Yes, I am a flip-flopper. An open letter to the right-wing lurkers.

[Bjorn Against]

Dear Right-Wing Lurkers,

As many people here know I used to be on your side of the political spectrum myself. I used to believe in this thing you call the free-market, I used to believe global warming was a hoax, and I used to believe that corporations could be trusted to do what was in the best interests of society. You know what happened though? I recognized I was wrong.

I was wrong, and I admit I was wrong. I am not proud that I was wrong, but I am not ashamed of it either because I know that I recognized my misguided ways and I changed. You can call me a flip-flopper all you want, it doesn't bother me one bit because I know that I recognized the facts and I made changes in my beliefs that are consistent with those facts.

Nearly every credible scientist on this Earth recognizes that global warming is a serious issue, an issue so serious in fact that our very planet could die out if we don't act quickly. Yet right-wing ideology is holding up progress because rather than listening to the science, your side is listening to those who would rather lie to you than to undermine their ideology or their profits.

We hear a great deal about freedom coming from the right-wing, but what exactly is freedom? Does freedom mean nothing more than the ability of corporations to make huge profits? And how exactly does it protect our freedoms to bomb other countries which posed not threat to our freedoms? We are constantly being lectured about freedom by people who torture, people who bomb civilian neighborhoods, people who want to listen in on our phone conversations, and people want to limit our rights to peacefully protest to what they call "free speech zones".

If they truly wanted freedom though, they would recognize this whole country as a free speech zone. They would not be trying to limit my right to free speech by doing away with net neutrality, they would not be shipping people off to secret prisons overseas, they would not be torturing people, and they would view freedom as meaning something more than simply dropping bombs on people.

As much as your side likes to say nice words about freedom, we have seen your ideology do nothing but undermine our freedoms.

I used to be a right-winger because I thought that the right-wing was sincere when they told me about their desires to stand up for freedom. But the more I watched them in action, the more I realized that they talked about freedom in the same way the George Orwell did. To them freedom meant authority, and no matter how many empty slogans they fed me about freedom it became very clear that their goal was control.

And so I moved to the left, not the center but the left. I moved to the left because that is where I saw the people taking to the streets and calling for true freedom. I saw people standing up for the workers to organize for their own interests, I saw people standing up to condemn the slaughter of innocent civilians, I saw people standing up for science and the protection of our environment, and I saw people standing up for democracy.

So yes, you can call me a flip-flopper but I have no regrets about flipping my positions, in fact moving to the left was the best decision I have ever made in my lifetime. Now it is my duty and obligation as an American citizen to exercise my first amendment rights, and I will continue to speak out and condemn the people who are destroying this nation.

While I condemn the right-wing however, I will also always recognize one thing; people can change. Right now it is up to those of you on the right end of the spectrum to recognize the flaws in your ideology. You need to recognize the piles of dead bodies that are laying in Iraq right now who were killed in your name, you need to recognize the people who are sleeping on the streets tonight because your ideology has embraced corporate profits over workers rights, you need to recognize the people who are going to suffer as the result of global warming, and you need to recognize your ideology is contributing to this. It is not too late to change. I changed and I was accepted onto the left with open arms, and as long as you are genuine in your desire to bring about a better society you will be too.

Yes we will fight you every step of the way as long as you are pushing a dangerous ideology, but we are also willing to respect those who are able to admit they were wrong in the past.

This is a crucial time for our nation. We have seen hundreds of thousands of people killed in Iraq, we have seen tens of millions suffer without health care, and we have watched our environment slowly approach a tipping point. The time for change is now, and it can't be incremental change. We need to save our society for our future and our children's future. It is time to decide which side you are on. Do you stand with those who are killing civilians, or do you stand with those who are trying to stop the killing.

It is your choice.

Sincerely,
A Citizen