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On Saturday evening I ended up in a middle of a crowd in a parking lot off Bolsa and Magnolia, following dragons and guys playing drums and cymbals. I was with my Vietnamese friends, who were already celebrating their New Year based on the Chinese Lunar calendar.
I left the dragon line to watch a musical group, who were singing and dancing in front of a flashy casino ad. I almost started to dance cha-cha-cha, as the sound of the music was familiar to me. I felt like Ziggy in Fourth St in Santa Ana, having no clue what people were saying, but their fun was so contagious that I just went along with them.
Today, February 8th, is the beginning of their New Year. In looking up to the reference to the animal of this year, the Monkey, I thought how our own Orange Juice Oracle would’ve applied the Chinese zodiac to our politics: “Although they are inherently intellectual and creative, Monkeys at times have trouble exhibiting these qualities. When that happens, they appear to others to be confused.”
I am not a monkey but I feel like one when in politics we place so much emphasis on labels. It is not so much that sometimes they are confusing. They may be necessary but can be annoying and distracting from the content of the issues, like the recent dispute over who’s more progressive, Bernie or Hillary?
I used to cringe, more than I do now, at the words conservative, libertarian or republican. A whole set of negative images, ideas, came into my mind towards those concepts. The same reaction probably happens to conservatives when they hear the words liberal, progressive or democrat, or even worst, socialist.
I‘ve gradually been resetting my outlook based on the policies of events and actions needed to address issues. I try not to get distracted by the labels, whether the person is liberal or conservative, but to assess their reasons, solutions, their political competence and performance.
Moving beyond labels and dogmas can be done, ideological and political differences can be set aside. It was recently done in France, when left-wing and centrists parties kept the extreme right from taking over the administration of some regions.
At times we may disagree mostly on policies that may or may not be a result of ideology or interpretation of facts. It is quite probably that we will profoundly disagree, for example, with the immigration policies proposals like the ones presented by Trump.
The negative effects of the current broken immigration system will not be solved by deporting or breaking up families. The opposition to this inhumane proposal overrides labels, crosses partisan and ideological lines.
I am done being a monkey, I am back to being myself, being a dragon. Happy New Year!
2016 is the Year of the Red Fire Monkey. Much confusion in politics this year and many clever responses are on the way. This will be a real pistol of a year. Being nimble will be the order of the day. Those that are stuck in the mud……will not find the Year of the Monkey entertaining. Finding unique solutions to problems are in order. The monkey jumps from tree to tree and is always above the jungle floor….where they can see everything else going on.
In other news, poor Cam Newton. Sometimes, we forget Cam is only 26 years old and doesn’t understand how Global Gambling and Organized Crime runs all Sports which can be bet on. He was noticeably despondent and it broke our heart to see him have to squirm….when he really wanted to jump up on the table and tell the world what really happened. So glad this fraudulent Manning era is over. And we thought that Kenny Stabler didn’t deserve the Hall of Fame. As kirk Vonnegut said: “And so it goes!”. The greatest NFL Quarterbacks of all time: Otto Graham, Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin, Sonny Jurgenson, John Brody and Terry Bradshaw. No, Roger Staubach, No Joe Montana…….No Dan Marino….. Next: Russell Wilson, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Don’t worry Cam…..just be grateful you were even allowed to play……
Thanks for pointing out this year type of monkey, a red fire one that may explain why Bernie is running…
Did you watch the super bowl halftime show ?Rudy Giuliani had a tantrum after Beyoncé’s performance .
OK, serious question: why is it a RED Fire Monkey? I know that the five elementals are part of the East Asian astrological calendar system, but I can’t recall hearing a color attached before now. Are there other colors of Fire Monkey?
P.S.: “Kurt” Vonnegut, ‘Ships!
*Yeah…yeah……”Kurt”….”Player Piano”…is still his most classic! For those who have not read it…..it is a must…considering it was written in 1952. OK, as you know each year is assigned either Earth, Water, Metal, Fire, Wood. Fire is assigned the color Red! Academic and elementary our dear Watson! The Monkey is connected to Metal and Water. Metal connected to Gold and Water connected to Wisdom and danger. Finances and people’s fortunes can change quickly in a Monkey year. Metal is also associated with the wind….so things can change unexpectedly. This is 4713 of the Chinese Calendar….comes out a numeorlogical SIX – all about money! Trump could win or lose his ass this year.
The three best Kurt Vonnegut books: Siren’s of Titan, Cat’s Cradle and Player Piano. Everyone points out Slaughterhouse Five…..and even though they made a movie of it …..it was pretty dark. Breakfast of Champions was only good for the illustrations and the zingers!
“Trump could win or lose his ass this year.”
Wow, way to go out on a monkey limb with THAT prediction!
*Financially is what I was referring to. We don’t predict fixed political or sporting events……as you may have noticed. We did not go out on a limb to predict the Super Bowl winner….though we were pulling for Cam. However, it was already a well known fact that no NFL MVP never wins the Super Bowl. Or you might could them on ONE finger!
So you’re predicting he could win or lose, financially.
My observation stands.
Even W reads the OJB…at his brother’s rally today he said : labels are for soup cans…
*We always loved George and Laura. Laura is looking great but a little thin and George is looking a little older. Jeb needs a Christie tread mill. Oh, he is already on one? Maybe too much Campbell Chunky Chicken. It was nice to see George and Laura…however! We send their Library money every year. Maybe they know what happened to Scalia?
*So, JEB has left the building….in spite of the late appearance of George and Laura. Stick a fork in that and run for the Senate in Florida….brother JEB! OK, Dr. Carson has filled his hyperdermic needle and medicated himself out of the race too? Hmmm….so
that leaves “Little Marco”, “Teddy with the mascara! and pooch front jeans”, Old Time Hockey John Kasich and Oh Donnie Boy. What a circus in the Year of the Monkey. Can’t wait to see who will take the next trip on the Appalachian trail….before this is over!
As much as I agree with W that labels are for soup cans, it is important to know about the main traditions in American politics. I found these two links , one about conservatism and the other about progressivism.
“ For a generation, scholars of American politics, almost all of whom are liberals or on the left, have been driven by a sense of bewilderment about the right…Their arguments are characterized by a distinct note of surprise and disbelief about the lasting power of conservatism.”
http://www.thenation.com/article/the-roots-of-american-conservatism/
“The most absurd assertion in the media coverage of the 2016 Democratic presidential race—and that’s a high bar in a year where media coverage has been monumentally absurd—is the suggestion that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been arguing about who is more progressive.
Sanders and Clinton are not arguing about who is more progressive. That would require them to have a shared definition of progressivism. They don’t.
They are speaking different languages that happen to use the same word. I understand this because I have watched the evolution of the word “progressive” from an expression of political radicalism to an expression of political caution.”
http://www.progressive.org/news/2016/03/188607/what-progressive?mc_cid=da53d15716&mc_eid=800d834c32
I have come to hate how the word “progressive” has been diluted to translucency.