I've been pretty outspoken about being anti-Obama for a very long time. I don't think he's done anything positive for this country. I'm also not a big Romney supporter. The candidate that I was hoping would represent the GOP was Santorum. Anyone feeling the need to comment let's not turn this into a Ron Paul debate. I think Ron Paul has some really really great qualities and he does stand for somethings that I do agree with. He also backs some things I don't agree with. The bottom line is that you can't really vote for him and hope that you're doing anything in terms of changing the way our country is being run right now.
So what brought about this political rant? When I posted one the top image yesterday a sorority sister commented that she was surprised at my political leanings. I guess I can see that. In the good old days at Camp Western I was pretty liberal in my thinking. Here's the rub. As I've gotten older I realize that whether you're liberal, conservative or somewhere in the middle it really doesn't matter. What does matter is how much control you're willing to give the government over your life. One of the driving focuses in my life the last 5 or 6 years has been a push to make myself more self reliant. I want to be able to take care of myself and my daughter if there is ever the need. I would love to have a couple of acres that would include some veggie gardens, orchards and some animals such as chickens, pigs, goats and a cow or two. I'm really not sure when this became something that became important to me. It used to be that the idea of being out in the country was just disgusting to me. I joked that Peoria was as small as I could handle. I want to get in my car and have restaurants, entertainment and all kinds of variety at the ready. In some ways the idea of being out in the country actually terrified me. A friend of mine who is a therapist pointed out that might have been my reaction to the stalking incident in North Carolina. She said that the brain has it's own way of dealing with things and maybe my idea of always being around people was an attempt to never have to live through something like that again. While that incident will always haunt me perhaps she's right. It isn't an ever present fear anymore. I think I could and would actually learn to like the quite of the country. I hate that there is never any quite here.
So how does this all connect to my political leanings? As I've been educating myself in self reliance and other skills that would be helpful to living in the country it's given me a lot to think about. The big back to nature push that happened in the '70's after Vietnam was in someways the cultures response to the political climate at the time. I think that more people now are wanting to return to a more basic and pure existence. Don't get me wrong I don't want to give up everything. I like the internet. I like things like electricity and running water. I just think that there was a time in this country that things were simple and life was better. That is what has changed my political views the most. I don't want the government to have a say over every little thing in my life. Obamacare is also a big issue with me but that could be an entire post on it's own. I just don't want to be told if I can or can't drink raw milk, can or can't own guns and what kind and can or can't do many other things.
I also have a couple of pet peeves politically. I think that there can be social justice without government intervention as well. I have a HUGE issue with people that are gay and back candidates that are for gay rights and disregard whatever else they stand for. Who you sleep with really shouldn't matter to anyone other than that person and yourself (within that the people are of legal age and available to be in said relationship). As long as you can wake up and look in the mirror and smile each morning it really shouldn't matter who you sleep with. It also shouldn't be a major endorsement politically. My other pet peeve politically is Obamacare. Talk to variety of health care professionals, talk to someone who is or has been reliant on Medicade or Medicare, talk to someone who has lived in a country where socialized medicine was practiced. I'm willing to bet the vast majority of those individuals are not supporters of Obamacare. It's just throwing a bandaid on the issue. You can mandate it but it's not taking care of the real issues.
So, there you have it. I think in some ways I'm still very liberal and in others I've become more conservative but the one thing that hasn't changed at all is the fact that I really don't want a government that controls every aspect of my life.
Sarah
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