by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz
Much to the dismay of my uninformed detractors, we turned another year older this week. How old? Well, I’ll be old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and old enough not to care. But as I get older, I’ve noticed that my political philosophy is becoming a lot more liberal than it used to be, a classic liberal, that is.
Yup. I have become a more free market, more free trade and even free people. And as I look out into the political universe, I see a lot of people who think that way, but you really have to use your X-ray vision to pierce through all the political noise. Now, before you say another word, I will admit to writing an item or two over the last 20 years that had left a rather large carbon footprint when it came to what generated that noise. That still doesn’t diminish the fact that you know I’m right.
When I say I’m more free market, that means I am anti-tariff. Tariffs are fundamentally tax increases. Plain and simple. And what’s the old phrase, “Corporations don’t pay taxes; people do.” Well, guess what? When the Trump guys raise the tariffs, companies just pass those costs to the consumer. And those tariffs slow down the economy, which throws a giant monkey wrench into the economy, and that contributes to a $2.4 billion projected revenue shortfall. And for those of you who still can’t figure this out, if there were no tariff increases, there would be no tax increases that you would be paying. I am a lot more free market than I used to be.
I am also a lot more “free people” than I used to be. I was always more of an individualist in my approach to things, and I met the information that I received, given, and consumed with a big giant edible filled with skepticism, and was happy to present it in a manner folks would find informative, entertaining with just the right amount of intellectual-Blazin Saddlesesque laden snark. Now, I’m even more of that I feel the best way to do this is to get even more engaged to “combat the crazy”! You know who they are. They are people who fill the airwaves and social media with utter nonsense and then have the audacity to get upset with the politically reasonable crowd.
These are the people who file primary challengers against “establishment” elected officials because they don’t believe they are “conservative enough.” Of course, for some of these people, the folks who ran Berlin in 1938 probably weren’t conservative enough either. And when they get their clocks cleaned, they blame everyone except for the person in the mirror.
But when you do think about getting older, there is one thing I have definitely noticed, particularly when it comes to dealing with the cabal of crazy: If you stick around long enough, you will see everything two or three times. Having seen this movie before, you know how it ends. And you know how to adjust and deal with it accordingly. Now, I will admit there are times when you see a new twist on an old story, but we all know how it ends.
So, as I sit back, relax and enjoy a cocktail and cigar, I take great pride in my continued evolution as a classic liberal. Here’s to free markets, free trade, and free people, of course, sprinkled in with a do no harm to others philosophy.
If only everyone else aged as gracefully as I do, to quote Sam Cooke, what a wonderful world this would be.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is the editor and publisher of Indy Politics. He is also an attorney licensed in Indiana and Illinois.
Photo: AI
