I remember being a teenager and not caring one bit about politics. In my twenties I decided to get involved. I had strong feelings about one or two things, and I voted based on those principles. And it was all black and white to me. If you were for one thing, you were against another.
The older I get, the more I'm falling into the grey area of politics.
I went out to lunch with my Mother in law the other day and the subject of voting came up. I discussed how I no longer thought in a black and white world. That when it came to certain topics, my answers are "Yes . . . but" and "No . . . but" instead of a firm yes or no answer.
"How can you not vote for Romney?" Some people ask me. "Look what Obama has done to this country!"
"Obama killed Osama Bin Laden!"
"Republicans are taking away all civil rights!"
"Democrats are destroying the family!"
"There is a war on women!"
"There is a war on morality!"
"If you don't vote for Obama, it means you hate civil rights and humanity," others say.
"Obama wasn't even born here!"
"Romney fired people!"
"Oh, you're just going to vote for Romney because you're Mormon!"
And the thing that hit me the hardest:
"Sometimes we're not voting for who we want to win, but who we don't want to win."
The lesser of two evils.
I remember a few years back watching The Biggest Loser. It had come to the end of the season and two contestants were up for elimination and it was up to America to vote which of the two would make it into the final three. I didn't care for one of the contestants, seeing that the person I wanted to win had already secured a spot in the final episode. However, their competition was someone I grew to hate over the entire season. So what did I do? I signed onto the website and voted against them as many times as I could. I didn't care for the other contestant to win, so long as the person I hated lost.
And it appears, that's what politics have come down to.
I disagree with a lot of what Obama has and has not done.
But the grey area keeps me from siding with Romney.
If I was honest with myself, I would vote for someone else entirely.
But would my vote even make a difference? Unlikely.
So until this election is over, I'll do my best to sit in my grey area. Because here it feels honest. It feels kind, and human, and as moral as I can get seeing that those who are on either side stand firm in flinging mud across the fence at one another.
I still may not know who I'm going to vote for when the time comes to actually do it.
But I do know that politics are turning good people ugly on the inside.
And there isn't room for hate in my grey area.
4 comments:
wonderful post... i found it most helpful to truthfully watch both conventions and compare. I'm not republican or demorcrate ... I'm independent.. see who really understands a little better.. what charity never faileth means. watching both conventions with an open mind ,with no pre judgments for either side allowed to see things even more clear.. " not perfect ... but clear :) hopefully you can see them on you tube.
Great post. I echo your thoughts. I see a lot of grey when it comes to politics. And it's really hard to feel like your voice will be heard one way or the other. My biggest stink right now is that I think we need to get rid of the electoral college!
I remember that season of BL, too, and I also voted for one contestant so that the other wouldn't win. It kinda sucks that things end up that way.
I sit in the gray area as well. I'm liberal from a social standpoint but conservative from a more financial standpoint. Romney scares me and I do feel Obama is doing his best to keep this country moving forward. BUT! Here's what people fail to realize:
The president has very little control over anything in our government contrary to popular opinion. He can veto bills, sign bills, and encourage new policies. Ultimately, it comes down to what Congress decides. All 535 members.
Regardlss, people will believe what they want to believe on the issues. One person thinks Obama is the anti-Christ while others think Romney is a woman-hating asshole. Majority of those people don't read or listen to anything beyond the sound bytes. I personally choose to avoid the entire mess. I read, listen, and make my decisions but rarely are my political views known these days. Too much bullshit unfortunately.
Exactly. But it's not that simple. People aren't 100% evil or something like that. Bush wasn't just a collection of dumb jokes, Clinton wasn't just a sex scandal.
I know friends who would be benefited by Obama Care greatly. And I know others who will be screwed by it. I love some things that I feel Romney could accomplish, but there are others that are just going to cause more trouble.
Voting is supposed to be a way to make a change for the better. To have a voice. But right now all I'm seeing people do is use their voice to cast hate on the opposition, no matter what party they stand for.
Post a Comment