Politics as usual

So, I have been trying to keep my blog reader friendly and not bombard you 5 people with my views on politics. The other day I was talking with a new neighbor of mine. Politics came up (I don't know why that always seems to happen to me ;) Anyway, she made the comment that no matter how much you talk and try and convince someone to believe the way you do, at the end of the day, they will believe what they want. I thought about that for a while and was convinced she was right and I was probably wasting my time discussing these things with people. Which was a little disheartening because keeping up with current events is important to me. I think it's important for the sake of my children. I am afraid we are turning into a socialist country and I don't want that. Then all of this bail out stuff started coming up. I decided that I needed to educate myself on the issue so I would have an understanding of just where my $2000+ that the government was going to take from was going to go. A few days later I turned on the news and saw the FAMOUS, Harry Reid. I listened to him speak about the meeting that had just gone on the night before and how McCain had come and messed everything up. I instantly got on-line and started finding whatever I could on the subject because I knew there were two sides of the story and I don't really trust Mr. Reid. After researching and asking questions, it dawned on me that there are people out in this country who aren't that interested and don't know or even don't care. They aren't trying to get the correct story, they are just waiting for those soundbites on the nightly news or hear what clever thing, that Joy on The View is going to say about all of it. I then realized why I feel so passionate sometimes - I just want people to understand and care what is going on in our country. Too many people waste their time and intelligence listening to the media. They hear the little short soundbites and think they know all. I am not saying that I know all but I do research things and listen to people that I know are way smarter than me and then I make my decision and every now and then, I come up with my own conclusions.

I didn't mean to make this so lengthy. I have a feeling that my parents, and their parents had something to do with me being this way. I can't remember a dinner that politics didn't come up in the conversation and we ate together EVERY NIGHT. I am not the only one in my family who is passionate about all this. Although, my brother, David's blog says, Lifes too short to care about politics, believe me, he knows ALOT about politics. He's not one of those, soundbiters that I was talking about, far from it. He (we), I think are all just feeling like the Dems are taking over and the GOP isn't being so Grand these days. My sister Maren and I spend alot of our conversations on the phone discussing these things (I have to admit, it's easy to when you agree on pretty much everything.) My brother Bart has just written a few comments, ok a LOT of comments on these recent political issues. He is a great writer, funny, and he is one of those people that I listen to because he is WAY smarter than me. The guy remembers everything he reads and hears. So go here and here to read what he has written about these issues. It's lengthy but worth your time.

Also, if you'd like to watch a video on the subject go to our friend, Marque's Blog. He's very good about trying not to be political but I'm glad he passed this on. It's really informative. Enjoy.