Politics

We have been picking sides as long as I have been alive.  In grade school you had to pick your kickball teams…someone always got picked first, someone always got picked last.  To this day I can tell which person got picked last; they still carry a lot of resentment.

We are supposed to pick political sides…you are one or the other.  God forbid you vote for a combination of both parties.

I was born and raised in a bi-partisan household.  My father a staunch Republican, my mother a staunch Democrat.  Probably should have known years ago that their marriage would not withstand the test of time.   They didn’t cross lines.  In fact they even had an agreement that they would not have political signs in their yard of either party.  I was not terribly affected by this issue growing up because I didn’t much care for politics until I got into college and started realizing I had a voice and that it could be heard.

To be honest, I leaned towards the Democrats.  I don’t know if I was influenced by my mother, to a degree I probably always was, but I felt like the Republicans were dirty.  Creepy.  Now, slow your roll, I am not blogging this to start a fight.  Kudos to whatever side you choose, that is why we live in America.  We have a choice. 

When other parties started evolving, I personally got very excited.  Independents, the green party…wow, I didn’t know you could branch out and create new parties.  This excited me because I felt so different in my own skin, I felt like that’s what these parties were trying to say…you DON’T HAVE to be one or the other.

I will not lie.  I know very little about politics.  Passing bills, passing laws, legislation…I should know more, but it confuses me and doesn’t interest me, so THEREFORE I do not involve myself in political arguments.  I will never win.  I am passionate about a lot of things, this isn’t one of them.  I do however have opinions about it and what other people say and do about it.

For instance, if you don’t vote, shut up.  Seriously.  I know enough to know that if I didn’t go make a choice, I have no leg to stand on about what is happening in this country.

I wasn’t alive during two Presidents terms of which I wished I had been.  Abraham Lincoln and JFK.  Abe just because I think he may have been the best President we have ever had.  JFK, because so much controversy surrounded him and frankly I am a Kennedy fan.  I would have fit right in with them out at the Hamptons I just know it.  And well, him and Marilyn…you know how I feel about her…we all would have had a blast.

Obviously I am going to lean towards someone who supports gay rights.

I was enamored by the “idea” of a black president.  Until the B.S. started about how he was really bi-racial, he wasn’t really born in Hawaii…blah, blah, blah.  I just don’t know what kind of people have time for that crap, who cares…well obviously some people do.  Ok, good for you, I don’t.  He made history.  No matter what side you are on.   It was a monumental moment in my life.  All of our lives.  Many thought he would be killed by now.  Thank God he hasn’t been.

As you know President Obama made a trip to our area recently.  And as you know the economy is the worst it has been in years.  The state of our country is the worst that it has been in years.  Of course it is his entire fault.  We have to blame someone.  And those that picked for the other team are certainly still pointing fingers.  What a mess he has made.

I probably won’t win many fans for what I am about to say, but may I remind you, it is my blog and you don’t have to read it.

I honestly don’t know what possessed Obama to run for President.  Who in their right freaking mind would want the disaster that was handed to him?  I love how we forgot how well off we were when he took over.  He has been bashed for not getting troops home sooner.  I don’t think we should have even been there in the first place.  I don’t agree with many of the decisions he has made, but I for one keep my mouth shut, because I for one, have no clue how to make it better, nor would I want to.

I could ask 10 of my friends to become the manager of a McDonalds.  Most would say how much does it pay.  I would say 9 out of 10 would decline.  Who wants to say they manage a McDonalds?  Well I for one know their benefits package is top notch, but no one has ever asked me to run one.  My point is, yes, he chose his job, why, I have no idea.  Has he done a great one?  Nope.  Can I do it better?  Nope.  Should I shut my mouth then and not speak of things I know nothing about?  Yep.  I guess what I really want to say is he took a risk.  He is not well-paid.  We have doctors in our area making more than he does and he has 100 times more responsibility.  Who wants to say they manage the U.S.A.?

I guess instead of bashing him and speaking about things of which I know nothing about, I simply applaud him for trying and am grateful I am not him.  Maybe he was picked last on the kickball team and this is his way of coping with that, I don’t know.  I wouldn’t want his job and I don’t know very many people who would.  I agree we all have a right to complain, but what does it solve?  It just takes up too much of my energy.

I don’t like picking sides.  I never have.  But I damn sure love a good kickball game.