Let's Talk Politics!

Haw haw..... Somebody made the comment awhile back that if I was looking for a topic to heat things up around here that politics would be the way to go. :) Well, I'm actually not all that into politics, but I do have a few things to say.

One of the political things I dislike the most is the Christians who think that the Republican party is THE PARTY of Christians. They seem to think that
Republican= Good
Democrat= Evil

What I dislike even more is the Christian homeschooler-types who are super hyperly into Republican activism and they think every other Christian homeschooler-type should also make super duper Republican activism one of their top priorities. Furthermore, if these types even caught a sniff of a fellow Christian homeschooler-type NOT pledging alliegance to the Republican party, then they lose respect for them, add them to the prayer chain, and seem to think they've gone to hell in a handbasket, or at least they're headed that way.

I've observed and experienced some of the most obnoxious, rude, hateful, snotty, persistent politicking by Christian homeschooler types. It seems that when it comes to politics with them, that the Republican party can do no wrong, and the basics of Christianity go out the window. (Things like kindness, love, you know--just small stuff....)

Now, all of this doesn't mean that I'm some super Democrat or anything. I'm not. I've never voted for a Democrat for president, although I have for other things. I think George W. Bush has done a decent job as president, and I think he seems like a genuinely nice guy and I'd probably very much enjoy having him and his wife over for dinner. We could play a few rounds of Dutch Blitz and tell stories. But, you know, I'm really really not naiive enough to think that GWB is all about being a Christian and isn't greatly influenced by many varied powers-that-be in the government and beyond. There's no way a guy gets to be president and really, truly gets to follow his vision and his conscience every step of the way 100%. No way. Selling out and survival is part of the game and I cannot imagine that someone whose political roots go as deep as someone from the Bush family does, can escape that.

So, sorry friends, but I am not going to sit around getting teary-eyed with you about how blessed we are to have such a wonderful Christian president. Yes, I think he really is a Christian. Yes, I like him fine. But I'm not going to lose perspective on it.

Next thing:
It's time for the Electoral College to go. Yes? What a cruddy system. I think if we're going to tell people that it matters if they vote, let's have it actually be the truth. The truth is that your vote matters very little while the electoral college is still in place. If you're a Democrat in a widely Republican state, guess what--your vote is merely symbolic. It isn't going to do a darn thing for the person you voted for. Let's get to the point where every vote counts equally, regardless of where you live. That's the only fair way. I can't believe such a stupid system has lasted so long.

Now, enough about that. On to another aspect of politics:

Haven't we all had ENOUGH of the 2 party system in this country? Aren't you sick of so often getting to vote for the lesser of two evils, or for someone who has no new ideas and no innovation and nothing really and truly FRESH to try? Well, I have. I think we've heard all there is to tell about social security, medical insurance, taxes, defense, public education, and so on. There's only so many ways that Democrats and Republicans are going to try to package it. After awhile, it's all just a variation on the same thing.

WHAT IF people started to do some serious research about third party candidates? WHAT IF you went to their web sites and started reading? WHAT IF you decided to spend a few minutes or maybe an hour or more being open minded to some new ideas? Maybe you'd find something you could really get excited about. Maybe you could find someone to vote for that you really believe in.

WHAT IF in this election 15% of the people voted for a third party candidate? Maybe in 4 years it would be up to 22%..... And in 4 more years maybe 30%.... over time maybe people would start to believe that it is NOT a waste of a vote to vote for someone they really believe in! Maybe we could turn this ship around, and get some more valid competition in the political arena. Maybe we could get some leaders who would not be afraid to try some new things. it could be very exciting! It also might be scary and some of it wouldn't work, just like lots of things don't work very well right now. Still, I'm sick of this country basically split into 2 political groups, when I don't think that the majority of people are actually truly represented by either.

Here is a little quiz you can take to find out what candidates actually share your views on politics. You might be quite surprised at your results:
http://www.ontheissues.org/quizeng/XPresMatch2004/start.asp

And here's another one:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

Here are some links to check out in case you'd like to learn more about WHAT ELSE is out there:
Libertarian Party
http://www.lp.org/

Constitution Party
http://www.constitutionparty.com/

Green Party
http://www.gp.org/

Reform Party
http://www.reformparty.org/cgi-bin/hcgmain.cgi

These are just a few. There are actually quite a lot of different political parties in the USA and you can find them all by doing a basic search on the internet for "political parties" or something along those lines.

I don't like it when people try to tell me how to think about politics, and I'm not interested in telling you either. I just thought you might enjoy a little food for thought. :)