Why I vote Democrat
I couldn’t post yesterday, because by the time I had time, my host was doing some maintenance or something, so when I typed in ‘jellyjules.com’, I got a message saying, can’t be found. NoBloPoMo fail. However, in the spirit of the thing, which is to post more often, I’ll just post twice today to make up for it, k? This post is cribbed from a Facebook message to a friend of mine. We were talking about politics, and why we vote the way that we do. Here’s my side:
I heard an interesting discussion on the radio a week or two ago, about religion in politics, that you might find interesting. They said that both Obama and Romney are fairly true to their values, just that their religious values are different. Romney believes that compassion and charity are best done on a personal level, by giving to those in need, etc. Obama believes that the best way to help those in need is through social justice, by making it a more fair world that we live in. I don’t know for sure that these assessments are true, but it reminded me of that old proverb about teaching a man to fish. Give us a fair playing field, and hopefully we won’t need so much charity. That’s another way of saying what you said, I think, about wanting a better world for your boys. Amen to that.
I was raised Libertarian, and had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to be. The Libertarian party doesn’t have enough compassion for a safety net, in my opinion, and are willing to let those at the bottom fail. Also, they seem to believe in Ayn Rand’s idea that corporations are ultimately good, which I don’t. I think corporations are ultimately interested in making money, and the morality of it falls by the wayside. If they can make more money by taking good care of workers, they will. If not, they won’t. So I believe too much in legislation and regulations to remain a Libertarian. I listed myself as independent for awhile, but then I found out that didn’t mean I was on my own, it meant that I was part of the Independent party, which I didn’t agree with either.
In the end, I most often agree with the Democrats, because I do think they are (mostly) working for a better world, and that the Republicans are more interested in letting the free market get us there. I don’t think either party is bad or evil, just that we have different ideas of how best to make the world better for our kids.
4 Comments
Ally Bean
I read an article recently that suggested that we vote our self-image. So if you believe you are rich & powerful, you vote GOP. If you believe you are caring & just, you vote Dem.
This idea, while simplistic, made sense to me. Like you said: it’s not that one or the other party is bad, it’s just that they are different. As are these two self-image ideals. It’s a miracle we Americans get along at all, isn’t it?
Issa
I have been thinking all day that actions speak louder than words. It’s something my grandmother used to tell me as a child. I hope Obama’s actions (especially in regards to hurricane Sandy and it’s aftermath) speak louder than Romneys very loud words. God I hope.
Rain Trueax
I read that why we are liberal or conservative is in our DNA. I have no idea if it’s true but generally I vote Democrat. Well these days always I do but I used to vote for the individual. Now I feel the parties control so much that it’s impossible for me to vote for any Republican until they begin to moderate their extreme views where they would take away our liberties based on their religious agenda. And if they aren’t religious, they are supporting the wealthy and that’s not good for the middle. I hope i live long enough to someday vote for the person again. The way it’s heading though, it seems unlikely as one party is becoming more and more dictatorial, wiping out it’s middle and leaving only room for those who sign pledges like that of Grover Norquist. It is worrisome and I wonder what it will mean for our nation if this movement keeps growing on the right. 🙁
OmbudsBen
I totally agree with you about corporations as more interested in making money than in being good citizens. Just think of the tobacco companies. If every other organization lies on a continumm between them and Mother Teresa, most corporations are far closer to the Pall Mall end of the scale. Must have been a real drag to find out they were peddling nictonie death enroute to their wealth.
How many other corporations would make major changes if they were in the same boat? Car companies had to be dragged kicking and screaming by Nader’s Raiders into simply keeping as safe.