INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATION
Oscar Wilde said, "Give a man a mask, and he will speak to you the truth."
The successful Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume is a mastery of satire, not of parody. In other words, you have to speak truth to power in a way that shows you have a firm grasp on the arguments that real Republicans actually believe, and cannot simply play the caricature that some liberals have for conservatives. To make this costume really work, and to truly separate satire from parody, you will need practice.
In practicing for this night, I suggest sympathizing with Bush Voters. The true meaning of sympathy means actually feeling what another is feeling, actually experiencing the same emotional body that another is experiencing. This sympathy is different from parodic play-acting, and is in fact what many actors use for practice. To really sympathize, simply look at the difference between the campaign rallies. The crowds at Kerry campaign rallies are more reserved, treating the candidate with a quiet respect as he attacks the record of the president. After all, Kerry's supporters are less Kerry supporters, and more Bush detractors. On the other hand, Bush supporters are truly that. There aren't a lot of anti-Kerry voters out there. Bush rallies are characterized by shouting, rooting, and very heavy booing. Bush rallies are more like rock-concerts or football games. The president tells jokes to undermine his opponent, and the crowd responds with roaring laughter. To create this atmosphere, the Bush camp has everyone sign a loyalty oath before entering the rally. The true question in practicing for the Halloween costume is this: why are Bush supporters so fired up while liberal voters so reserved?
As a broad characterization, I will venture to say that most liberals aren't fervent football fans, and have not truly experienced the revelry of emotionally belonging to a large group of people whose bonds of identity rest in victory. To protect this identity the fans will yell, scream, boo, and chant in order to affect, in any small way, a victory for their team (this is known in football as the 12th man on the field, and in basketball as the 6th man on the court). Those liberals who have experienced this kind of comradery will have an easier time with the Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume, since they will be more capable of understanding that someone can both rationally support an idea and irrationally yell and scream and hoot and holler in order to attempt a victory for the party they support. Where the football-fan-as-Republican metaphor breaks down is in the question of research. A football fan will spend hours every week looking at statistics and watching SportsCenter(TM) in order to refine and recast their arguments. Speaking to a football fan about football is never the same on any given week. In contrast, a Republican, as with most Americans, vote on small issues. Sadly, most American voters dont pursue a great deal of information, especially that which will challenge their opinions and beliefs. Your ability to understand opposing beliefs, sympathize with their emotional underpinnings, and represent them publicly, yet calmly will be the test of success for your Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume.
The following is a quick guide for preparing your costume. Like any good Halloween costume, the more time you spend preparing it, the better the result on Halloween night. A perfunctory Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume will result in either a failure or fist-fight, depending on your opponent/assailant.
LOOKING THE PART
Gather any pro-Bush clothing, pins, signs, etc that you can. The local Republican Party office is probably the best place to go, but you should not reveal your reasons for going to the office. Going to the local Republican Party office is also an opportunity to practice your costume. In the end, the more pro-Bush attire you don, the more likely you are to be forced into costume. In other words, if you feel confident at your ability to meet the qualifications outlined in the Being The Part section of this guide (see below), then the more pro-Bush attire you can wear. In the end, if your costume looks like you are about to attend a Bush rally but you are unable to rationally discuss the Republican Party platform, then your costume is more likely to have the parodic affect instead of the satirical. For your safety, please note that parody will be more likely to produce fist-fights on Halloween night.
BEING THE PART
First, Pick an issue.
Second, research the pro-arguments for the issue you have selected, and familiarize yourself with these arguments to the point where you can adequately paraphrase them in a public setting with strangers. For increased effectiveness, research the most common arguments against the issue you chose, and prepare rebuts to these arguments.
Next, practice believing strongly in the issue you chose. Cheer loudly and with conviction when you see or hear any of the presidents sound-bites on television or radio, and boo vehemently against his detractors, whether they be John Kerry or anyone else in the liberal media (note: you must also believe that the American media has a liberal bias). If you have the opportunity, attend a Republican rally, and play the part. Please note that this step is only a preparatory step, and should not actually be a part of the costume during Halloween night, unless you are attending a Republican rally on Halloween. Remember, this is a Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume, and screaming or jeering loudly is not rational.
