Politics and Boxes

I realize that I may step on some toes here but hey, this is my blog.  It is a safe place for me to express my opinions.  I welcome other viewpoints, as long as people remain polite and do not go on the attack. :)  I think we can all learn from each other. :)


Lately, with all the political ads, attacks, town hall meetings and media coverage I have grown tired of people trying to put other people in neat little "Boxes" based on their political affiliation.  If a candidate or representative from one party says or does something someone else does not agree with then guess what...all of a sudden every member of that party (the one who belongs to the party they disagree with) is "Bad" and must agree with whatever it was that was said. I'm here to disagree with that!


Just as there are many variations in shapes, sizes, colors, etc. in flowers, there are also various opinions and personal beliefs within each party because it is made up of individual people.  Just because I belong to one party does not mean that I agree with everything they stand for or say in the same way that I am not going to disagree with everything the other parties say either.  I think there is good in each and there is also some bad in each.  If Joe, from party C says something that offends me, I am not going to hold that against everyone else in party C, maybe Joe is just being ignorant and/or has not researched his facts.  Likewise, if Tim, from party Z, says something that I find well informed and that I agree with, even if I am registered with party S, then I give him credit.  Maybe someone from party S (which I belong to) says something that I do not agree with...well guess what, I am not going to agree with him just because I belong to party S.  I base my beliefs on what makes sense to me and what my core values are.  I try to take in the information, sort through it, research it and then I vote for the candidate that most lines up with my beliefs and values...I don't care what party he or she belongs to and vote across party lines all the time.


Do I think our country is in trouble?  Yes...just look at what is happening all around us with people losing their jobs and homes.  Do I think we can add trillions of new debt to our already burdened system without it collapsing like it did in Greece?  No...and I sure don't want my grandchildren and great grandchildren paying for our unwillingness to buckle down and stop spending money we do not have.  Do I think we need to make some major changes in the way our government is currently run with all kinds of Pork Barrel  (Pork barrel is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district) spending riders attached to bills?  Yes!  Do I think Congress should be able to exempt themselves from "laws" put on the rest of Americans when it comes to health care?  No way...if it was so good then why are they exempting themselves?  Do I think any of the political parties have all the answers?  No!  And that is exactly why we have to try to work together as Americans to solve these problems and stop attacking one another.  

We ask children, with all different belief systems and opinions in our schools to get along, to be respectful of one another, not fight and expect them to rise to the occasion and yet here we are watching adult men and women tear each other apart and make sweeping generalizations of each other based on political party affiliation.  It is shameful!  I think people need to start paying more attention to what people do and look at each individuals track record.  Let's be honest here...people in both parties have "talked" a lot but what have they really done?  Are they being honest and transparent?  When they have made a mistake, have they owned up to it?  These are important issues to me at least because it comes down to Character.  I want someone honest, open and with common sense holding the various offices and someone who is not afraid to to make tough decisions, even if they are not popular, in order to get our country back on track.  And one more thing...and this is just my opinion, but I feel like the Commander in Chief should have served in the military at some point, so that he/she knows what our men and women in uniform went through/are going through/will continue to go through.  I really think it would help them in seeing our soldiers as individual people and not just "the forces at their command".  And yes, that is spoken as the proud mother of an airman along with being the daughter, sister, DIL, SIL, granddaughter and great.....granddaughter of many generations of brave military men and women.  So please, don't put me in a "political box" and assume that you know how I or any other person feels about every issue in each political party.  Thank you and have a great day! :)