Our counter-intuitive choices in November 2012

[Source: Wiki Commons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg]

In addition to his works on ethics, which address the individual, Aristotle addressed the city in his work titled Politics. Aristotle considered the city to be a natural community. Moreover, he considered the city to be prior in importance to the family which in turn is prior to the individual, "for the whole must of necessity be prior to the part".[46] He also famously stated that "man is by nature a political animal." Aristotle conceived of politics as being like an organism rather than like a machine, and as a collection of parts none of which can exist without the others. Aristotle's conception of the city is organic, and he is considered one of the first to conceive of the city in this manner.[47]
The common modern understanding of a political community as a modern state is quite different to Aristotle's understanding. Although he was aware of the existence and potential of larger empires, the natural community according to Aristotle was the city (polis) which functions as a political "community" or "partnership" (koinōnia). The aim of the city is not just to avoid injustice or for economic stability, but rather to allow at least some citizens the possibility to live a good life, and to perform beautiful acts: "The political partnership must be regarded, therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions, not for the sake of living together."

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle

As I see it, the Democrats offer the opportunity to reinvigorate and sustain the American Republic. By doing so, we sustain the civil liberties, civil rights, and rule of law that have been the hallmarks of America for 250 years.

The GOP offers a world in which international corporations and the super-rich, free from regulation and taxation, move their capital to where labor is the cheapest. Although only out for themselves,ironically, they raise the standard of living in Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, as well as Latin America... who knows, maybe even Africa someday. But if the world is to be relentlessly flattened, we Americans must watch our boat sink lower, as others see their boats rise.

Is this what we want? Is it pure selfishness to say "no"? I think that, if the American standard of living, and by implication its middle class, dramatically decline to some new world average, our civil liberties and civil rights will suffer, perhaps irreparably and dramatically.

Thus, the Dems --- deemed the socialists on the political spectrum --- may present policies more likely to preserve those rights that conservatives claim to be most important, while Republicans --- deemed the champs of individual rights --- may be poised to do the worst possible damage to those rights, where most of us ordinary Americans, clinging to middle class status by our fingernails, are concerned.

If you believe that everyone on earth should be equal, then, believe it or not, the GOP is the right party for you. If you believe --- like Aristotle --- that only some can live the life of the full-fledged citizen, and only by insisting upon more than what might seem their fair share of the world's wealth, then --- ironically --- the Democrats may be your better choice.