I want the conservative opinion on this. If you would do so, please watch this video and read the corresponding conversation, and give me your thoughts. This is a website devoted to opening a dialogue, and I believe that a major question was posed here, and I want to continue the conversation.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/34352230#34352230
(I’d embed the video, but MSNBC is not working with me tonight)
First off, Dick Cheney needs to shut up. I know that this statement might set an offsetting precedent for some, but I mean it in no disrespect to conservatives. I don’t view Dick Cheney as a conservative. I don’t buy that he believes in fiscal conservatism, budget hawk conservatism, Goldwater conservatism, Buckley conservatism, and I definitely don’t entertain the thought that he is, in any way, a so-called true believer. I believe in my heart that Dick Cheney is a one-man-for-himself capitalist who has bastardized the party possibly to the point of illegitimacy (please do not confuse that to mean the death of conservatism). He has manipulated policy in a way that serves his financial ties for sake of millions of people. I have seen through friends and family that this isn’t the entirety of the party, nor the movement. But those voices need to get louder.
I bring this up only to give context to how I view the person who applied the treasonous phrase “Giving aid and comfort to the enemy” to the President of the United States.
Here’s where discussion should come into play. How many people really believe that President Obama has violated the US Constitution, Article 3, Section 3:
“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
Because here are my thoughts. I think that the same people who are rallying behind Cheney, saying “Yeah! Obama is guilty of treason!” have effectively detached themselves from reality.
I believe that this is the same mentality that allows people to march in 18th century patriot costumes and participate in tea parties against taxes, invoking the words of our founding fathers, and assuming that they are speaking for our ancestors. The audacity for people who live in modern day America to stand up and arrogantly take on the mantle of our founding fathers is disturbing to me. There is no realism displayed when dressing up in a costume and arguing against government, and then alleging it to be in league with our nation’s founders, who risked everything, including their lives (and those of their children), not to prevent taxation, but to stand up and say, “If we’re going to live here and be taxed, we need to have a damn say in the matter.”
These folks weren’t just complaining about what tax dollars were put towards. They were saying they were willing to put down their lives for a fighting chance to have a stake in it. There is no link to that within today’s reality. 
This is self-conceptualization. These are people who are patting themselves on the back for their ancestors’ bravery. Don’t speak for them. You’re doing both parties a disservice.
Likewise, this “Obama treason” mentality falls in line with folks who play war games on Xbox. There is a noteworthy group of people who truly believe that there is no distinguishable difference between killing someone in a video game, and killing them in reality. If you don’t see this as a problem, I think you need to. It is a good thing to recognize humanity.
Similarly, you see this disconnect with people offering up signs touting “Chairman Maobama,” or drawing the Hitler-stache on the President’s face. These are people who have never dealt with the reality of death, or, if they have, have never taken it seriously, or walked away with a sick interpretation of it’s impact. Anyone who can conflate the Holocaust with one approximated year of Barrack Obama needs to go to a better school. Probably one that isn’t taught by your parents.
This concept is also prevalent with secessionists. Most people who subscribe to secessionist parties don’t actually want secession. They just want the threat; it’s their negotiation chip. Just as most militias prepare for the revolution, but don’t actually want the revolution to happen. Secession? Revolution? It means the unavoidable end to society as we know it. Put down the Fred Meyer or Carr’s card. It’s a cool t-shirt that doubles as a great conversation piece, but would be a disservice to generations to come. Those dreaming about post apocalyptic realities are not exhibiting compassion; they are promulgating destructive fantasies that will facilitate, or further, a culture of hate, desensitization, and detachment. And as much as conservatives adore looking gravely at the deficit and lowering their heads, worrying for their children, grandchildren, etc… None of these grand statements will improve the situation. If the world really is flat now, can you imagine what a death sentence would be served if we split up our country? Or turned to mob rule?
It’s closing in on the year mark for President Obama. And it’s been, probably, the most partisan year of my life. Isn’t it about time to move back towards reality? Towards the center? Isn’t it about time we started evaluating policy for its merits, rather than its political affiliation? I, for one, love talking with conservatives, so long as they listen. I can be convinced, so long as you provide the better argument. Can you say the same?
So, it’s your call. What do you think? Is society getting to a point where we can challenge each other and share our common goals; respect our differences and similarities without resorting to calling each other fascists or communists?
Can we, as a people, move away from Cheney?
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