there is an age old problem that remains in man. that we will stick to our guns irregardless of whether or not we have been proven to be wrong or we know deep within us that we are mistaken or uninformed. this is the worst form of intellectual excercize because it involves pride rather than mind.
less pride. more mind. thats my motto.
change is never easy.
i actually had the privelage of driving in ronald reagans motorcade at one point, so i think we can safely say that i come from republicans....i have always been one.
but, i didnt vote for bush and i have switched my voter registration to independent.
i simply couldnt rationalize his mentality, his obvious lack of respectfulness to others and his disasterous inability to speak to the hearts and minds of his own people much less the world.
i was embarrased by his defensiveness at the first debate, feeling that he somehow had forgotten that civil service is what it says....service. it is not meant to be exclusive, divisive or extreme. a president is a leader, a man who speaks to his people rather than avoids them or relies upon others to defend him as if he were a child.
a president is one who serves all people. not some.
the greatest tradition of america is that it has always taken the role of the mutt rather than the purebred. in its greatest moments, in its most championed philosophies have been idealistic. in its greatest advances it has always believed in the betterment of all mankind rather than a crown of exclusivity. there is a rancid stench in our country now that pervades every corner. it is defensive, unproductive and stunted. it smells of pride. it smells of priveldge and exclusivity and spite.
in colonial america, i believe there was one overriding issue that it came down to. the one thing that allowed this country to progress at the speed and with the veracity that it has... americans do not believe in kings, nor the transferance of sovriegnty through the supposed will of god.
i think hes a dolt quite frankly, and most americans that i know, even those who support him as party liners feel pretty much the same way.
further, i have come to find that the republican party, who once championed smaller government and civil liberty have become entrapped by special interests and corporate lobbies which actually represent a small minority of american values. essentially, this would
be similar to saddams rule in iraq where a religious minority ruled the majority.
my first fear, and one that i am glad to say seems to be waning was that someday i might actually become a dissident in my own country.
i would much rather die than give up my priveledge to speak my mind. to disagree with government or corporate interests or to cow to the whim of those who are small minded and unwilling to live by example.
my grandfather, a lifelong republican emailed me prior to the election and said that "while he was to old to switch horses" , if he could, hed be interested in hearing what the libertarians have to say.
i have taken this as a mandate.
and although i am not fully in line with the libertarian party, they have come to represent what i think is best about america.
live and let live.
i will be actively campaigning for them come next election.
