What I did special on my birthday -- I voted

I think our governments (that’s we, the people, on the local, state, and national level) should pass laws to protect the weak, the innocent, and the idiotic.  I think euthanasia should be against the law.  I think abortion should be against the law.

 

So I am a right-wing conservative, Republican.

 

 I think our governments (that’s we, the people, on the local, state, and national level) should pass laws to protect the weak, the innocent, and the idiotic.  I think business practices and profit-making ventures should be regulated by government.  I do not trust business to keep uncooked books, and I do not trust those who wish to be rich to care for anyone but themselves.

 

So I am a left-wing liberal, Democrat.

 

I believe in the first amendment.  I think Christians have a right to be heard, and seen, and to live according to their beliefs.

 

So I am a right-wing conservative, Republican.

 

I believe in the first amendment.  I think Muslims have a right to be heard, and seen, and to live according to their beliefs.

 

So I am terribly left-wing ... incredibly liberal.

 

I think all of your rights stop at the tip of my nose, and that all of my rights stop at the tip of your nose.  That’s how my mother used to explain “rights” and “freedom” to me.  We have “rights” in America ... but we do NOT have the right to harm each other.

 

I am GLAD Obama was elected President of the United States.  I have always voted for Republican presidents.  (I did not vote for Richard Nixon, however ... Jerry Ford was the first person I ever voted for, but he lost.)

 

Yesterday, one hour before I went to vote, I realized that although I was planning to vote republican, as usual, I was hoping for the good of the nation I love that Obama would win the election this year.  So I looked myself in the eye in my car’s rear-view mirror, and I decided to put my vote where my heart was.

 

And I did.  I voted for Obama.

 

I do NOT think he is a “terrorist”

 

I do NOT think America will go to hell in a hand-basket because a democrat is presiding.

I do not understand why anyone would want to be the president of the United States.  But he wants to be, and he is qualified to preside over our government of checks and balances, and he is an intelligent man, and a charismatic leader who has shown his ability to lead and to inspire in the midst of adversity.

 

If I remember correctly, a Republican was in office when Roe v. Wade was decided.

 

If I remember correctly, Republicans have held the presidency for the majority of the years since Roe v. Wade, but we people have NOT yet managed to overturn Roe v. Wade by an act of our collective will.  Apparently those of us who see moral outrage here have not yet successfully persuaded our fellow-Americans to view this issue as we do.  Maybe we should think some more and then use thoughtful words to persuade instead of inflammatory words to polarize.

 

If I remember correctly, our “great national nightmare” was when the Republican Party pulled shenanigans trying to ensure a republican re-election.

 

Checks and balances, People.  And the watch-dog press.  And Yankee ingenuity. That’s what defines America, in my mind.

 

And now, apparently, a lot of white, usually-Republican voters, have left the ranks of the party they usually vote for.  I can’t speak for all of them.  I can only speak for myself.  I wanted Obama to win.  I think he will be good for America.  So I voted for him.  Because he is a good, decent, qualified, intelligent, charismatic, patriotic, young, black man.  And maybe also because he’s a democrat. 

 

I’ve lived long enough to see that we need to shift the balance of power between the parties from time-to-time, because both points of view have their inherent weaknesses.

 

And I guess I’m just going to be brave enough to admit out loud what I’ve kept in my heart for most of my adult life.  I am SICK of racism.  I think it is high time we had a black president.

 

One of the BEST, most helpful mentoring bosses I have ever had in my life was a black woman manager when I worked for Michigan Bell.

 

One of the most self-centered, arrogant, and ignorant bosses I have ever worked for was (like me) a white Anglo-Saxon protestant.

 

Obviously character is what counts ... NOT race.

 

Dry your tears, fellow-Republicans.  If you want other people to see the world as you do, then persuade them!

 

And as for what to do about President-elect Obama – well, how about praying for him.

Dang I love this country!  I can tell you I think you ought to pray.  And you can tell me to go to hell (if you want to).  But I don’t have to go there just because you say I should, and you don’t have to pray just because I say you should.