Been kind of an up and down day...was in a great mood this morning, but, as usual, I allowed people who have no business doing so affect my mood. I say "I allowed"...I certainly realize that I have control over this. I tend to dwell on things, though...it's part of my personality to find something and stick with it. This makes me (too) loyal, but it also causes me to get a thought in my head and not be able to let it go until I've twisted my mind in knots. It happens to me all the time...I jokingly call them 'quests'. I'll decide I want something; a 10 year old video game, a certain food, someone's attention, etc., and then I go looking for it. Or I'll get upset about something, and not be able to let it go until I've either fixed it or beat it to death. Part of my sickness, I guess.
I hadn't planned on talking about that, though. I thought that since I went ahead and talked about one of the things you're not supposed to discuss in polite company, religion, I'd go ahead and get the other out of the way: politics.
Much like my feelings on religion, I have many thoughts on politics, but I'm not that invested in it. I used to be, once upon a time. I'd watch all the news shows, educate myself on everyone's viewpoints, follow all the elections, yada yada yada. I was primarily a conservative, and tended to vote Republican. I come from a family of union workers, so much like one of my favorite actors in his role of Alex P. Keaton, I was the black sheep of the family, constantly debating the merits of this candidate or that. Something happened as I got older, though...I stopped caring.
That may be a little strong. It's not that I don't care...I still educate myself on the candidates, and I still vote. I just realized that we have a two party system, just not the two parties I was taught. We really have politicians, and everyone else. Rare is the politician that is worried about the people, unless it will directly lead to his re-election, or a nice job after his term. I'm so tired of the rhetoric, the fighting, the unwillingness to do what they think is best regardless of the appearance. I'm still a fiscal conservative in most cases...I think taxes should be lower, business should be allowed to prosper, etc. I'm more liberal in my social views, though.
Ultimately, I now call myself a Libertarian. I want the government to leave us all alone, and just stick to the things they're (relatively) good at, like defense. I think marijuana should be legal, as should gambling and prostitution. Those are personal vices, and should be regulated, not outlawed. How much more in revenue would the government collect if it taxed those activities, rather than forcing them to occur under the table? They ARE going to occur...it's next to impossible to regulate morality in a 'free' society. I'd say it's a pipe-dream for the most part, though. Hot-button issues such as these bring out the cash, with people lobbying both sides.
So my political view at this time is pretty much disgust. I want the government to leave us alone. I want the career politicians to get real jobs. I don't like that it's too easy for people to live off the 'system', from Congressmen collecting lobby money to the welfare mother who gets an extra check for having another often unwanted kid. I want guilty people who are a danger to society to go jail, and REALLY guilty people (murderers, rapists, and pedophiles) to die, and I don't really give a shit if it's humane or not. I want companies to be honest, and the government to let them run their business. Most of all, I just want to stop hearing so much fighting. Democrats, you're clueless...shut up. Republicans, you're assholes...shut up. Now that we're clear, everyone get together and do what's right for the people, not for yourselves or your lobbyists. Is that really too much to ask?
Now that I've covered religion and politics, I'll go back to detailing my mental issues. :-)
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