Thursday, May 17, 2012

Un-Inspired

I’ve long identified myself as a Conservative, but it was not until 2008 that I really solidified by political beliefs and the reasons behind those beliefs. I’ve long loved history but it was not until 2008 that I began to understand how very relevant history is to what is happening today. 2008 is the year I finally was inspired to figure it out. The Presidential election fascinated me, beginning with both the Democratic and Republican primaries. In fact I’d say the Democratic primary was the more interesting for me. I loved the back and forth between the Clinton and Obama camps. Obama in particular was intriguing, I loved the idea that our country might elect our first African-American president. It was so historical! He was also a great orator to boot. I watched debates and stump speeches and tried to weigh their statements with what I believe. I decided that I needed to go deeper into what I believe and also what the candidates believe. When I made the effort to do research I realized how very much I disagreed with then Senator Obama. I can understand why so many just think he is the bees knees. Its easier just to take what the media says and what the candidate says and just believe it. I'm grateful I woke up. When I really started to nail down what I myself believed I began to look for candidates who believed the same as I did. I looked for evidence of belief not just in words but also in actions. I became curious as to who the possible vice presidential candidates might be. I found Governor Sarah Palin and began researching anything I could find out about her. She was in line with my beliefs. I was impressed that she lived what she preached. I was impressed that she took on the Republican problems before she took on the Democrats in her state. I still admire the Governor. The 2008 election started a whole new educational process for me. I decided I wanted to learn how our country got into our current economical and moral mess. Its been a great couple of 4 years, and I really have learned a lot. It took effort, but it has been more than worth it. I knew this election cycle would be less interesting, we already knew who the Democratic candidate would be. But, 2012 has been just plain old uninspiring. I watched debates, but found they were all talking circles around each other and around issues that, although the media tried to tell us otherwise, just aren't pertinent to really putting this country back on the right track. I certainly think President Obama must not be re-elected. But, I'd hoped we would be able to be inspired. It is going to be a very long difficult haul to correct what our progressive minded government has been doing to us for so long. I wanted to start the correction off with some bold truth telling. Maybe we still can. In the meantime keep learning, sharing and standing up.