*NOTE*
This is back to the regularly scheduled circling around one area
Two more posts 'til you see what it is
As you may have noticed, there have been some changes to the layout of this site. I have included a GOOGLE search bar and an ad section on the right bar of this site. Please feel free to use both (the more they are used, the better the Ads become (more focused and not crazy stuff) and the more money I make). There will be more changes taking place over the next few weeks as I tweak the over all look of this site. Please comment on what you think of these changes (and enter said opinion in the poll) as well as what you think of this, or any, post.
Thanks,
Barga
*End of Note*
Whenever election time springs into being (you can always tell when it is coming, as you start seeing ads that you don't quite know what they are saying but they make you scared, happy, or horny, or all three in some odd combination) you start to see certain people take sides. Well, more specifically, you see most people take a side right away. Usually, they either pick Democrat or Republican, though they sometimes will claim to be of some other party. Most of these people toe the party line, either they are for abortion or against it, for the death penalty or against it, or something like that. Really, they exist to help this corporation (remember, these parties are incorporated) raise more money and help their main stock holders (the politicians running for said party). The problems with 'party liners' is really threefold (as, it seems, almost everything I post is): they vote only party line, without thinking about what they are voting for - they vote only for their party, without thinking of whom they are voting for - they think that the other party is uber-conservative or commies (depending on their side of the political middle) and therefore evil and stupid. Party Liners: What really Grinds My Gigantic Notched Wheels.
They vote only party line, without thinking about what they are voting for:
When one starts to think of a party liner we immediately think of the person who votes only for their party, I.e., the stereotypical Democrat or Republican. This, more or less, is the problem with people who toe the party line. While you may join a party because you agree with more of its positions than those of another party (which is why I am registered Democrat), you probably agree with a fair amount of the opinions and positions of the other party. Furthermore, most of the parties have positions that are very near and similar to each other. The main problem is when people vote on an issue because the Democrat Party of Ohio or the Republican Party of California endorse it. The same problem happens when people only vote on issues that the ACLU or The Citizens for Community Values support. When one expresses blind faith in an organization to make choices for them then they have made a mistake. While you might think that the Democrats, Republicans, or CCV are always correct, more often than not they take stances that you can not agree with. If you don't take the time to educate yourself, you are the one who loses.
They vote only for their party, without thinking of whom they are voting for:
I know, you are probably thinking that this is a cop out, that this is just like the above paragraph with only a few things changed. And, frankly, it is, but it is also a much different issue with the same problems but different outcomes. Voting for a person based solely on their party is the exact same as voting for an issue based on what parties recommended and supported it. While one can often judge (pretty accurately) the positions of a person based on their party support there are quite often variables that are pretty inconsistent. Take Joesph Lieberman for example. He is an independent now (due to a screwed up Connecticut Democrat Primary election) but was once a Democrat. Now, the Democrats have a position of anti-war, pro-choice, etc. and Lieberman (who ran for Veep on a Democrat ticket under Albert Gore) is outside of that area. Just like voting for an issue on the party, here you have the party not always having the position that you think they would. However, when voting for a person it is even worse to not know what is going on. By not being educated on an issue you only affect one area (granted, it could be a big issue, but one issue none-the-less); by electing a person without being educated you are affecting every area that they can touch. Clearly, it is worse to vote party line when looking at people as to when you are looking at just issues, but voting party line in both is purely idiotic.
They think that the other party is uber-conservative or commies (depending on their side of the political middle) and therefore evil and stupid:
This is one of my biggest issues with people who toe the party line, they always think that any person in the other party is automatically evil and wrong, also that they are stupid. They also come up with inflammatory labels for them - Neo-cons and Commies. Furthermore, both sides will see those in the middle (which is where I am) as either being very left or right, depending on which side they are being viewed from. This is a big issue as it does not allow for any respect or decency in politics, and it also keeps us from being able to find any middle ground. In most areas, from abortion to the 'war' in Iraq to tax cuts people either argue for or against, and then accuse the other side of one or another egregious thing. Really, all of these issues, along with most of the other issues there are in this wide world, have a middle ground that we can agree on. Most people think that abortion should be okay if there is a health danger to the mother, rape, and/or incest. Most people think that wealthy tax cuts are bad, but argue about the middle tax brackets, and stuff like that; however, these areas are rarely discussed. The Political Parties make it their business to keep us from finding a common ground, after all, if we did, we would be able to ignore their sides and come up (via debating, of course) how our country should run.
While I think that Political Parties serve an important purpose, I feel that they are exploited to easily and that people need to work within both parties to find a common ground to fix this country up. The biggest threats to democracy are apathy and ignorance, and this Democrat feels that we need to fix both problems to succeed in the long term as a country.
As always, please leave any comments, no matter how large or how small about the contents of this blog post. Also, please leave any comments/suggestions about this site/post as a whole.
Thanks,
Barga
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