"I don't want to talk about politics," is what Jeff said as we pulled up to our friends' house for dinner last night and saw the signs in their yard proudly demonstrating their upcoming split-ticket vote. What?! I said, "Oh, I am gonna ask." He didn't want to talk about it Friday night either when we had friends at our house.
Why not? Well, I think I know. He cannot just talk about it. He gets all worked up and angry. Which, in my opinion is one of the biggest problems with the Republican party right now: their inability to listen and consider the opinions of others. Am I a Republican? Yes and no. Yes, I most often vote that way, but I am not afraid to split my ticket and the splitting can go as deep as it needs to. I can only think of a time or two when I voted straight ticket. Almost always, it is about the person--not the party.
I voted for Clinton twice. I voted for Bush--twice. I always vote for Evan Bayh (Democrat). But, I won't be voting for Obama. However, I think he is going to win and my big problem right now is I no longer think McCain is the right choice either. So, I am stuck. Do I not vote for president or use my vote as a vote against Obama instead of for McCain?
Maybe I should write someone in, someone I wish was running for president, but that brings me to my other huge disappointment with the Republican party. There is a significant lack (on the local, statewide, national levels) of up and coming stars. Why? Because for YEARS and YEARS the same old white guys thought (think) they know all the answers and they have silenced and squashed any new young thinkers who may be able to expand the parties horizons.
So, as far as hope is concerned--the theme for this year's election--I have little in the future of the Republican party. I hope this election creates a new path for Republicans--a kinder, gentler, smarter path that is more in line with modern day America. And, I hope when you read this you read it for the sake of discussion and not a political statement. "I don't want to talk about politics," well maybe we need to talk about politics a little more often and listen to others ideas and thoughts and give consideration to new and different possibilities...just maybe.
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3 comments:
Very good thoughts!
You could always vote for the green party candidate... She's a pretty cool lady. Its not like she'll win, but u can be proud of the vote you've cast.
I understand not wanting to talk about politics because it is such a hot button topic. It is especially difficult with good friends because there is the fear of hurting a friendship, which I have seen happen. On the other side of that, who better to discuss it with than our friends whom we respect. I have a very good friend who sees things VERY differently than I do and I was always afraid that if we brought up certain topics that would be the end. Well, we are slowly learning how to talk about it and have decided that friendship is too specail to let politics come between us.
I have had trouble with our choice of candidates for the last 3 elections. There has not been a candidate that I feel I can fully support, so my vote usually goes against instead of for someone. This could be because I find it difficult to put so much trust in any one human being. Just my random thoughts :)
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