Yes, people have different opinions, but why does that make them a monster?
I am so tired of having people hate me for my beliefs.
I am tired of losing friends because of my political party.
I feel as though the side that is supposed to be the most accepting is the side I feel the most attacked by.
I want to be able to have civil conversations and hear other people’s ideas, but I feel as though those conversations are hard to have. The last time I tried to have a conversation with a friend that had different beliefs than me, she started to become distant and our friendship started to fizzle away.
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The side that wants everyone to be comfortable and happy has made me scared to have a different opinion, but I am no longer going to keep my ideas hidden. I am a young female Republican who is tired of acting like she isn’t. I know some people won’t be happy about my beliefs, but I am tired of caring and it is something I want people to know now.
I know that I go to a liberal school and everyone in my journalism class is liberal and I am not trying to offend anyone, but I am just tired of keeping quiet.
What is a government shutdown? One would expect that it involves a government shutting down. In the United States however this is not the case. Instead government shutdown is a term Democrats and Republicans use to blame each other. It is also used to stir up fury in the American people, who would fear a dreaded shutdown.
A more accurate term for this “ government shutdown” would be a limited government cutback. In its current state the federal government is shutting down non-essential services and unfortunately jobs. Approximately 800,000 federal workers will, temporarily, lose their jobs.
A true government could occur if Democrats and Republicans cannot pass a federal budget that both agree to. The longer this government cutback lasts the larger the effect it will have on the United States and the American people. Most likely one side will cave in to the other sides demands. I find the possibility of a true compromise remote, if a budget is not created then the federal government will cease to function.
This will be the first year that I can vote, and I am very excited for it.
Most of my friends don’t understand why I would be excited and why I care so much, which usually ends with me calling them ignorant.
To set the scene, I have gone over the ballots with my parents for as long as I can remember. They were not trying to brainwash me; they always asked me what I though of a proposition or a candidate before they spoke their mind.
I learned to read the laws and understand them in a greater sense. It was always something I enjoyed and became excited about. I was much more likely to be conversing with my teachers about politics than my peers.
And now I am able to actually vote. It feels like a freedom to me, something that is meant to be cherished. As much as my friends may go on about it not mattering if one person votes, it does. Especially in the primaries, one vote does matter.
I feel that if more children were exposed to politics and encouraged to be informed even though they could not vote, we would have much higher turn outs.
After all, a democracy does not work without voter participation. If we want to keep the freedoms that we hold dear, we must have a voice as a people. That starts, and ends, with have a politically educated youth system.
I was recently watching Rick Santorum’s concession speech from Florida (although it was given in Las Vegas) and I was shocked to see that he was not saying anything negative. In fact it was quite the opposite, with him complimenting Mitt Romney.
But his obsequiousness is only because he knows he can’t win so he is shooting for Vice President. Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Butt then I saw Gingrich’s speech. All I can say is wow. What an evil and stupid man.
The basis for his speech was basically saying that he could still manage to win “Evil Dictator of Whatever Country I’m Currently In”.
He said that in his first day he would overturn both “Obamacare” and the choice to delay the Keystone pipeline. He said his goal was to get the Democrats out and save America.
Well so much for bipartisanship.
Gingrich is a crazy man and to be honest he scares me. His goals are for full control by the Republicans of the government so he can get rid of every program and tax ever devised. That sure will help.
Romney and Gingrich have gone back and forth for quite a while now, slinging much mud at each other.
It doesn’t seem to have gotten them very far.
All this negativity helps no one. It may seem hypocritical coming from someone who is writing about how idiotic and unhelpful these people are, but when the stakes are as high as they are now, some foresight would help.
Instead of proving how incapable your opponents are, why now show how capable you are?
And there is the answer: none of them are capable.
I knew Jon Huntsman was not going to win the Republican nomination. But I still could not help but be a little sad when he dropped out of the race.
My friends and family know me as the Republican basher, that guy who always says the obnoxious and inflammatory comments about the Good Ol’ Party.
But Jon Huntsman was different, he actually was intelligent and reasonable. Now the GOP has members who are very intelligent, take Dick Cheney for example. But Dick makes Stalin look like a teddy bear. I’m sure the GOP has had reasonable members who were unintelligent too, I just can’t think of any.
But Huntsman checked both boxes. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Huntsman explained that his reason for being part of the Republican party was just because he though the people of Utah (his state) would be the most open to it.
I’m not trying to claim him as a Democrat because he is not. There is probably some obscure party in Australia that his ideals fit perfectly in to, but because of our system, he has an R next to his name.
But he did not let that get in the way of trying to make sense. He was not like Romney, trying to make himself look like a crazy teabagger who just wants to get rid of every single government program and become an isolationist nation that is at war with every single Islamic state.
No, he supported socialized programs and tax hikes. He thought we should stop fighting people for no apparent reason and we should protect the environment. He also thought we should work to cut some redundant government programs and reduce big government and that Boehner is at least some what competent.
It says a lot that a man who just stuck by his beliefs seemed to be such an oddity. Our system has come to the point that someone in the middle, who works to bridge the two parties, is looked at as being ineffective and plain wrong.
It is sad that Huntsman could not gain more ground in the primaries but I hope that he changed a few peoples mind in the process. I hope that he made some people see that there is room for the middle, that reason can conquer our stupid polarization. Jon Huntsman gave me hope, and that is more than can be said for most candidates.
