aaron c beals » Politics

a rare post: on politics

aaron — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:00:05 +0000

i don’t often discuss politics, mainly because i spend a good chunk of my life at work, and it’s generally accepted that politics and religion are both off-limits in the workplace. furthermore, i find political issues pretty polarizing in most circles, especially here in New England — and charged with enough emotion that there’s no room for an open-minded discussion.

with my recent posts on healthcare, you might think that i have abandoned my libertarian leanings or conservative roots and booked a train to the far left, but the shift in my views has been focused on healthcare and has been catalyzed by my involvement in the Global Health Delivery Project and GHDonline. a shift in political thinking is never an easy or rapid change, and between this shift and the recent election, i have spent a lot of time in deep personal, philosophical introspection.

Don Miller, author of “Blue Like Jazz”, a book I greatly enjoyed, has posted to his blog a well-thought-out analysis of his transition from a Regan Republican to an Obama Democrat. while his experiences and opinions do not match mine exactly, there are enough similarities that his post really struck home for me.

Paul Farmer on Obama’s health care plans

aaron — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:00:55 +0000

my boss’ boss is none other than Paul Farmer, who recently wrote a great piece on Obama’s health care plans. he’s clearly in the pro-Obama camp (and makes no bones about it), but i think he makes some points worthy of consideration/deliberation no matter which candidate you voted for. for more facts backing up his statements about the broken US healthcare system, see my post from Wednesday.

Can Obama Solve America’s Health Care Crisis?

neither gut feel nor soaring emotion is enough

aaron — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:48:12 +0000

most people know or have a strong idea of whom they’re going to vote for on November 4th, but even if you’re 100% certain, i believe it’s important to go back to basics and make sure you understand where you stand on the issues in comparison to each candidate. there’s a non-partisan online tool that asks you to assign points to your top issues and then asks questions from each of those issues, lining you up with four candidates (Democrat, Green, Independent, Republican). the approach is refreshing in a time when we’ve been inundated with character assassination and tired rhetoric. the issues are why we’re voting for a president, not the warm feelings they fill you with.

check it out at glassbooth.org.

the exercise didn’t change my mind, but it certainly made me more sure of my decision by reinforcing that decision with facts.