into the voting booth and pulled the top lever above the heading, Republican for no other reason than familial tradition. Signifying MY vote was complete, I felt an almost spiritual exhilaration as I watched all of those separate, little levers below, automatically clicking. Thankfully and shamefully, the last Republican I voted for was Richard M. Nixon!

During a minor walk down memory lane a few months ago, I came across the text of a speech I gave in high school civics class as the Republican nominee for President in a mock Presidential election. You have to know that in the Dixiecrat State of Louisiana then ruled by the Long family, where "Every man, a king!" still rang loudly I LOST BIG! As I read the first paragraph written some forty years ago, there was no doubt that Dad had helped me write the speech. It was the day of the Red Scare of the Cold War and Viet Nam and again, I am ashamed to admit, filled with neo-con, spread Democracy at the end of a sword, get them before they get us, habitually hateful fear mongering wrapped in words producing images of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and Washington Crossing the Potomac. Today, I honestly have trouble believing that I wrote: "When you see a rattlesnake coiled to strike, you do not wait until he has struck before you crush him." I am on my knees begging forgiveness! Bad Karma! Out! Out, dark spot! Under no circumstances will I force you to read the rest of that awful paragraph.

However, I will share the second paragraph. I am rather proud of it. It proves that I was already on the path to enlightenment!

There is not one shred of my father's Republican trickle-down, tax-breaks for the wealthy, deficit spending, job out-sourcing bull-hockey in the entire piece. Further, there is no doubt in my mind that the above words are probably a compilation of ideas from various quotes found in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

Regardless, those words now haunt my father. Over the years, I have become more and more of a bleeding heart liberal! Yes, my friends! I used the currently, politically incorrect term, Liberal. At least once a month, he feels the need to tell me how wrong my "extremely liberal, foolish" ideas are by explaining why G-Dubya's tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations are good for America. I know the man is baiting me and the truth is, theoretically, trickle-down economics should work and it does (to some degree) … in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates!

Americans cannot and should not ever kneel, before George W. Bush or any other leader, begging for their right to make a decent living. We must never turn a blind eye to the least among us because we do not want to acknowledge or witness their plight. We must never let an American, regardless of age, go hungry or live without shelter and opportunity. We must never let an American die because our government insists on privatizing health care. We must never let one of our own die in a war without the certain knowledge that the cause they gave their life for is right and just. We must never stop fighting for what we believe …

With words and diplomacy, my friends … not with the ideological sword of Democracy.

Later he elaborated, 'People kill for money or for power. But the most ruthless murderers are those who kill for their ideas.'" Anthony de Mello, S.J., Awakenings, 1992.

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