Sunday, October 16, 2005
Phil's Observation's about My Buddy Aaron
Regular readers of Phil's Observations know that Phil is generally open-minded about most things. New readers may need a refresher, so skip past the next paragraph if you're not new:)
My ideology dictates the following about me: a) abortion is killing a child and is wrong b) people who do things with malicious intent should suffer some sort of punishment c) anyone who hurts a child should be executed immediately upon conviction d) the prosecutor and public defender should have the same resources available to do do their clients justice and e) if you have a negative personality, I don't want to be around you.
OK, that part is done for the newbies. So I have this buddy, Aaron, who I have known since my freshman year in college. We roomed together one year, and worked together for two. Back in those days, we could get into some really intense discussions about politics. I never thought anyone could be more right wing that him. I would have to offer up some common sense and bring him back to reality. He would get very boisterous in his arguements. Trust me, I got a few good laughs out of what he said. But he was really confident in his opinions, and vary rarely ever changed his view. I never considered myself a liberal, but next to my buddy, I was like Howard Dean. Fast forward a decade and a half later. After some career changes and moving around a little bit, we hooked up again maybe five years ago. While Aaron was still gung-ho republican, he wasn't as dedicated to the party as he had been back in college. So we've kept in touch over the last five years, getting togther every 3-4 months for dinner & drinks. It was his last visit over to my kneck of the woods that it finally hit me: My right-wing republican buddy was going liberal.
He started bashing Bush and other republicans. He says he now favors unions. He says now he believes the corporate America is out to ruin the little guy. He now says that Clinton did a lot of good while in office. He now things entitlements are good for the "common man". Aaron even said the "republican party left him." I couldn't believe it. My friend was becoming more liberal, and I was becoming more conservative. As we grow older and get more life experience, our views and opinions often evolve. What shocked me was how much we had changed since our college days, only a little more than a decade ago.
You see, my friend, and I have told him this, doesn't get it yet. It's more than political parties. I'm not a republican. I'm not a democrat. But I do have an ideology that dicates who I am. Whomever best fits my ideology gets my support and vote. Yeah, most of the time I vote for someone under the republican party. But not always. Yeah, most of the time when I write to a political leader, it's to a republican. But not always. Get over the party affiliation crap. Get over the extremism. Get over the acedamia. Get over the apathy. Support who you want because s/he satisfies your ideology.
I write quite a bit to my local, state, and federal representatives. Both in support of and against their position, I want to make sure that specific person knew what I wanted out of them. I encourage you to do the same. Isn't that democracy is all about?
Oh, and for those of you regular readers who like to challenge me on this, my answer is yes, I know we are a represntative government, not a pure democracy. And that is why my vote counts to get rid of my representative doesn't do what I want.
Be safe. Enjoy Life.
My ideology dictates the following about me: a) abortion is killing a child and is wrong b) people who do things with malicious intent should suffer some sort of punishment c) anyone who hurts a child should be executed immediately upon conviction d) the prosecutor and public defender should have the same resources available to do do their clients justice and e) if you have a negative personality, I don't want to be around you.
OK, that part is done for the newbies. So I have this buddy, Aaron, who I have known since my freshman year in college. We roomed together one year, and worked together for two. Back in those days, we could get into some really intense discussions about politics. I never thought anyone could be more right wing that him. I would have to offer up some common sense and bring him back to reality. He would get very boisterous in his arguements. Trust me, I got a few good laughs out of what he said. But he was really confident in his opinions, and vary rarely ever changed his view. I never considered myself a liberal, but next to my buddy, I was like Howard Dean. Fast forward a decade and a half later. After some career changes and moving around a little bit, we hooked up again maybe five years ago. While Aaron was still gung-ho republican, he wasn't as dedicated to the party as he had been back in college. So we've kept in touch over the last five years, getting togther every 3-4 months for dinner & drinks. It was his last visit over to my kneck of the woods that it finally hit me: My right-wing republican buddy was going liberal.
He started bashing Bush and other republicans. He says he now favors unions. He says now he believes the corporate America is out to ruin the little guy. He now says that Clinton did a lot of good while in office. He now things entitlements are good for the "common man". Aaron even said the "republican party left him." I couldn't believe it. My friend was becoming more liberal, and I was becoming more conservative. As we grow older and get more life experience, our views and opinions often evolve. What shocked me was how much we had changed since our college days, only a little more than a decade ago.
You see, my friend, and I have told him this, doesn't get it yet. It's more than political parties. I'm not a republican. I'm not a democrat. But I do have an ideology that dicates who I am. Whomever best fits my ideology gets my support and vote. Yeah, most of the time I vote for someone under the republican party. But not always. Yeah, most of the time when I write to a political leader, it's to a republican. But not always. Get over the party affiliation crap. Get over the extremism. Get over the acedamia. Get over the apathy. Support who you want because s/he satisfies your ideology.
I write quite a bit to my local, state, and federal representatives. Both in support of and against their position, I want to make sure that specific person knew what I wanted out of them. I encourage you to do the same. Isn't that democracy is all about?
Oh, and for those of you regular readers who like to challenge me on this, my answer is yes, I know we are a represntative government, not a pure democracy. And that is why my vote counts to get rid of my representative doesn't do what I want.
Be safe. Enjoy Life.
Kicknit 10/16/2005