My Two Cents

WARNING: This post is about to delve into the realm of politics. If you get offended easily or want to stay completely out of this sphere, then please don't read any further.


I rarely discuss politics with people. This isn't for the reason that most of you assume (that I am just unaware). I usually try to stay up to date on politics and what's going on around me. I do, however, fall into the camp of wishing I could remain blissfully unaware of the world. There is so much yuck out there, and I just don't like hearing most of it. Unfortunately that is not the most responsible thing to do. Plus, the stuff I don't like hearing about isn't life altering (at least not to me) if I don't know about it. For example, I would prefer not to hear about the child whose stupid parent left them in a hot car to die. I know these things happen, and it's terrible, but I don't like the emotional mess I become when I hear about it. I am extremely sensitive to sad news about children, so unless it poses a threat to me or my family, I would rather not know about it. You can ask my mom. She would always be reading the paper at the kitchen table in the evenings when I was trying to do homework and would gasp loudly or say something like "Oh my gosh", and then want to launch into an explanation divulging the details of what caused her reaction. I would frequently ask her not to do that, and would try to leave the room before she could continue (not usually succeeding). So I've always been this way. But I'll stress again that it's just the irrelevant bits of sad news I don't want to know. Otherwise I try to stay up to date.


So, on to politics. There have been so many things on my mind lately, and I feel like I'll burst if I don't share them somewhere. The reason I don't usually discuss politics with people is that if I have an opinion on something, it's usually a very strong one, so much so that I could easily offend someone. Now, I tend to value my relationships and friendships with others, so I don't want to offend them. I don't get offended easily, but others are usually more sensitive. You may be thinking, why don't I just be nicer, or less direct with my comments? Well clearly you don't know me very well. Quick introduction: I am unapologetically loud, sarcastic, in your face, sarcastic, assertive, forward, did I mention sarcastic? And many more things I'm sure. I should include opinionated on the list, but wanted to make sure it wasn't misconstrued as narrow-mindedness. If I'm wrong about something I'll gladly change my opinion.


In case you didn't know, I am a conservative. That may cause you to think I'm boring or old or stupid, but let me share a favorite quote. Winston Churchill said, “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” There are a few key points that I firmly believe that keep me in the conservative group. For starters I absolutely 100% believe in the sanctity of life. I very much feel that abortion is wrong. I don't think it's necessary. If you are not ready and willing to have kids (in case of an unplanned pregnancy), then stop having sex!! Don't be stupid and irresponsible and then kill your unborn defenseless fetus just to "solve" your problem. People today do not want to suffer any consequences for their behavior. Yes we have the freedom to choose, but that doesn't mean we should choose foolishly. And the thought that some people could actually support infanticide completely shocks me. There are no words sufficient enough to voice how appauled I am. And I have a hard time understanding how anyone who has any percentage of a brain, no matter what other political beliefs they have, could under any circumstances bring themselves to vote for someone who supports such sickening practices (like a certain presidential candidate who is evil incarnate and a pox on society). Keep in mind that it's the President who appoints Supreme Court Justices who have the authority to actually dictate what is legal and what isn't when it comes to issues like abortion and infanticide. These Supreme Court Justices are life appointments and will be able to adversely change the law long after a presidents term is over. This is arguably the longest lasting affect of any presidents term in office. So it is very important to support not only your candidate for their beliefs and goals, but also for who they may appoint to other positions.


Okay, next thought. I am confused by the reaction Sarah Palin has received as the running mate of Senator McCain. Think what you will about her as far as how capable she is etc, but I'm referring to people being overly concerned about her neglecting her baby if she is put into office. What the?!! The people who are mostly "concerned" are the same people who profess to being advocates of equal rights, feminism, etc. Why are they now flipping the switch onto family values? I happen to support the family, and think it's best (at least when the kids are young) to have one of the parents stay home if possible. But if someone wants to work, then who am I to judge their reasons? So, if Sarah Palin wants to work while she has a young child, then let her. As far as questioning her ability to parent her children and her dedication to them, everything vouches for her very highly. And her daughter still might have become pregnant if Governor Palin had been home more often. Even stay at home parents can't keep an eye on their children all the time (especially when their in high school). You can't blame her daughters poor choices on her (Sarah). But I am mostly talking about her newborn. Special needs or not, I would hope that if she were going to be away from home more frequently, that her husband would step up his game and be more involved. She is known for bringing her children with her to work when she needs to, so I don't think her kids are suffering because of her career choices. Besides, she didn't start out with White House dreams or anything. She was just a concerned parent. So the naysayers who criticize her should probably give her a little slack. I have just enough faith in humanity left to believe that if this were going to jeopardize her family at all that she would not have agreed to run in the election. So support her or don't support her for the position of Vice President, but support her in her choice to try to enter this level of politics which has so far been (not purposely necessarily) restricted to men, especially if you claim to support women's movements etc.


Okay, my last point is about voting. I agree that it is our responsibility as Americans to vote. We shouldn't waste our right to a voice by not voting. Even if we don't think our candidate will win. Now, that being said, I also feel the votes we make should not be wasted. What I mean is voting for someone who really truly does not have a chance to win. Because this inevitably changes the outcome for those who do stand a chance to win. I'm mostly talking about independent or third party candidates. I'm not saying that they are not good people who may have good points and who may make great leaders if elected, but they do not have a chance to win. They have the right to run, but I think a major flaw in our system is having more than 2 candidates in the final race. No matter how many people run, we should always narrow it down to two prior to the final election. It's a travesty when someone is elected who has less than half of the Electorate supporting them. No one should be in the White House with less than 50% of the vote. I realize that this could occasionally cause my candidate of choice to lose, but for the most part it's my candidate who is hurt by a third party nominee, probably because it's usually soft-headed conservatives who bend and compromise their values resulting in a wasted vote. As an example, I cite the election of Bill Clinton to his first term in 1992. He won with only 43% of the popular vote. If you further delve into the numbers you would discover that a large enough number of the nearly 19% of voters who voted for Ross Perot come from social groups more likely to have voted for then President Bush than Bill Clinton. So, it is likely that if we had narrowed the vote to only 2 candidates in the final election, that there would have been a different outcome. Even if I don't like a president, somehow I feel better about them being in office if at least half the country wanted them there. Then instead of blaming an imperfect system, I could blame the idiots in the country for choosing poorly.


So all I ask is that come election day you go to the polls, stay true to yourself and your values and beliefs whatever they are, and don't waste your vote. Make it actually count.