Thursday, December 9, 2010

Whither Puppies and Toast?

My sister wanted me to make a strictly political blog.

I suppose the first post should serve as an FAQ of some sort. So I'll start with the name.

Why "Puppies and Toast"?
This came about last year when my sister was talking to my stepmom about something she read on Huffington Post. My dad, who's hard of hearing, stood there for a moment and started laughing. "What, what?" my sister and mom said. My dad replied "I thought you said you read it in "Puppies and Toast".

So what are your politics?
My personal politics are to the left. Or at least what counts for the Left in America. Sort of like a French Socialist, or a late Mitterandist I suppose.
But that's not my real issue.

What's your real issue?
I am against ideology.

Being against ideology sounds like an ideology.
Doesn't it though? I suppose that my ideology is "whatever works". We shouldn't be mired in ideological decision making because as it turns out, ideology makes you stupid.


Really? A lot of people think that ideology gives you a lens through which to see things more clearly.
And it turns out they're wrong. People with more flexible world views tend to be able to predict future events from present circumstances better than ideologues.

Give me examples of a couple "anti-ideologues".
John Keynes and Malcolm X.

You know, you very seldom hear those two names put together in an answer to a question.
Welcome to my world.


Why would you consider them "anti-ideologues". Malcolm X in particular...
Because they were able to change their minds.

That would be true of a lot of neo-cons too, many of them started as Trotskyists.
But they didn't change their minds when the facts changed. And they stayed ideologues, they just flipped ideologies.

What do you think about free markets?
I've never seen a free market. I keep hearing about them. I think of them the way I think of unicorns. They sound pretty. They belong in fiction books.

So you don't believe in free markets?
I don't believe in free markets in that I don't believe they exist. It's not that I'm against them, I don't "believe" in them in the same way I don't believe in unicorns.

What if I showed you a real unicorn?
Then I'd change my mind. About unicorns.

So then what's your take on conservatism?
Well what is conservatism? In the US it (apparently) means radicalism. If by "conservative" you mean "Hey, let's not change stuff too much, let's not go crazy" then you're certainly not describing anybody who's remained in the Republican Party.

You're kind of like a communist, but you're a conservative.
I'm not inherently opposed to State control of certain things, but I don't think we should ever go into anything willy-nilly or because "God told us to" or because the ideology in a particular book says we should. I don't believe in free-market ideology either. Sometimes one thing works, sometimes another thing works.

That's awfully wishy-washy.
Yes. And that's a good thing. Being wishy-washy is a good way to avoid being a war criminal or committing crimes against humanity. Revolutionaries who've killed millions are never called wishy-washy.
Thoughtful, insightful, people frequently are.

Whoa! I didn't know you were going to go there.
I'm a mad-dog, vehement, moderate.

So you like everyone, right?
Nope, I'll point out stupid stuff every time I see it.

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