Introspection

Yesterday afternoon, I sat down in the living room and struck up a conversation about jared kushner and other things trump with my son.  He is very bright and as most 20 year olds assertive about his thoughts.  I respect what he says to me because I know he has a level head (for the most part, I mean, after all, he is just a few weeks shy of 20, c'mon now).  I was speaking from my gut, not from a reasoned place.  Each time I opened my mouth I was sounding very childish and my son pointed this out to me.  And what he told me cut me deeply.  He said I was being an extremist.

At first, I pushed back.  I mean, who wants to be called an extremist?  Who wants to think of themselves as an extremist?  He asked me if I thought that suicide bombers think of themselves as extremists.  I answered 'probably not'.  Truth be told, as I am writing, right now, I really do not know the answer to that question, but at the moment, I was willing to follow my son's lead.

It also came out in the conversation that I call my representatives frequently.  He pointed out that when the time was right and the issue at hand warranted it, that would be a good time to call, but calling frequently only showed me as an ass to the people who answer the phone  and that the representative I'm calling never knows about my call.

Of course these insights from my son  hurt my feelings, but I want to look at the points he made and give them real consideration.  First though, I must note that I was immediately proud that an ideal I taught him since he was nine or ten has taken hold; extremism in any form is dangerous.  He's got it.

So ........ am I an extremist?  Well the issue that I need to tackle first is what is extremism and what defines an extremist.  It seems to me that the concept of extremism is highly subjective and depends on the perspective of the person using the label.

I found some definitions for extremism which both referred me back to the word extreme

Definition of extremism

1: the quality or state of being extreme
2: advocacy of extreme measures or views : radicalism

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extremism

ex·trem·ism
ikˈstrēˌmizəm/
noun

the holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism.
"the dangers of religious extremism"

https://www.google.com/search?q=defione+extremism&oq=defione+extremism&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.5007j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

So, I looked up 'extreme'

Definition of extreme

1a : existing in a very high degree extreme poverty

 b : going to great or exaggerated lengths : radical went on an extreme diet

 c : exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected extreme weather conditions
3 : situated at the farthest possible point from a center

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extreme

So I lookked up 'radical'

Definition of radical

3 a : very different from the usual or traditional : extreme 
   b : favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions 
   c : associated with political views, practices, and policies of extreme change 
   d : advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radical

Okay, now I've got a basis to work from.  Am I going to 'great or exaggerated lengths'?  With this as the test, I'm willing to say yes.  Am I 'exceeding the ordinary, usual or expected'?  Again, I'll say yes.  Am I 'situated at the farthest point from the center'?  To this, I say no.  Am I 'very different from the usual'?  To this i say no, considering what has become usual in order to protest and remove trump.  Am I 'very different from the traditional'?  Yes and no.  It is certainly not the traditional if we are talking about normal involvement in relation to our county's direction, but I believe it is traditional at those times, in our country, when it is in peril.

Now we come to the last three definitions for radical  The word radical seems to be interchangeable with the concept of extreme.  It is not me that is 'favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions or institutions'.  My political views are not 'associated with political views, practices and policies of extreme change'.  Given the fact that trump and bannon are proponents of these two definitions of radical, I can see that I am 'advocating [ ] measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs'  However, I am not able to label those measures as 'extreme' and from my perspective my advocacy is directed at the well being of our country, not at the body politic.

So.......am I an extremist.  In total, I have to say no.  What I am is a citizen who is concerned and actively resisting the radical extremism that we have been presented with in the forms of trump, bannon and sessions.

Do I have the ability to be childish?  Yes.  And I'm clear about that.  Sometimes i have to let my inner child have his say.  But, something else that my son pointed out to me was that not everyone who has taken on a job in the trump administration should be painted with the same brush that I use on trump.  Some of these men and women do want to work for what they believe is the betterment of our country and to that end I am willing to pay those individuals the respect that they are due.  There are those, though, that in my opinion are not due my respect, and i will always make it clear who those individuals are.  Whether it is using lower case lettering for their names or assigning them nick names that i deem appropriate, it will be clear.  If I disagree with someone's philosophy, I will still give them the respect that they are due, but I will express my opinion regarding their philosophy and how my views differ.