Welcome to the swimmin' hole. Dip your toes or dive right in, have a good time, just don't pee in the pool, the rest of us want to swim, too.
To continue from yesterday...
I registered as a Democrat as soon as I was legal to do so. I said yesterday that from that point I promptly ignored politics. The translation of this is not that I didn't VOTE, cuz I did. But I didn't pay very much actual attention to stuff. Mostly I picked up on whatever commercials I saw and things my friends said. Oh, and sometimes, with judges and the like, I voted by whether I liked their NAMES. Yes, I was ridiculous. I didn't read anything about anyone or any propositions. I was a follower, parroting what my friends said/did...and since most of my friends were/are liberals, everything I did went that way.
THAT was the bad plan. Not that the friends are liberal, but that I followed unquestioningly.
I started noticing a few years ago that I tended to not be especially right or left, more middle ground with leanings in both directions, depending on the topic in question. I do tend slightly more left than right, though. So I switched my registration to Independent. I have come to the conclusion, however, that most "party affiliations" don't mean much, except to decide which shindig you get invited to.
So about....oh, 6 months ago, I decided I was fed up with not knowing anything. Part of the impetus for this was the simple fact that I couldn't debate any politics with my husband, since I couldn't refute anything he said. His leanings tend to be similar to mine, except mostly right leanings. As such, a lot of his....blame?...I guess, for want of a better word, since it's early....lands squarely on Democrats and "bleeding-heart liberals". I told him he had to stop saying that, as I used to be one and it kinda felt like he was blaming me.
Which is dumb, but whatever. After any ranting is over, he will usually agree with me that neither side is completely to blame or completely blameless and that most politicians are only in it for the power, no matter what ideals they tout.
This kind of thing, plus the fact that I actually felt like being an adult finally, led me to start reading more and listening to various points of view. Also, having moved back to Arizona puts me back in more regular contact with my family (hi, guys!), who tend rather more right leaning. This gives me both POV, mostly left from my friends and mostly right from my family.
Of course, this causes me to be more confused than ever, as both "sides" have rather a tendency to insist that the other side is wrong wrong WRONG and why are you reading/watching THAT???? Don't get me wrong, I'm completely open to honest discourse/debate/conversation, but when it gets vitriolic I get irritated and walk away.
Hey, check me out, it's 8 a.m. and I can use words like "discourse" and "vitriolic" properly.
Anyway, since I've been back here, I've mostly been researching "right", as my "left" info has been predominant whilst I lived elsewhere.
I've been reading Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly and watching their shows with my dad. I even read Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" - damn, did she get shafted by her own campaign people. I have learned a lot of things that have disturbed me. And no, just so you know, I'm not just parroting them now. I am looking stuff up on my own and hitting the library ALOT. Research is what I DO, after all. I learned how for SCA and it carries over nicely.
That's all for today, I think. I'm not sure where to go next with this, so I have to mull it over some. Also...I'm going to the library. :-)
No links today - I have a ton but I have to check them out first. Ain't nothin' gonna be posted here until it's been personally checked.
Wanna hand me that towel? I got things to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment