A Political Glimpse from Ireland

The Genetics of Politics?

Well I was walking through Centra (convenience store in Ireland) today when I caught the headline of one of the magazines:

You can even see the price on the magazine in Euro’s which I did not feel like taking off in the scan. This cover is the reason for my title today since I am one of those people who believe nature more than nurture and I think science has more than proven that since the completion of the Human Genome project in 2003. Unfortunately I cannot even provide a link to this article because NewScientist requires you to pay to view the article so I will try to summarize as best I can while interjecting my comments as I see fit.

As you guessed, scientist have postulated that the reasons why liberals cannot convert conservatives to their way of thinking is because people are born with a genetic predisposition to a certain side of the political divide. I was discussing this with my family over the dinner table today and I have figured out that my mom and dad are both liberals in a certain sense of the word, so is my older brother and little brother and myself of course. My parents were liberal, does that make me liberal? I would like to think so since that means I need to find a liberal wife otherwise I might have a child with a chance of being conservative which would be a first for my family I think.

Some interesting excerpts from the article (results obtained from a survey of 20,000 people in 12 countries):

1. People who scored highly on a scale measuring fear of death, for example, were almost four times more likely to hold conservative views.

2. Those who expressed interest in new experiences tended to be liberals

3. The genes involved are 5HTT and MAOA

4. Tasks that involve dealing with conflicting information, for example, are known to activate an area of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex. Since liberals are generally more open to conflicting ideas, activity in this area of the brain would be expected to differ between them and conservatives.

5. All this being said, there are no shortage of critics when discussing the linkage between biology and politics.

This article and more can be found at NewScientist so please take some time to stop by there. I really enjoyed reading this article but the core point and last line states that we should be more accommodating to the other side since perhaps they were born with their views. I think many of us can remember times when we have tried to influence a family member or close friend on our views. Quite recently I was having lunch with two friends of mine and told them that I believe Taiwan should be independent, both my friends were citizens of China and could not believe I actually said that and firmly corrected me saying that Taiwan belongs to China. Needless to say the discussion degenerated quite quickly with me and my two friends not being quite happy at the end of it.

Reflecting on that discussion I realize that my friends were reflecting their upbringing in the PRC as well as the genetics of their parents who were born in the Mao Zedong era. They also felt that I was talking down to them as the “American influence”, but after a few days I realized they are entitled to their thoughts but this subject won’t be discussed again.

I have mentioned this before but at the election heats up, despite what the politicians may say, we need to look at our views as a product of our upbringing as well as our genetics. We also need to spend less time arguing about it and spend more energy trying to find the most firm middle ground where both sides can be happy.

Do you believe the numbers?

Well Saturday has gone and past and we are left with Senator Obama winning decisively in Saturday’s contests which doesn’t say too much considering he was expected to win those contests. It’s almost 12am here in Ireland and as I write this blog, democrats are voting in Maine where it is supposed to be a tight contest. Hillary Clinton has achieved the endorsement of the Governor there but I am hoping for a Barack Obama win which I won’t be able to find out until tomorrow. I spent a lot of time watching the news incidentally today on CNBC, CNN and Fox. I find it quite amazing how intensely the elections are being covered which is a great thing and I came across a few interesting statistics in the process of my television watching:

1. A CNN-Time Poll calculated that almost 20 million people have participated in the primaries so far on the democratic side while a mere 13 million people have participated on the Republican Side. These are incredible numbers which is why a Congressman (Not sure who his name was) was estimating that there will be a landslide victory for the Democrats come November. I hope this is the case, if the Republicans continue to avoid the primaries and the general elections than we will definitely have a change for the better.

2. A New Time Poll shows that Senator Obama would captured 48% of the Vote in a theoretical matchup between himself and Senator McCain who captures 41%, these kind of numbers really made my day today but after hearing that news I switched on Fox to see President Bush openly advertising for Senator McCain in terms of massaging the conservative bases’ lack of trust in McCain. There are still a lot of Presidential loyalists out there and if President Bush pushes the message hard enough I this will narrow the gap significantly. If you examine the article it states that Independent’s tend to favor McCain (McCain vs. Clinton) but prefer Obama (McCain vs. Obama) which should tell the Democratic Party who needs to be elected.

