Political musings...

I should be doing a million other things right now, but I just read my friend and former roommate, Amber's blog where she discussed politics. Although I do not necessarily agree with all that she says, it is a great post. She discussed her view of the political state of our country and I would like to take a minute to respond. I will not go into a great deal of detail, but I do want to say what I believe and why.

First off, I would definitely say that I am a Republican. I was a delegate at the State Republican Convention this spring. I don't always vote along party lines though. I do my best to find out about each politician and what they believe, before I vote. This is sometimes difficult because much of the mainstream media is skewed very left. (Seriously, I was just at the grocery store today and I could not believe the all-out assault on Sarah Palin!) I am sure I am not the best informed person out there, but I watch the news, read countless articles from a variety of sources, and tune into the debates and convention coverage like some religiously watch Sunday football.

Truth be told, I am not sure if I can vote McCain in the fall. I do not think that he is the best man for the job. Honestly, I think that he is a cranky, old man that likes power. If I do end up voting for him (and I have not yet decided), it will only be for two reasons: Sarah Palin and the fact that I find Obama's vision (although I do appreciate the fact that he has a vision) for our country a little frightening.

I think what it comes down to, for me, is this:

1. I am all for smaller government! I believe that, generally speaking, Americans are a wonderful, hard-working people and we should be as self-reliant and personally responsible as possible. And when government gets out of the way, we can do amazing things! I totally believe that we should make our government smaller yet more efficient. It is crazy to think of all the waste there is with resources, meaning our tax dollars, because of the lack of transparency and all the programs that are not run effectively. Keep in mind that a smaller, better run government = less taxes.
   
2. I completely support a strong military. (I realize that with my background, I am rather biased in that regard.) That is one of the few things that the government is meant to do -- protect its citizens. I find a lot of truth in the saying that the best offense is a good defense. Of course, I am not a fan of war, but there are times when it is justified and needed to do what is right.
3. I think the free market system is the best way for us to get the best quality goods and services we want/need for the best price. I'm sure at times there are kinks, but overall, competition is a good thing. I believe that applies to business, education, and our health care.
4. I know there is absolute truth. There is a God who has given us laws that we should follow. Democrats (generally speaking) think those laws are relative to the situation and individual. Individually, I think many democrats believe that there is a right and wrong, but I have yet to see them apply those standards to anyone else. (Don't even get me started on the ACLU!) I think it takes "I'm okay, you're okay" to an extreme. To me this is an umbrella statement for many things: homosexual marriage, abortion, taking God out of our schools and, yes, even government, pornography, etc. We are all too often worried about what is politically correct rather than what is right. I truly believe if we, as a country, try to exclude God and his laws, we cannot succeed and thrive. (I just read an article on "happiness and the things that make us happy" where there was lots of data to evaluate what kind of things, as a people, make us happy. It stated that freedom was an enormous factor in our happiness. It was interesting to me that while the data shows how important freedom is, the effect did not hold true for "moral freedom" with things like sex, drugs, etc. In fact, people that exercised that "moral freedom" were less happy. I thought that was fascinating. All I can say is... Satan is sneaky.)

For as much as I think about important things, I am afraid that nothing I say is ever very eloquent. Unfortunately, my words always seem to be insignificant in comparison to the amount of thinking and passion behind them. Hopefully, even if you don't agree with what I said, it makes a little sense. In any case, I hope I can figure out what to do on November 4th.