Politics--Ew!

Arrrgh! I just finished reading a post about a "mixed marriage." She's a Democrat and her husband is a Republican. The post wasn't what frustrated me. It was the comments. There wasn't any nasty mudslinging going on, but it was comments such as, "I was a Republican until I grew up and developed the ability to think about other people and their feelings," or "I was a Republican until my heart grew three sizes one day, and I could no longer be a political grinch" that frustrated me.

Frankly, politics bores me so I don't usually follow it. If I do decide to check in on what's going on in the political arena, I usually just get very frustrated. But even though I don't take an active interest in politics, I do have opinions on issues and my opinions are conservative in nature for the most part.

What frustrates me so much about comments such as those mentioned above is that the underlying assumption is that if you are truly a compassionate person concerned about those less fortunate then you would be a Democrat. After all, Democrats are the only ones really concerned about the "little guys." I remember my great aunt saying as much. But she was an old school, Southern Democrat. I don't think even she would be pleased with the Democrats today.

Even now, I'm feeling a bit too worked up to write a really rational post about this topic, but what the heck!

I guess I can see why some would say they "converted" from Republican to Democrat. It's much more fashionable to be a Democrat. All the celebrities are doing it. All the academic elite are doing it. All the environmentally conscious are doing it. It's cool, hip and oh so trendy! It's just not fashionable to be conservative in the world that the media presents to us. The scary thing is that I think we Americans are slowly being brainwashed by a liberal agenda via the media, the entertainment industry, popular culture and academia. That's just my opinion, of course, but I think it's true. When people make comments like, "When I really started to care, I became a Democrat," the brainwashing is a done deal.

The problem I have is that I don't trust Republicans either. I agree with this post in which the blogger said that she wished politicians would just stand for something and not be so wishy-washy. Yet, sadly, just such a politician in either party would not likely get elected in my opinion. The current presidential candidates, like any politician hoping to get elected, have to court voters of all persuasions; therefore, they will soften some of their hard edges for the sake of gaining votes.

I've told my dad I'm going to write him in for president, but he doesn't want the job. I don't blame him.