Getting Political About Politics

I am not political, by any stretch of the imagination (patriotic, yes; political, no) - and debating politics is not exactly my idea of a fun night, no matter how engaging. Maybe part of it is that I'm pretty ignorant about politics and the political parties and each political candidate's stance. But that's because I choose to be ignorant, in a way. I know the difference between right and wrong and I know where I stand on issues - but are they always right wing? Probably not. I'd like to think they're a mixture of both political parties. When people ask me my political affiliation, I usually scoff and say, 'On the fence.'

At the age of 32, and living in the midst of a big political showdown, on the democratic side, I figured it might be time to educate myself on some things. I headed over to Wikipedia and typed in 'Republican.' Just what does it mean to be a republican?

According to Wikipedia: Advocates of a republic, a form of government based on the rule of laws, not a monarchy or dictatorship. (I thought that definitions weren't supposed to include forms of the word being defined.) Needless to say, that definition didn't really help me so I was able to drill down a bit (go figure, on the democrat page) on republicanism and I got a better definition for what it means to be a republican: Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule of law, popular sovereignty and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. Republicanism always stands in opposition to aristocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorship. More broadly, it refers to a political system that protects liberty, especially by incorporating a rule of law that cannot be arbitrarily ignored by the government.

When I look up democrat, it gives me this: A proponent of democracy, rule of the people.
Typing in 'democracy,' I got: In political theory, democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. A common feature of democracy as currently understood and practiced is competitive elections.

Okay - so does that make things a little clearer for me as to which political party I would like to belong to? No. Of course it has to come down to more than just definitions and ideals. I believe this is why we have candidates representing each major party and promising the world of how they'll carry out their grand plans and ideas.

I'm not going to continue on with the political talk - it kind of makes my head hurt. I just know that politics is not my forte. And just because I'm 'on the fence' about whom I support is not a green light for severe right wingers and left wingers to come after me to get me to come over to their 'side.' No way. The more you come after me, the less inclined I am to join you and the more inclined I am to think you're a loon.

Let's just leave it at this - perhaps I am nonpartisan. In nonpartisan elections, each candidate is eligible for office on her or his own merits. I don't look at the candidates and their views of issues, necessarily. I am more interested in the person. I have a lot to say about certain candidates but I'm not going to share those thoughts and feelings - because, I'm not a professional political correspondent. I already admitted that I am ignorant when it comes to politics. A lot of my political views, however, come down to the person, their characteristic and their merits.

If you want to listen to my views, sure, I wouldn't mind sharing them....but only if someone asks because I know this isn't exactly my strong point. That's why it ticked me off when the Dixie Chicks made comments, during one of their concerts, about how they were ashamed the President was from their same state. Hey, if I were a Dixie Chick fan or even a country music fan for that matter, I'm sure I would be at the concert to hear the music - not listen to their political rantings. This is when I think public figures (ie - celebrities) should just keep their opinions to themselves when in a public forum like that. I don't care who they support - more power to them for being so decisive in their vote. But just because you're in front of a mic doesn't mean you need to share. Okay - off the political soap box.

In closing, you won't ever see me writing again about politics - not until I watch those 'School House Rocks' programs again at least.