So I’m now switching to endorsing this man for the Republican nomination, and yes, that is a boot on his head. Free Ponies for All!
With the Republican debates (if you can call them that) going on right now, I was reminded of how much I enjoy a good debate (this is how it’s done), mainly because I have not seen one during this election.
You see, the Republican candidates are either too crazy and misinformed to be able to argue their point of view, or they are stuck on advertising themselves to America in what they think is the way Americans want to see them.
Gingrich (who is crazy evil) does seem to have a bit of skill at the game. Unfortunately his combination of hypocrisy and shear Darth Vaderness makes him so unappealing to listen to that he is mostly ignored.
The ignorance that is shown on the stage pretty much cancels out any interest I have in the debates beside entertainment and the crazy things they say. And that is unfortunate, because the art of debate is a great one.
The whole trick is to stay calm and look for that one mistake. If you can keep up with good rebuttals and attacks long enough, your opponent will slip up, and when they do, you must be ready to pounce.
Once you have seen the mistake you must attack. In this case, offense is the best defense. They can argue all they want but you will always be able to fall back on their mistake. Hopefully, they become flustered, allowing you to find more and more mistakes.
The goal, in the end, is not to convince your opponents they are wrong, but everyone in the room that you are right. It takes patience and knowledge, but when played properly, a debate can contain fantastic results.
I am constantly looking for someone to debate with, about any issue that is found to be controversial. To test myself I often argue the side I disagree with. By doing so, I learn the enemy, giving me the upper hand if I ever end up on the other side.
Debate is really and art form and one that is not used enough in today’s society. If we talked more about the important issues, the whole country would become better informed, hopefully leading to a better society.
So get out there and argue! Don’t just yell, look for the mistakes and attack, attack, attack!
I could blog about anything I wanted. I could choose to pursue a profession that was less cut-throat and more fun. I could hide under a rock and pretend it was not there.
But instead, I have chosen to involve myself in the often frustrating and continuously puzzling world of politics.
(Augustus Caesar, one of the greatest politicians in history)
Yet I do not lack reason for this choice. While many see themselves as having a calling in fields such as business, health-care or others, I have always seen myself in politics.
My reasons are simple. I feel it is a way in which I can help people, something I have skill in, something that I enjoy, plus there is money too. It is not easy nor is it always fun, but I feel as though I would fit in well.
Politics is tricky because humans do not agree. It is difficult because a politician seeks progress in a world that is not often accepting of change. The best politicians make people feel as though nothing is changing when in fact, everything is.
Take FDR for example. At first glance, one might say, “Everyone knew how much the world was changing during his time in office!” But did they?
We look back and see how much he did to halt the Great Depression, from passing bills to inspiring the people. He also led us through one of the most difficult war times our country has seen.
But what made him great was the instilled confidence in the people. He was calm and confident. He understated the reality of the situation. He understood that sometimes the American people did not need to know information until after the fact.
The confidence he instilled in the people and the respect he earned is the glorious side of politics. There is a chance (though quite slight) to obtain a type of immortality; infamy. I do not see this as being the sole reason why anyone should seek public office, but if one’s goal is to help the people in every way possible, representing them and what they believe, then go for it.
I see myself in the wild world of politics out of a self-duty. I do not see it as a chore nor a thing of pure enjoyment. I see politics as my way of leading and my way of giving. I do not believe in fate but I do believe (at least at this point) that I want to help create the world I will live in.
Warren G. Harding said, “America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.”
This is true today and it will be true tomorrow. And despite what we face, I want to be part of it.
How do we as a country lower the jobless levels. There is no doubt that it is a problem, the only question is how we fix it.
Obama‘s massive “Jobs for America” bill could potentially do a lot of good. Despite being a huge fan of Obama, I do see a couple of issues.
First is that I’m not so sure it will get through the house. Obama seems to be fairly confident and I know he has a bit more information than I, but with the general consensus of Republicans not supporting the bill, I don’t see how this is going to pass.
Secondly is the effectiveness. Just like with the health care bill, compromises could kill the effectiveness. We don’t know if the healthcare program will work but hopefully it does, but with compromise comes less progress. Obviously there is no way around compromise with the American system but I just don’t see how such a small redistribution of wealth will make such a large difference.
Employing teachers, emergency workers and other public helpers is a huge step in the right direction but will the boost from that be worth the $447 Billion put in to it. Are people going to save or spend with more money?
Hopefully if they have learned anything they will save, but for the sake of the US economy, we hope that they spend.
As I see it, this is a progressive move, despite my doubts. But ideally we could go after business and try to encourage them to hire through incentive. Tax the corperations that are switching technology with real people and see if there is a change.
It may seem immoral to go after those corperations but if you look at the amounts of money they are taking in that are not being taxed due to loopholes and interesting accounting, many would find the morals to be lacking heavily.
We are trillions, yes trillions, of dollars in debt. We can not act like the banks once did and pretend that our debts will go away given time. We are facing a financial crisis so large that it is scary as well as difficult to imagine. As painful as paying taxes may be, we need to suck it up and increase tax rates. The luxuries we have from the government are only in place due to taxes.
Jobs are the key to having a good economy and Obama is working to create jobs. Whether or not you support the bill, admitting the economy is in trouble and that jobs are the answer is a necessity. Support the bill and see where it goes, because in the end, we need help now.
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