Me and the Republicans
Fans of the Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Cheer
And so the two weeks ends. I’m looking forward to having my evenings back and to being free from the political quagmire for a season - at least until the debates begin.
After watching the Democratic National Convention last week I came away with a sense of the hopeless pursuit of hope and saving graces in men. People crying as they looked longingly in Barack Obama’s direction, hanging on his every word, and hoping that he would be their saviour in the White House.
This week, the Republican National Convention brought an entirely different feeling. No dramatization of the seemingly hopeless and broken state of our country. There was talk of change, as well, but from the angle of one who has “been there, done that,” who has proved his ability to ditch his own party line when necessary.
The tone of the convention was different, though. If the DNC was marked by a spirit and rhetoric of “change” and “hope,” the RNC came across as “military/country first” and “the almighty dollar” second. Where I saw people crying last week, I saw people gloating this week. Both weeks were marked by the sense of how much the other side “just doesn’t get it.” And if I’m honest, it all wasn’t very becoming.
I’m in the middle. I’m a swing vote. I’m the guy that both candidates put on a show the last two weeks for - trying to win my vote. I’m not alone - there are countless thousands upon thousands of others who don’t place themselves under the banner of either party. From that frame of reference, let me offer a few pointers should either candidate happen to find this blog, looking for insights :-) ...
- I’m not completely happy with our country, but I feel blessed that I’m an American.
- I wish being an American was valued more in the rest of the world as it used to be - I want it to be.
- I care, like most other people, about where my money is going, and the rising costs of living in our country, and want to see things swing in the other direction.
- I don’t care at the same level as most, though, and don’t consider making things better for me financially to be the top issue of our president.
- I’m sick of politics and politicians - get over yourselves already.
- I don’t like the negativity that politics and an election season brings - both from the mouths of candidates, and from the emblazoned passions of ordinary people.
- I’m not hopeless. I don’t believe our country is broken. I do long for a better tomorrow and am skeptical that our current way of doing things can bring it.
- I serve a King and a Kingdom before a President and a country. That order is not going to change, no matter how good you think you are.
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Bucky shared their voice on 09.05.2008:
I’m not a huge fan of either candidate, either, but I don’t know if I’m a swing vote per se. LIVES are more important than money…or oil…or arms….or ‘going green’. I, for one, will vote for whomever is against the mass slaughter of innocent unborn Americans and is serious about ending it.
I don’t know if we have a candidate like that at all. And strangely, that doesn’t sound like a hot-button issue this time around. Why? If you read the same Bible I do, the murder of innocents is abominable to the Lord (who sovereignly sets up and destroys kingdoms).
Chris shared their voice on 09.05.2008:
Alec shared their voice on 09.10.2008:
I would say that I’m in the kinda middle too since I’m not at all pleased with what the federal government is spending their money on. I haven’t been paying much attention to all the convention stuff because frankly I don’t have time. Being a city commissioner here, I am appalled at how we as a small town have to scrape the bottom of the barrell for money to do anything around here. We are taxed to the hilt with most of the money going to the state and Feds and not much of it coming back to our town. Not counting utilities, since people pay for that, we operate the city on about a $2 million budget. That includes street repair, maintaining/operating all the buildings and parks, paying 150+ people, administering all the programs to serve citizens, etc. The US is spending about $800 million to build an embassy in Iraq (not counting operation costs). That would finance Coffeyville for 400 years. Our streets and buildings are crumbling. There are more TSA agents at one security line at the airport than what is in our entire police force. I could go and on. Sometimes I wish I was ignorant again. The Republicans promise small unobtrusive and fiscally responsible government and they gave us the opposite. But the Democrats are even worse and irritate me even more, including the people (movie stars) who support them, so what to do. And this isn’t new to me since I was one of the people who voted for Ross Perot. Don’t laugh, ‘cause I’m not.
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Greg Atkinson shared their voice on 09.05.2008:
Love your last point about “serving a King and a Kingdom”. Great words.