3. Lastly I found a great article at the New York Times that I stumbled across emphasizing how little we can trust the delegate numbers in the case of the Democrats. My mother who also follows the elections continually reminds me how far Obama is behind but if we look at the picture below this text, it tells a totally different story:

So who do we believe? I for one, after reading this article will look at the numbers a bit more skeptically so maybe you should to?

Global Political Podcast Episode 1

Well I have finally decided to try out my first podcast, and I would like to inform the audience that none of this was rehearsed in anyway so hopefully you can bear with the uncertain pauses. This podcast will be a weekly item that I hope to do on Friday nights but it will probably be done on Saturday nights. Using Google News I will pick 4 - 5 of the world news items that catch my attention and briefly speak on these items and offer my insight.

Episode 1 [8:13m]

How much of a liberal/conservative are you?

Well as of today I am hoping to get into some kind of regular posting schedule with at least one entry per week as well as an audio blog entry which is another site addition that I am experimenting with. In addition, whenever Amilie has time, we will be collaborating on articles that reflect the diverse changes in the Western and Eastern hemisphere.

The inspiration for this entry came from a few sources which include all the blogs in my blogroll as well as some conversations I have had recently in the past week. Today in Dublin (out of all places) I found a Law Professor from New York who is a Hillary supporter and a pretty liberal person as liberals come. In my work place I have an Irish Lady who used to live in New Hampshire and is pretty conservative as I found out quite recently because she was watching Mitt Romney resign on BBC1 when I blurted out: “Gillian, I never realized you were a republican”. The conversation after that comment revolved around pulling the troops out of Iraq in which Gillian commented on the effects to the Iraqi people if we do pull out. Being a “somewhat liberal” I have never really considered it, some people say the situation would fix itself while others say the USA intervening is what is causing the issue. The bottom line for myself comes down to the fact that we cannot know with a 100% surety that if all military forces are extracted out of the region that the situation improves. With that statement the present course of action is the best choice as much as I hate to say it in order to save as many lives as possible.

I have always thought of myself as a liberal person growing up in South Africa because in the pre-apartheid era I never looked at a single person as being part of an ethnicity. To me all people are the same with a first name and last name. I am also a proponent of inter-racial dating even having told my mother in my youth that I would never marry an Indian Girl. Coming to America I discovered the two-party system and what it means to be a liberal living in Massachusetts or conservative living in Pennsylvania. I have never really examined this definition though of what it means to be liberal.

I don’t think there are many people on this earth who can truly claim that they are 100% conservative or 100% liberal. I was having a discussion with a few of my colleagues the other day that even though I consider myself a liberal I also have quite a few somewhat conservative values. For one thing I have always agreed with President Bush’s plan to invade Iraq regardless of the reasons, Saddam Hussein was a bad man and he needed to be taken out for global security if not American security. I am trying to think of other issues but I guess my biggest personal conservative aspect relates to national security or security as a whole. One of the things I support about America is the foreign policy that ensures that America’s interests are protected no matter the cost. This is also known as “pre-emptive policy” that is not only strategically sound but a necessary in a world where multiples threats exist in multiple points around the globe.

I know some liberal people will be screaming at me in particular some of the people I went to school with but this is what I believe. Any nation must put the needs of its people above the needs of the world to a certain extent. There exists a fine balance between total self-centrism and the proverbial global village. I do believe that the world is moving closer together beyond business into an age where countries will work closer together in the spirit of cooperative benefit.

Traditional competitor’s like Russia and China can work together with the United States to achieve a better tomorrow. I know that sounds awfully clichéd and some republicans may even rebel against the idea of a closer relationship with Russia or China but stop for a moment and think of all the good that can be done with, eventually, the three biggest economies in the world? I don’t know that answer yet and that concept is far too utopian for reality but I like to think of it as a possibility at least.

