Politics

J. commented 'wow, honey, you're getting pretty political'. My one comment on which party to vote for has raised my blog to one with political currents. It's most definitely NOT a political blog...but the subject is worth discussing.

I was born and raised in Arizona and for the most part, if you are born and raised in Arizona, you are a Republican. I was a Republican for most of my early voting years. I was a Republican because my parents were, and there parents before them, and so on. I didn't think about any of the issues - I just voted Republican because 'that's what I am'.

I married a Democrat and for the first few years of our marriage, our votes pretty much cancelled each others out. He would vote staunchly Democrat and I would vote staunchly Republican. I offered no rationale for my voting record besides 'I am a Republican'.

I have referred to 'finding my voice' in this blog. I was silent a lot during my childhood and even into adulthood. It is amazing to me to know myself now and realize how so incredibly different I am from where I was awhile back. I speak a lot now - meaning I say what I mean and mean what I say. Anyone who knows me now would never imagine in a zillion years that I was once so painfully shy and insecure that I was practically incapable of communication on any level. How I survived college and wound up managing people in my 20's is beyond my comprehension - but I did. And now, having found my voice, I'm frequently and often expressing my thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects. Just ask my boss or J. or the people and friends who communicate with me daily.

So, somewhere along the way to finding my voice, I actually started thinking about the stands taken by our government. And I realized, somewhat shockingly and rather 'late' (in my opinion, now, looking back) that there isn't a single, blooming thing about me that is a Republican. I am not in any way conservative. Yes, I believe in God and have a lot of faith. But I don't think our government should enter into deciding what choices a woman has. I also believe VERY strongly that a person can and should love whomever they choose and that two people's decision to declare their love for each other and have it be a legally recognized union is something that every person should be able to do, regardless of the gender they have fallen in love with. So little by little, it became very clear to me that I AM A DEMOCRAT. I probably always have been - but expressing opinions contrary to those I was raised with was not something I was good at for a long time.

And then came George W. Bush. He is incompetent - there are stronger terms I could choose, but that sums it up. I don't think he is malicious in his decisions. He obviously believes what he believes very strongly and is in a position to act on those beliefs. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to go along for his ride, whether we want to or not. Somedays, it is all I can do to not hurl something breakable at the TV screen. Every time the man opens his mouth, I cringe. This whole war debacle is just so incredibly ridiculous. How in the world the people of America EVER believed we were doing this for any rational reason is beyond my comprehension. We shouldn't be there. We have no business being there. The 'war on terror' is a joke, people. Wake up. Yes, 9/11 was a tragedy and it is a terrible thing that there are zealots in the world that hate Americans so much, they would plan and execute such a horrible attack on a country. But our invasion of a country doesn't solve those issues. Extremists have existed throughout time and will always exist - and us invading a country and taking over just to show we can doesn't and won't stop those people from trying to hurt us.

My children and their children and quite possibly their children's children will be paying for this war. That's a long time to pay for something 'just because'. I have lost complete faith in our government. Never in my life has it been more clear to me that it IS all about the party you align yourself with. How any rational person can look at what we are doing and look at what the consequences are to what we are doing - and most importantly UNDERSTAND that the reasons given for going to war were FALSE, LIES, CRAP - and still stand behind this administration is just unfathomable to me.

Wake up, America. The only saving factor is that there is absolutely NO WAY there will be 4 more years of George W. Bush in the White House. That is something to celebrate. Now vote your conscience - not your party - understand the issues and act on them.