Political thoughts

I know that you have all been bombarded by politics everywhere, and the last thing you want to read right now are more political thoughts. I get that. I can't help myself.

First things first, I am so disappointed in the presidential tickets. Seriously- these are the best America has to offer? Why is it that in order to have a great nominee, one who really would be a good candidate, that person must also be very wealthy? It seems that whoever has the most money makes the ballot. Very sad. I imagine we have lost some amazing candidates over this reality.

Second, I am a conservative Republican by all standards. I agree that things in our country are a little shaky right now, and I know that something needs to change. Change is not a bad thing. As long as it is the right change. I may not agree with every single one of George Bush's policies, but I admire and respect the man. I voted for him both terms, and continue to believe that he was the right man for the office. I believe that he genuinely cares for this great country and has the people's best interest at heart in every decision he has made. I'm blown away at the utter disrespect he is given by the media and others, who chastise him at every turn. This man has taken on more crisis' in his term than most presidents, and has handled each situation (with the help of many intelligent professionals) in the best way possible.

I understand people are against the war in Iraq- I think it is nuts to assume that Republicans, because we support our president and our troops, are in favor of the war. No one favors war. No one likes to send their husbands, sons, daughters, cousins, and friends into a hostile situation and spend lots of money to do so. BUT, if our president, a man whose character and heart I believe are genuinely good, believes this is the right course of action, and our military believes it is the right course of action, than so do I. I have had the privilege of knowing several men who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all of them strongly believe in the war they are fighting. Not because they want to fight or risk their lives to be heroes (though they are definitely heroes in my eyes), but because they have been there. They have looked into the eyes of the innocent people of those countries. They see what they are fighting for. And they know of their loved ones back at home who they are fighting to protect. Of course, I want the war to be over. But do people really think that by picking up and leaving Iraq, that the war is over? I don't think so. I agree that perhaps some change needs to be made in the budget for the war, and that perhaps we could begin handing more of the responsibility of the peace to the Iraqi government, but you know what? I am not in the military. I have no idea what all is involved in war processes and procedures. I'm certainly not going to hire an un-knowledgeable "plumber" to come to my house and fix my electricity...so why in the world should a lawyer decide what an entire military should do? We each have our areas of expertise, and to blatantly ignore the warnings of professionals seems incredibly dumb (and scary)to me.

And back to Bush for a second- the poor guy was screwed the day those planes hit our home. When he stood tall and proud and spoke words of intimidation and revenge- promising to seek out and destroy those who hurt us and all terrorists who threaten to hurt us in the future, everyone was pumped. But when he put his words into action, suddenly people did not like what that actually looked like. On the other hand, had he spoke the words and then done nothing, people would complain that he was a timid liar. It was a lose-lose situation for him, and that stinks. Everyone seems to think he is leaving office with his tail between his legs, and I disagree. I hope he walks out of that office with his head up high, knowing that he has done the best he could have given the circumstances thrown at him. I can only imagine what people will think when the next president attempts to "fix" and"change" everything, and realizes...whoa- this is a lot to deal with, and its not so easy to just fix and change over night.

Okay, on to the Sarah Palin debate. Yes, I like her. Not because she claims to be a "hockey mom" or because I see myself as her best friend. I like her because of what she votes for. Plain and simple.

Every one of you has your own moral compass, your own list of priorities, your own core beliefs. Perhaps for some of you, you have been in and out of hospitals your entire life, and so your major focus is on health care, and you will vote for whoever best captures your belief on health care coverage. Perhaps you are a financial advisor and know all the ins and outs of our tax system, and thus the issue at the forefront of your mind is how our taxes are used and redistributed for government use- you will vote accordingly. I don't think you are ignorant for your core beliefs, and I would never expect you to vote outside of those beliefs. I am so blown away by the majority of liberals who yell and scream about republicans being "ignorant, intolerable, and judgemental." Absolutely stunned. Your circumstances, your faith, your character, your life make up your core belief system. Just because my core belief system might be different than yours does not mean that I am uneducated. It does not mean that I am judgemental. Sure, there are some people who are judgemental, and for all those people out there, I'm sorry. Its not right to lump everyone into that category. I believe in Jesus Christ, and therefore a lot of my core beliefs stem from my faith. That does not mean I am close-minded. It means that my mind believes that those issues are most important to me, and therefore I will vote accordingly. This truly blows my mind (which is probably why my post is all over the place)...how is it that the liberal media constantly tells republicans how intolerant of others we are, and the like, when they in turn are intolerant of our beliefs?

The fact that I believe in the protection of a precious life inside its Mommy's tummy does not mean that I am intolerable of that Mommy! My belief has been shaped by my life- by the friends I have who have lost their own babies and would give anything to have a baby of their own- by my mother-in-law who is social worker in adoption and helps brave young women who do choose life, find a special home for their babies where they will be loved more than I can even imagine- by family members who have had the 'oops' baby, and have said that out of the devastation of that mistake has come the single greatest joy in their lives. It seems that people like to go back to the few instances of rape, and the impregnation of the Mama through that horrible event. I do not pretend to understand how unbearable and difficult that situation must be. But I do believe that good can come from evil. I hear the stories of the fetus actually harming or taking the life of the mother...let me tell you, when I was pregnant with Ryleigh, she was already my baby, and I would have gladly and willingly given my life for hers. Every life is precious. And those few, rare cases of rape and life-risking pregnancies are the exception, not the rule. The majority of all abortions are because people chose to engage in unprotected sex. If you choose to engage in a behavior, than you better be willing to deal with potential consequences (or rewards, depending on how you look at it). That is Pro-Choice- you made the choice to have sex, why does your baby not get the choice to take its first breath? Laws are made to protect those who cant otherwise protect themselves. Prime example. If this makes me close-minded, well, then okay.