Next, Have a few back-up arguments that do not represent the specific issue that you chose. For example if the issue you chose is gay marriage, then foreign policy arguments are probably the next choice for a back-up. On the other hand, if foreign policy is the issue you have chosen, then you can familiarize with other such issues as the economy. The issue of gay marriage is not recommended as a back-up issue, as the more bigoted you sound, the less rational you will appear. Likewise, the environment is probably not the best issue to choose, as a Republican environmentalist will probably just confuse people. You can also use the more traditional, and hackneyed attacks on the Democratic candidate such as the flip-flopping issue, or the distrust of the French. In the end, the more you can verbalize these attacks, the more rational you will appear, and the more successful your Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume will be.
Lastly, stay calm. This last step is vital if you truly wish to remain rational. You may encounter angry liberals who cannot themselves argue rationally for their pundit, but believe vehemently nonetheless that Bush is wrong. If you encounter such a liberal (especially during the characteristic revelry of Halloween night) simply remind them that you are doing this as a supporter for Kerry, and that it is Halloween. If need be, buy them a drink and cheer Kerry to victory. On the other hand, if you encounter an angry conservative who cannot rationally argue their support for Bush, but is nonetheless competent enough to see that you are being satirical, then simply apologize for offending them, and tell them that you did this as an exercise to challenge your liberal compatriots who you feel are often guilty of surrounding themselves with supporting ideas, and who all too often insulate themselves with comforting beliefs and agreeable political conversations. If the Republican pundit is still angered by your irony, comfort them by letting them know that even if, in their worst case scenario, Kerry does win, the Republican party still controls both houses of Congress, by many accounts the Supreme Court, and that they have all but officially turned the word liberal into a derogatory in the American political lexicon. If the angry Republican pundit cannot understand these big words, then you may have to fight. Good luck. If you happen to encounter a Republican who can calmly argue their support for the president, and you are one of the lucky liberals who can rationally argue your own political ideas, then enjoy a calm, rational political debate between people of differing beliefs, a rare thing in contemporary American politics.
Oscar Wilde said, "Give a man a mask, and he will speak to you the truth."
The successful Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume is a mastery of satire, not of parody. In other words, you have to speak truth to power in a way that shows you have a firm grasp on the arguments that real Republicans actually believe, and cannot simply play the caricature that some liberals have for conservatives. To make this costume really work, and to truly separate satire from parody, you will need practice.
In practicing for this night, I suggest sympathizing with Bush Voters. The true meaning of sympathy means actually feeling what another is feeling, actually experiencing the same emotional body that another is experiencing. This sympathy is different from parodic play-acting, and is in fact what many actors use for practice. To really sympathize, simply look at the difference between the campaign rallies. The crowds at Kerry campaign rallies are more reserved, treating the candidate with a quiet respect as he attacks the record of the president. After all, Kerry's supporters are less Kerry supporters, and more Bush detractors. On the other hand, Bush supporters are truly that. There aren't a lot of anti-Kerry voters out there. Bush rallies are characterized by shouting, rooting, and very heavy booing. Bush rallies are more like rock-concerts or football games. The president tells jokes to undermine his opponent, and the crowd responds with roaring laughter. To create this atmosphere, the Bush camp has everyone sign a loyalty oath before entering the rally. The true question in practicing for the Halloween costume is this: why are Bush supporters so fired up while liberal voters so reserved?
As a broad characterization, I will venture to say that most liberals aren't fervent football fans, and have not truly experienced the revelry of emotionally belonging to a large group of people whose bonds of identity rest in victory. To protect this identity the fans will yell, scream, boo, and chant in order to affect, in any small way, a victory for their team (this is known in football as the 12th man on the field, and in basketball as the 6th man on the court). Those liberals who have experienced this kind of comradery will have an easier time with the Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume, since they will be more capable of understanding that someone can both rationally support an idea and irrationally yell and scream and hoot and holler in order to attempt a victory for the party they support. Where the football-fan-as-Republican metaphor breaks down is in the question of research. A football fan will spend hours every week looking at statistics and watching SportsCenter(TM) in order to refine and recast their arguments. Speaking to a football fan about football is never the same on any given week. In contrast, a Republican, as with most Americans, vote on small issues. Sadly, most American voters dont pursue a great deal of information, especially that which will challenge their opinions and beliefs. Your ability to understand opposing beliefs, sympathize with their emotional underpinnings, and represent them publicly, yet calmly will be the test of success for your Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume.
