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There are 59 posts on this blog that are tagged "Politics." Even though I have often written about current politically charged events relating to gun control, racism, gay rights, immigration etc, I have not been very involved in the actual political process. Confession....I have never voted.
I was born into a family that was only marginally interested in politics. On my mom’s side, they were conservative and republican. My dad used to say Grandpap would vote for a french poodle if it was the Republican candidate. That was probably an accurate assessment….but I suspect that 50 years ago, Republicans were kinder, gentler people. My mom couldn't care less. She has never voted in 80 years and I think she kind of passed that apathetic behavior on to me.
On my dad’s side, there was a mix of political opinions and support...probably leaning toward the Democrats. Nobody on that side of the family seemed to be overly concerned with who occupied the white house. Since they were all text book versions of dysfunctional, things other than politics occupied their thoughts and filled their time. My dad is, more or less, bipartisan and votes for the candidate who he thinks will do the best job/least harm to the country.
Then for twenty plus years I was married to a DEMOCRAT. He has never in his life voted Republican. Most of his family is democrat. Very Democrat. I was just really not all that interested in any of it.
And now, for the past 13 years, I have been married to a Canadian who moved here to the US to marry me. When he came here, he was a conservative Canadian but he has solidified his political views and moved much farther to the right. There is a big difference between the views of a conservative Canadian and a conservative American.
He is very politically inclined and voices his opinions frequently in both verbal and written form. That, in part, was the catalyst that moved me from political apathy to actually taking notice of what is going on in our political process here in the US. And what an awful time to finally wake up...this season of the 2016 presidential election.
Whoa!!!
I took a test a couple weeks ago….and I urge everyone to take the test….on a site called “isidewith.com.” There are 40ish questions on all kinds of issues. You can simply select “agree” or “disagree” but if you select “other” a whole range of agree/disagree nuances appear. You can, and should, opt to answer more questions. This will give you the most accurate, in depth results. If you are not sure about the issue, click the question mark and it gives you a brief synopsis.
It is a bipartisan site, by the way. Even the Blaze urged its readers to take the test way back in June of 2015.
According to my test results, my political views tend to be centrist but leaning to the left. This does not come as a surprise to me. I’ve said many times that I don’t think the truth lies in the polar opposite ditches people get stuck in, but rather lie somewhere closer to the center. One of my favorite books is “Seeing Gray in a Black and White World” by Adam Hamilton. I see things in shades of gray.
As far as political candidates, I sided the closest with Bernie Sanders. Apparently, I side with 85% of his views. Prior to taking the test, I didn’t know much about him other than Keith’s ominous warnings about socialism. I had heard some of the criticisms about “free stuff” and “taxing the rich at 90%” but other than that and the fact that he is Jewish and talks with a east coast accent, I didn’t know much.
But now I've done some reading and some listening and I know a lot more now. I have to admit I am feeling the Bern. Bernie is a nice guy with morals and integrity. He describes himself as a secular Jew…but as a recent column in the USA Today written by Stephen Prothero, entitled WWJD? Maybe Vote For Bernie states
As a scholar of American religion, I know I am supposed to take Sanders at his word, slot him as a secular Jew who is, as he put it, “not particularly religious” and leave it at that. Even so, I cannot shake the sneaking suspicion that he is the most Christian candidate in the race.
Jesus told us that we will know them by their fruits. When I watch excerpts of the Republican debates, I do not see much "fruit" being displayed. There are obvious red flags that pop up with even a cursory look at the Republican contenders…..more on this whole distressing topic to come…..
