I'm politically conservative. Given my parentage, religion, geographical roots, etc. this should come as no surprise. Quite frankly, as long as the Republican party keeps supporting the social values that I fervently believe in, for the most part I will continue to vote Republican.
I've been angry with my party for a good chunk of the last four years. Bush's gift to me? The appointments of Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court. That's about it. I'm not really wild about my options this time around either. But the Democrats have done absolutely nothing to make me see it their way. With Congress growing more liberal with each election season, I find myself fearful of what a liberal supermajority will mean. An Obama/Reid/Pelosi combination, in addition to the ideology of future Obama appointments to the Supreme Court, will be more left-leaning than mainstream America wants. That's my opinion, anyway.
As much as I loathe what is coming in January 2009, I am sick of all the vitriol. I am sick of saying things like, "I hate Harry Reid," and actually meaning them. While it gets me fired up, it doesn't feel good. It's not productive. I don't want to hate the other side. But I really think that is what most Americans are feeling right now. Total disdain for those whose opinions are opposite their own.
So many things have entered my mind as I've thought about this today. For instance, the real meaning of tolerance. To quote Gordon B. Hinckley, “Each of us is an individual. Each of us is different. There must be respect for those differences....We must work harder to build mutual respect, an attitude of forbearance, with tolerance one for another regardless of the doctrines and philosophies which we may espouse. Concerning these you and I may disagree. But we can do so with respect and civility." I've also thought about Robert D. Hales's most recent conference talk. In talking about those who are antagonistic to our faith and values, he said, "Whatever their race, creed, religion, or political persuasion, if we follow Christ and show forth His courage, we must love them" (emphasis added).
For me at least, there seems to be a fine line between being passionate about my beliefs and feeling unworthy passions for the other side. So today I decided that I would come up with a list of liberal-minded people that I love. I started thinking about the bigwigs, and sadly, came up with nothing.** Then I started thinking about the people I know. The people I worked with. The people who taught me. The people I'm related to. I do love and respect them all. I'm thankful for what they've added to my life--socially, intellectually, and spiritually.
This is my attempt at abandoning the stick-it-to-'em attitude I've been expressing as of late: I've decided that on November 4th, I will be casting my vote for certain candidates and issues rather than against. Baby steps, right?
**Allan came up with one. Senator Chris Dodd was kind enough to meet and greet Allan and the rest of his high school group during a trip to D.C. Even though it wasn't planned. Why? Because that flake Orrin Hatch didn't show up. Thus proving that the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut cares more about the youth of Utah than Orrin Hatch does.
5 comments:
Thanks for reaching out. Harry Reid would be proud. I've been angry at the Republican party lately, but the Democrat party is worse, so where do I go?
I admire you for trying to bridge the partisan divide. I wish a lot more people would do that too. It would make the quality of political discourse in this country go way up. I'm an independent with conservative leanings so I don't vote against parties or people--I just vote for whoever I like best and try to forget about the rest of it. Of course, that really kind of oversimplifies the whole decision-making process I go through, but essentially that's what I try to do.
I really appreciate your post. I have been trying to have a more open minded, less hate filled attitude as the election nears and my fears are being realized. Spending two years in grad school in Bloomington, IN helped me at least be open minded to the left side, even if little of the ideology sings to me. I just say good luck to us all come January.
It's very honorable what you are doing. There is way too much name-calling and demonizing - from from both sides of the political aisle. I'm concerned that so many of the so-called arguments for and against the issues of our day sound more like grade-school playground "sticks and stones" than constructive arguments based on sound assumptions. Here's another vote for having the courage to respond in kindness, even to those that differ from my beliefs.
Hmm, Sen. Dodd is still on my crap list as one of the two people who sponsored the legislation that pressured Fannie and Freddie to make poor loans, caused this whole housing crisis and is now blaming the Bush administration for their BS. I'm glad he was nice to Allan, though.
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