The following is a quick guide for preparing your costume. Like any good Halloween costume, the more time you spend preparing it, the better the result on Halloween night. A perfunctory Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume will result in either a failure or fist-fight, depending on your opponent/assailant.
LOOKING THE PART
Gather any pro-Bush clothing, pins, signs, etc that you can. The local Republican Party office is probably the best place to go, but you should not reveal your reasons for going to the office. Going to the local Republican Party office is also an opportunity to practice your costume. In the end, the more pro-Bush attire you don, the more likely you are to be forced into costume. In other words, if you feel confident at your ability to meet the qualifications outlined in the Being The Part section of this guide (see below), then the more pro-Bush attire you can wear. In the end, if your costume looks like you are about to attend a Bush rally but you are unable to rationally discuss the Republican Party platform, then your costume is more likely to have the parodic affect instead of the satirical. For your safety, please note that parody will be more likely to produce fist-fights on Halloween night.
BEING THE PART
First, Pick an issue.
Second, research the pro-arguments for the issue you have selected, and familiarize yourself with these arguments to the point where you can adequately paraphrase them in a public setting with strangers. For increased effectiveness, research the most common arguments against the issue you chose, and prepare rebuts to these arguments.
Next, practice believing strongly in the issue you chose. Cheer loudly and with conviction when you see or hear any of the presidents sound-bites on television or radio, and boo vehemently against his detractors, whether they be John Kerry or anyone else in the liberal media (note: you must also believe that the American media has a liberal bias). If you have the opportunity, attend a Republican rally, and play the part. Please note that this step is only a preparatory step, and should not actually be a part of the costume during Halloween night, unless you are attending a Republican rally on Halloween. Remember, this is a Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume, and screaming or jeering loudly is not rational.
Next, Have a few back-up arguments that do not represent the specific issue that you chose. For example if the issue you chose is gay marriage, then foreign policy arguments are probably the next choice for a back-up. On the other hand, if foreign policy is the issue you have chosen, then you can familiarize with other such issues as the economy. The issue of gay marriage is not recommended as a back-up issue, as the more bigoted you sound, the less rational you will appear. Likewise, the environment is probably not the best issue to choose, as a Republican environmentalist will probably just confuse people. You can also use the more traditional, and hackneyed attacks on the Democratic candidate such as the flip-flopping issue, or the distrust of the French. In the end, the more you can verbalize these attacks, the more rational you will appear, and the more successful your Rational-Republican-for-Halloween costume will be.
Lastly, stay calm. This last step is vital if you truly wish to remain rational. You may encounter angry liberals who cannot themselves argue rationally for their pundit, but believe vehemently nonetheless that Bush is wrong. If you encounter such a liberal (especially during the characteristic revelry of Halloween night) simply remind them that you are doing this as a supporter for Kerry, and that it is Halloween. If need be, buy them a drink and cheer Kerry to victory. On the other hand, if you encounter an angry conservative who cannot rationally argue their support for Bush, but is nonetheless competent enough to see that you are being satirical, then simply apologize for offending them, and tell them that you did this as an exercise to challenge your liberal compatriots who you feel are often guilty of surrounding themselves with supporting ideas, and who all too often insulate themselves with comforting beliefs and agreeable political conversations. If the Republican pundit is still angered by your irony, comfort them by letting them know that even if, in their worst case scenario, Kerry does win, the Republican party still controls both houses of Congress, by many accounts the Supreme Court, and that they have all but officially turned the word liberal into a derogatory in the American political lexicon. If the angry Republican pundit cannot understand these big words, then you may have to fight. Good luck. If you happen to encounter a Republican who can calmly argue their support for the president, and you are one of the lucky liberals who can rationally argue your own political ideas, then enjoy a calm, rational political debate between people of differing beliefs, a rare thing in contemporary American politics.