My thoughts on homosexual marriage are slightly more difficult to convey. I am a Christian, so clearly I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. Period. However, I understand so many arguments about the civil rights of homosexual couples. I don't think homosexuality is right, but who am I to judge? Those individuals will have to answer to someone much higher than myself about their chosen life styles soon enough. However, back to politics. I can vote against changing the sanctity of marriage for several reasons. The first is purely selfish, I admit. It weirds me out. It is unnatural. I don't like the thought of my daughter seeing two women kissing, and asking me about it. The second reason, is I see this as a very slippery slope. If we start re-defining the very words of our laws, what will be stopping point? If we change the foundation of the word marriage, who is to say that one day people will not be asking to change it again? What if 15 years from now, people begin to have sexual urges towards their animals, saying it is how they were made? Will we change the law to allow them to marry their animals? Or what about polygamy? Once we change the law from one man and one woman, whose to say it wont change to one man and five women? So, while I think it is sad that a couple could come to the end and not be given the same rights as other married couples, I cannot agree with changing this law. Once you start, where do you stop?

Okay, last point, I promise. Taxes. Again, no one likes an increase in taxes. I love that typically, the "middle class" is Democratic and politicians are forever harping at lowering taxes for the middle class. I am a part of middle class! Of course, I want lower taxes. But here is a question. I am considered middle class, right now, while my husband and I are still freshly out of college. I want a tax break now. So, let's say 20 years down the road, we miraculously strike it rich and are suddenly pushed into a higher tax bracket- would I still want a tax break for the middle class? No! Then I would want a tax break for myself!! Duh. Everyone wants a tax break. So here is where the rubber meets the road for me. I have no problem paying my taxes. I own property, so yeah, I should pay some taxes for the property that I posses. If I have enough extra cash laying around to go buy expensive cars, then yeah, I should pay some heavy sales tax on my luxury items. But to be taxed for working? For trying to do my best to contribute to society by working hard to provide for my family? Or for trying to maintain a small business to help employ fifty people? Wow- that is a slap in my face, for trying to work hard. And what am I paying for? I am praying for government programs to help the "less fortunate," translated=those who are not working hard. Now before you run off thinking I am some cold-hearted, selfish person, hear me out. I want to help people. Truly, I do. I love donating to charities that I believe in, or taking bags upon bags of clothes and furniture to Goodwill. I love sending bags of food to food banks that feed the poor. I am not blind to the fact that some people truly cannot work, and deserve a little help. Of course. But what I am not okay with, are those who prefer a check from the government (of my hard-earned) money to going out and getting their own job and making their own hard-earned money. Let me ask you- if the government paid for your health care, your groceries, your bills...would you work additionally? Heck no! I sure as heck wouldn't. I'm all about having government programs in place to feed hungry babies and clothe homeless people. But I'm more in favor of providing them with jobs and tools to go out and make the change in their own lives. I always laugh when election season comes around, and we get to hear the stories of "how I rose above the slums, living the American dream, and got to where I am today....etc." Did those people who truly pulled themselves out of poverty do so because the government sent them a check every two weeks and they magically made it out? No. They did it because they did something. They got a job. Or two. They chose to apply for scholarships to go to school. They worked hard. They invested their money wisely. They saved their money- not spending it on shopping sprees, alcohol, or drugs. I hear that Republicans want to keep the rich, rich and keep the poor, poor. That's a load of crap, people. I don't want to "keep" anyone poor. But I also don't want to give away my "riches" to someone else. I worked hard for my small salary, and I want to keep and save as much as I can for my family. Not so I can buy nicer things for myself- so I can afford to send my daughter to college. So I can have an emergency fund for tough times. So I can donate more to the charities of my choice. (Ahhh- did you catch that? I did it again. I used the word choice. I love how liberals demand a choice for pregnant mothers and homosexual couples, but there is no choice in how the government can take and spend your money...that they assume the "wealthy" are so selfish and stingy, they would not give of their money unless forced. I can think of several examples which clearly defy that notion...) So, I see two ways of looking at tax breaks. Either we give "breaks" to the middle class, by handing them government programs and a check in the mail for doing absolutely nothing; meanwhile, increasing taxes on small businesses and corporations, which in turn have to cut back employees, thus forcing even more people into the middle class. Or, we come up with an even percentage across the board. Those who make more- pay more. Those who make less- pay less. But everyone contributes. If you make nothing, then we help you get yourself a job so that you can. If this makes me selfish, then call it what you like.

The bottom line is this. I have my beliefs and you have yours. There will be a change in our government within a few short weeks. I promise to not call you nasty names or think you are the devil for your beliefs, if you promise to quit insulting my intelligence and claiming that I have no tolerance for people (when you in turn, do not tolerate my views). At this point, we might as well agree to disagree.

No, I don't think John McCain is the ideal candidate. But in my opinion, according to my beliefs and core values, he is the lesser of two evils.

Regardless of your belief, if it is the same as mine or starkly different, I encourage you to take advantage of the awesome opportunity we have in this country to vote for our leaders. You have a voice- you better use it. And if you don't, then you better sit back and chill out rather than complain for the next four years.

I for one am going to pray for whoever is elected. The world is in a scary, uncertain place right now. No, I don't claim to know what is the right way to "fix" it all, and I don't think McCain or Obama have a clear, perfect plan to fix it all. I'm praying for the lesser of all evils, and I know God has a plan for whoever is elected next month.

Whew. Now that was a rant. If you hung with me this long, I'm impressed. If you never come back to read again, that's your choice. I was going to disable comments because I'm not really looking for a debate. But hey- this is America! Everyone has a right of speech, so feel free to lay 'em out there. No name calling, please. =)