All You Need Is Love

I’m not Lena Dunham.  I’m not going to tell you my first time was amazing, or compare casting a ballot to making love.

But I’m going to tell you to vote for love.

Let me explain – there is a meme that we’re in a cold civil war.  So far I agree.  I just don’t agree with the definitions of the sides.  PJ O’Rourke once defined the sides as people with too many guns against people with too many cats.

This leaves me, as usual, in the middle.  I am religious, but not evangelical (note I am not saying I am “spiritual” – I am traditionally religious).  I am a first generation immigrant from a country the feds consider “Latin.”  I am economically conservative, and I have a rather rigid definition of my OWN morality, but I am a science fiction author, which means I am friends with people in same-sex relationships, in group relationships and in “yes.” I do kitten rescue and volunteer, I am an inveterate mentor, but I would rather have glass shoved into my eyes than work for something like “America corps” or have mandatory volunteerism instituted.  I try to eat right, but not what the government thinks I should eat.  I dress I think attractively, but I am a writer.  I can get a little… “different.”  I live in a neighborhood where I can walk a bunch of places, but I drive an SUV.  Then there’s the guns and cats.  Yes both.  There is no law against it.

Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion our American Cold Civil War hinges on just one thing: Love of the US – as instituted, according to our constitutional principles.

I have friends who are married heterosexuals, in the suburbs, who think America is a villain and should be brought low.  I have friends who are gay, or Buddhist, or seventh day vegetarian pagans but who love this country with every breath in their bodies.  Many of them are veterans and bled for this country.  Many of them realize too that our system is the best protection for odd ball minorities.

That dividing line in the cold civil war runs through love of the constitution, love of this country as the founders intended, not as some communitarian mirage.

Those who want the communitarian mirage hate us as we are and want us brought low.

Unfortunately those are the people in power now.  The people who believe if we become poorer the rest of the world gets richer.  This is a ridiculous and pernicious fantasy.  It never was.  It will never be.

If they succeed in their aim, the world will be a horrible, unsafe, poor place.

But they don’t know that, and they will try to apologize abroad, to let terrorists have their way.  They will bankrupt us and bring down our standard of living.  They think they’re doing what’s best for the world.

Forget the world.  Do what is best for us, and the world will follow.  I know in Portugal when America was in trouble, we suffered.

So this election – in the next day and a half, if you’re on the side that loves America, I want you to wrest the controls from the people who hate America, from those who are trying to bring us low to benefit the world.

I want you to go vote for Mitt.  He has other reasons to recommend him: he knows business, he might be able to turn us round.  We know Obama won’t.  He’ll just pile on the debt.

But the important thing about Mitt is that he’s on our side.  He loves our country.

Go out and vote for him.  Do it for me.  Do it for you.  Do it for our side in the cold civil war.

But most of all, do it for love.  For love of our country, our constitution, our founding fathers.