I am neither Republican nor Democrat, neither liberal nor conservative, and I vote for the persons I think will best serve all of us. I hate the labels we put on one another. Labels only serve to divide us – which I sometimes think is the goal of political parties. I truly believe that most of us want the same things, and that if you put us in a room together without any party affiliation or any labels, we could agree or at least compromise amicably on a great many things. I deplore the way politics is conducted, with little regard for what would best serve the public. Both parties twist the facts to their own ends. I can’t tell you how much I hate that! I consider myself a moderate. Like any family, we as a nation need to spend our resources prudently. We all need to contribute our fair share to our common benefit.
I have a very nice acquaintance whose company I enjoy, who I sometimes scrap with. We’ve discussed families, projects, and what’s going on in our lives, but never politics or religion. Yet on several occasions she has forwarded to me e-mails that really irk me: e.g., women receiving Medicaid should be required to have a birth control implant or a tubal ligation; people getting public assistance should lose the right to vote and should be housed in barracks. And lots more stuff like that which I find pretty harsh.
I will always come down on the side of the poor and disadvantaged. Does that make me a bleeding heart liberal? I think it makes me a more compassionate person. I have seen too many people struggling to make ends meet through no fault of their own -- more than ever in these tough economic times. How many people do you know who are trying, without success, to find a job? Or have lost their house? Declared bankruptcy? Been unable to afford to see the doctor? We should be ashamed of ourselves as a nation if we can’t help those less fortunate than we are.
So far I have ignored my friend and simply deleted her messages. What do I tell her? That the things she forwards me are pretty mean-spirited?
How about a little moderation in our country? You know, where reasonable people work together to solve problems and make life better for all of us.
A girl can dream….
I agree with everything you wrote. I am definitely a bleeding heart liberal and I make no apologies for it. I believe this country in in the economic dumps not because we give money away to the poor but because we let out industry move away to other countries- a good economy can't be based on service sector jobs alone. We also let education go into the back burner- Steve Jobs was a product of the California public education system- can we say the same for the next batch of Cali graduates?
ReplyDeleteI really wish people would put their expectations and group affiliations down for this next election and try to focus on the long term goals our nation needs to tackle- we need to properly educate our next generation- we need to ensure all people have fair access to health care- we need less arguing and more problem solving and we can't let politicians keep running away from making difficult decisions by screaming ABORTION or SAME SEX MARRIAGE every time we ask them to hammer out the details on the economy.
Beautifully written, Adele, and I completely agree with you. It's challenging to be a bleeding heart liberal in SC, too. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for your friend, I probably wouldn't respond. I like to hear different opinions, but I don't like agendas forced on me. I'd ignore it unless she starts bringing it up when you're together. And figure out how to put some filters on your email. :)