Why?

A lot of people have asked me why I care so much about Ferguson, or immigration reform, or issues that "don't effect me?" I'm a white, straight, raised-Catholic, upper-middle-class, male. Shouldn't I be worried about buying guns or something?

I don't view politics hyper-racially, nor do I look at the issues facing the country as racially exclusive. Lots of white people are suffering through battles with banks over the mortgage, or under-employment, or a failing public school for their child, or our crumbling infrastructure, or.... I could go on and on. White people suffer through the problems in America too, and I think that progressive solutions to these problems, or as I view them, collectivism, will improve their lives. So I find no issue here.

But since the insinuation is there, let's run with the ball. Whether it be predatory lenders, unequal pay for women compared to men, the crumbling infrastructure of our country, the problems of our public schools, or any of the major problems of America, the Republican Party refuses to solve them. They say government is not the answer, period, and refuse to solve any problems. And, well, white people vote for them. From Reagan forward, Republicans have won the white vote by clear margins in every Presidential Election, even against Presidents Clinton and Obama. White voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for the 1994, 2010, and 2014 mid-term landslides the GOP won. So yeah, a lot of the problems are self-inflicted.

Further more, by an even more stupid margin than the population as a whole, they tell us we're on the wrong track. They do so as many live on an acre lot in the suburbs, with two kids, two dogs, two cars, and two credit cards (at least). They do so as they drive on a paved road, have professional police men protecting them, have modern sewage systems, a first-class military protecting their nation from foreign invasion, generally safe food to eat and water to drink, and live in a nation with a very high standard of living. I know that our high standard of living doesn't mean we're on the right track now, but over 75% of people living in these first-world conditions are all having bad years?

Again, I don't view politics and governance as a racial thing. I think good policy brings about good outcomes for everyone. I guess though, if the question is why, I'm gonna give an answer.