How I Became a Bleeding Heart Liberal Snowflake

I have voted in every general election since 1975 -- back when touch-tone phones were high-tech. This last year, for the first time, I voted straight Democrat. I marvel that I just typed that. What happened?

In the 90’s, I was a fire-breathing Libertarian; yes, Libertarian with a capital “L.” I was a literal card-carrying, lifetime member of the Libertarian Party. I used to send them money! 

Over time, I drifted into a semi-conservative stance; I subscribed to the hateful (though always well written) National Review; I religiously listened to that pumpkin-headed fool, Rush Limbaugh; I joined the alarmist NRA; I read the myopic philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Today, I am nearly a full-fledged, Socialist-Progressive-Pinko, though I prefer “libertarian-leaning leftist.” (I love the alliteration, an I am left-handed!) The usual course of events is for people to move to the right as they age, so how did I end up going the other way? All the below events happened in quick succession; the Perfect Convert-Doug-to-Liberalism Storm:

• I divorced my conservative wife. She didn’t start out that way; neither of us did. Like the frog in a pot of water set to gradually boil, we both changed into right-wingers so slowly, I barely noticed. But she pulled way ahead of me, obsessively listening to Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, and Glenn Beck. I was along for the ride. Ending that relationship opened my eyes -- a little.
  
  
• I also divorced Limbaugh. Just as my marriage was breaking up, Limbaugh delivered an on-air confession that he had a “pain-pill problem.” He had been an ardent drug-warrior, advocating jail for all drug dealers and users; something my libertarian side conveniently ignored. I could ignore it no longer. He was whistling a different tune when HE got busted. I turned him off for good. My eyes opened a little more. 
  
  
• A little bit later, I fell in love with a brainy college professor (Dr. Jena Root, whom I adore and ended up marrying). I was already headed away from Arch-conservatism when we met, but she asked questions that made me think (no surprise there, it’s what college professors do -- thankfully, I’ve never been averse to thinking). It must have been my otherwise glittering personality that caused her to stick around. I began to question if fiscal responsibility was worth the cost of willful blindness to social issues. My eyes opened even more.
• When we met, Jena didn’t own a television. I was intrigued. I turned off the idiot box. Right away, my mind was clearer and calmer. I haven’t turned it on since, and I don’t miss it one bit. Watching television is passively receiving information; No Thinking Allowed! Eschewing TV allowed me to think. Smash your TV. Read a book. Go outside. (We have a TV in our house, but it’s in the basement, and literally has cobwebs on it. Every year or so, we’ll dust it off to watch a movie.)
  
  
• I became close friends with a lot of people in the LGBTQ community. Befriending members of that group cemented my already existing position. More importantly, it helped me understand any minority’s desire -- need -- to band together in order to make their voices heard. There are circumstances when the needs of the group really do outweigh the needs of the individual. My feverish devotion to individuality was crumbling. The notion that social issues could be more important than fiscal issues was growing. My empathy was growing.
  
  
• “They say travel broadens the mind, til you can’t get your head out of doors” -- Elvis Costello
  
  
   I experienced the joy of international travel. I saw with my own eyes and learned with my own brain that the rest of the world does many things very differently than we do in the US, and they do many of them much better. Government-run trains, health-care, education, and housing can all work, and work well! The old libertarian trope of “Government Doesn’t Work,” isn’t true. Don’t believe me? Hop on a plane. 
  
  
• The financial crisis of 2008 showed that capitalists behaving badly didn’t pay a price for their malfeasance -- and the taxpayers got the bill. The “one-percenters” will gleefully poop in the river for short-term profit, and the rest of us live downstream. Only government can rein them in. They won’t do it themselves.

• I became enamored with cycling. Among the many things I learned from the sport is what it’s like to be vulnerable, something all women and minorities already know. Just by virtue of being on the road, cyclists risk life and limb. Drivers of the cars and trucks don’t notice or care -- or worse, get angry by the very presence of a bicycle on “their” road. Don’t believe me? Get a bike and ride 100 miles on a state highway. Making that connection was another strong lesson in empathy.
  
  
   Here’s a great article on cycling and privilege by Jeremy Dowsett: https://qz.com/257474/what-riding-my-bike-has-taught-me-about-white-privilege/

As time went on, the nudges to the Left became firm shoves. Sometimes I feel like I stumbled through a portal into an alternate universe. Capitalism can be corrupt? The “Military-Industrial-Complex” really does buy politicians and foments war for profit? Government really can work for the greater good? We have to worry about actual Nazis among us? David Bowie really is dead?

I feel compelled to repeat that I was always liberal -- libertarian -- on virtually all social issues, and I still am, only more so. (I don’t want to get mired in an issue-by-issue list. If you’re curious about something in particular, ask.) But I cancelled my subscription to National Review; I kicked Limbaugh out of my brain; I let my NRA membership expire; I realized that Rand’s philosophy has more holes in it than SpongeBob. My conversion is complete: This southpaw is now a true lefty.