In the coming election; liberals, conservatives and independents need to look within themselves and realize that in order for an effective presidency, a candidate must be selected that embodies both virtues. I think for the Republican side that would be Senator McCain while for the Democratic side that would be Senator Obama. Senator Obama has said in his book and in numerous speeches about the need for both sides to come together and I think if this can happen, true progress can be made in the political arena and in the global arena.

Returning to my original topic, I will go with the phrase “somewhat liberal”, I believe in a stronger more involved government that transfers the benefits from the Rich to the middle class and the poor. I support a National Healthcare System that works on a model that combines the strengths of the Canadian and Danish system. I am a proponent of Gay Marriage and believe that regardless of sexual preference, homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples. Stem Cell Research is another huge advancement that the current administration has killed whereas other countries like Italy and China are making huge headways in this regard. The next century is going to be defined in space therefore I also believe that the next administration needs to put NASA back on track to put a base on the moon before the Chinese or Russians. Lastly I also believe in the policy of pre-emption or the ability to neutralize threats to a nation’s sovereignty wherever they may exist.

The entire point of this monologue is to emphasize that Liberals need to look at the conservative side of things and conservatives need to look at the liberal side of things. A better understanding of each other’s philosophies can only benefit the country in the long run and as the election heats up and I think mutual understanding will achieve the ultimate success for the right candidate.

I endorse Barack Obama

Two entries in one day, I know that is pretty amazing but I told myself today that with Super Tuesday looming, I would like to write this article or rather this endorsement. The few people that read this blog may wonder what is the point of writing a long endorsement that will not influence many people but it is to these people I say that the smallest difference is a difference none the less the few people that do read my blog go out and vote for Obama, I know than that I have contributed in part to electing the man who will change America and the world that we live in.

I live in Ireland for the moment where the two largest minorities are Polish and Chinese, and if I asked the average Irishmen if they would ever vote for a non-Irish  Taoiseach (Like the President), the answer would be no. I think America has come along way from the racial tensions of the 20th century into an age where race is not a major issue. I have listened to the commentary about Senator Obama since people were speculating that he might make a run for President and a lot have people do not notice he is black. I for one do not, the very first thing I noticed about Senator Obama is at the last DNC where I thought to myself, he is an excellent speaker. Does this mean he will be a good President? Far from it but it is one of the essential qualities.

 If we look back at the last century or so, society and civilization as we know it are defined by good speakers. From Winston Churchill to Nelson Mandela, people who can get on stage and rivet an audience so that no matter how long and boring the speech is, they stay interested. Senator Obama is one of these people, he will bring a passion and consistency to the presidency that we have not seen in many years. He will be the kind of President that we need in the 21st century to save the economy as well as bring America back into the limelight as the super power it is supposed to be.

 That being said, he will also said he will also realize that China and Russia are going to remain Super Powers for the foreseeable future and there is nothing that can be done about that. The USA is entering a new era where the President must work hand in hand with the likes of Dmitry Medvedev and Wen Jiabao to create the world that I want my children to live in. A world where the peace is prevalent and terrorism becomes a word of the past, immigration is no longer an issue because people can move freely around the world but most importantly the future president of the United States of America must create a world that is sustainable for future generations to come.

 No one country can be number 1 anymore, Senator Obama can assume the presidency without the baggage of the past. Larry King commented on CNN that people like John McCain and Hillary Clinton are using the same old playbook for a world that has changed. This is true, John McCain often talks about his time under the Reagan administration, that was a different time and a different world and Senator McCain cannot save the USA from the economic crisis that has arisen or increase the competitive level of the country compared to the likes of China and Russia.

For those of you that have read this blog, young and old I urge you to think about the long term future when voting for Senator Obama. Vote and Support a candidate who can remake America into the country it should be for the 21st century. I may be 25 and some people may discount my support as the folly of youth but look back at history, and it will tell you that knowledge gets you so far but you need charisma, talent, passion and strength to truly make a difference in this world. Senator Obama has this and I wish him good luck as the future president of the United States of America.