Elephants, Jackasses, and Badgers

Yesterday I got into a three-way e-mail discussion with my friend Jake and John, one of my co-workers. It started when John sent out an e-mail that traced the historical development of liberals and conservatives beginning with the discovery of beer and the invention of the wheel (the wheel making it possible for men to easily get to beer). As this bizarre historical overview spun out of control, it eventually addressed the development of the symbols of Republican conservatism (the elephant - the largest and most powerful land animal) and Democratic liberalism (the jackass).

As so often happens when these disucssions get underway, I found myself once again insisting that I am neither liberal nor conservative, Democrat nor Republican, but a principled Independent who accepts the best parts of both conservative and liberal beliefs. In general, I think the jackass is an appropriate symbol for the Democrats, who are frequently loud, whiny, and stubborn, while the elephant is an appropriate symbol for the Republicans - a huge, lumbering animal which, when aroused, trumpets loudly and thunders blindly forward, crushing everything in its path. Well, all right, said John - if you want to be an independent, sitting on the fence and criticizing all sides, what's the appropriate symbol for you? He decided on the badger, and provided this delightful picture:

Well, I suppose I can live with that. After all, I've been called an idiot by a commenter to this blog, so I guess I can handle having the badger as a symbol. And I do, after all, intend to continue using this blog to badger hypocritical politicians and religious figures of all parties and labels. As the local curmudgeon-at-large, I can hardly do otherwise.

Let's hear it for the badgers!

Have a good day. More thoughts coming over the weekend.

Bilbo