thinkitthru

I don’t know about you but it worries me that most voting Americans feel the need to identify as Democrats or Republicans instead of simply identifying as Americans. I personally have no skin in the game in either of the prevalent political parties, I have yet to understand the cachet of either. I have been a registered independent for the past several elections and yes I have voted in every presidential election for over 30 years.
Maybe my lack of loyalty to either party is partly due to parents who have been married for almost 60 years and almost always cancel each other out when they vote. I think some of it is also from the reminder of flowing tears on 9/11, the day when we were all identifying ourselves just as Americans. It doesn’t necessarily matter why I refuse to fall under the spell of either party, it just matters that I’ve given it a lot of thought. Think It Thru!
My personal mantra has always been, “You have to do what is best for you.” But here is the thing, a lot of the people who I know that develop an unhealthy addiction to a political party aren’t doing what is best for them. They are doing what their parents or friends or teachers or preachers are advocating for them. It is interesting to hear someone who advocates for democrats but gets upset about the thought of the number of immigrants who are not here legally, just as interesting as is to listen to a republican who thinks the country needs the Affordable Care Act. I don’t have any idea how you personally think about either of these topics, but I personally know of the people who have the above beliefs. These two people are two of the people who mean the most to me.
However, I’ve lost friends, on both sides of those party lines, the only reason was because I refused to agree with their political rhetoric. It didn’t matter what they believed, it only mattered that I would not go along with their party of choice. This is how I can call a political party an addiction, you tear apart a friendship just so you can proudly proclaim I stood up for this entity that isn’t going to break bread with me one night after work or share a conversation with me at 2:00AM when my life is in pieces. That just makes me think that that is something I might want to rethink. What about you? A discussion for another time?