Politics

I am really no good at politics.  They are too hot headed for me.  No matter how much you might think you know about any given politically charged topic, someone you know will try to 'set you straight' by hurling their own set of facts at you, usually damaging a friendship in the process.

You see, it is easy to get any manner of facts to support your particular spin on the lodestone topics involved.  So, no matter what your personal take, you can find some article, some link, some incendiary set of facts to try to cram down other people's throats in the hope that they either see the error of their ways or choke on it.

So I try to steer well clear of it.

However, I cannot just pretend that politics don't exist.  Oh, I wish that were so.  But, try as I might to avoid them, I can't ignore the fact that we just had one of the most divisive elections in history.  And the truth is, I do have opinions on things!

The one part of President Obama's administration that has had an immediate impact on my life is the health care act he sponsored.  I have had the same health insurance for 13 years, now.  For 12 years, it was rock solid, dependable, and all around awesome.  Suddenly, with Obamacare, my insurance went from awesome to terrible.  Our out of pocket expenses went up. Our coverage went down.  I now have high deductibles for both medical and pharmaceuticals, forcing me to shell out nearly $1,000 in additional medical costs in the past 2 months alone on top of my really high premiums.  The premiums are so high that the only monthly bill that is higher is our mortgage!  It may be selfish of me, but I am not happy to know that I am now poorer so that other people can have some form of coverage.  I worked hard to earn a degree.  I worked hard to get a job with decent benefits.  We weren't well off to begin with, either.  Now we are struggling.

I was disturbed by the events of September 11th, 2012.  In a nutshell, on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a small group of terrorists attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing 4 Americans, including the US Ambassador, Chris Stevens.  The terrorists claimed to be acting out of anger and retribution over some anti Muslim video created by an American.  Rather than stand up for our citizens in the consulate, sending in troops, and demanding justice be done upon the terrorists responsible, President Obama apologized to the world for our First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

I haven't seen the video in question and it is probably ignorant and offensive.  But the freedom to speak is not just the freedom to speak wisely and for the good of mankind.  The First Amendment also protects the right to speak ignorantly.  Imagine this as a playground disagreement.  Bubba Ray says something ignorant and dumb to Sa'if.  Sa'if turns to Sam and pushes him down and stomps on his head.  Do we apologize to little Sa'if for Bobby being so ignorant?  Or is there a more critical problem on this playground?  Now, let's imagine that for some reason, we saw the whole thing coming.  We knew Sa'if was about to push Sam down and stomp on his head, but we stood by and did nothing?  In essence, that is what happened.  There was advanced intelligence that something was brewing in Benghazi.  Prior to the attack, the Marines had asked for reinforcements, and were denied.



I know there are lots of issues and hot topics out there that sway people politically.  For me, these were the two that weighed most heavily for me.

I voted for Mitt Romney.

No, not because we share a religion.  I don't really care what denomination our Commander-in-Chief adheres to.  It does matter to me that he (or she) believes in God and prays for divine inspiration.  However, I'm leery of President Obama because I am just not sure if he even believes there is a God.  That is not why I voted for the other guy, though.

I voted for Mitt Romney because I believe that what our country needs is a successful businessman as a leader.  Our country needs to work hard to get out of debt.  Our country needs a strong economic leader.  I saw what Mr. Romney did to save the 2002 Olympic Games.  The games (held right in my back yard, as it were) were mired in scandal, debt, and corruption.  It was a massive embarrassment for America on the world stage.  Mitt Romney was called in to fix the problem.  He did.  I remember people screamed about it at first, but everyone was overjoyed when, within a year, he had turned it around and made the Olympics successful, profitable, and an American success story.  This is one fact I know because I watched it unfold right in front of me.

It has been amazing to me all the bitter attacks against Mr. Romney over his wealth and his taxes.  People seemed truly incensed that he had so much money and paid "so little" in taxes.

I can't help but wonder if all those angry people, at tax time, sit down and say, "Gee, I could use the tax code to legally reduce my tax burden but I'm not going to.  I think I will pay more than I am legally bound to, because it is just the right thing to do!"

So, really, in this case, their anger is misplaced.  They shouldn't be angry at Mr. Romney for using the current tax code to his advantage (something that we ALL do as much as we are able), but rather, they should be upset WITH THE TAX CODE ITSELF.  Which, of course, Mr. Romney did not write.  Personally, I think the entire tax code should be abolished and a flat tax imposed.  Say, 5% for personal income tax.  Rich or poor.  Just pay 5%.  No loopholes.  No deductions.  No tax credits.  You made $1,000 this year?  Pay $50 in taxes.  $100,000?  Pay $5,000.  Businesses and corporations could pay a flat tax of 8-15% based on how much they keep their company off the grid.  Use less non-renewable natural resources?  Move down the % scale on tax burden.

I'm sure this outlook is overly simplistic and I probably know someone that would shoot it down and go into great detail about why it would never work.  Which is why I usually just keep my mouth shut about anything with even a whiff of political stink.

Or how about this one?  "Gosh, I sure do seem to have too much money.  I think I will just give it all away no one can blame me for being wealthy."

Since when did it become a crime to be rich?  I may be wrong, but I grew up playing Life, where we were all striving to make it to Millionaire Estates.  Did I miss the memo?  Are we not all trying to reach financial independence and wealth anymore?  That's what I still daydream about.  Mr. Romney has managed to get to "Millionaire Estates" in the real game of Life; he didn't inherit his money, and he earned it legally.  I guess we just have a bunch of sore losers in this country who figure he doesn't deserve his wealth because we haven't made it to Millionaire Estates ourselves.



But, really, none of this matters, because he was not elected.  President Obama was re-elected.  Yet our country is still very divided.  Half the country wished it was the other guy.

I won't talk or write about politics any more (until the next election cycle, that is).  There is lots more I could express my opinion on, but this has been quite long winded enough as it is.  So I will let it rest.

Still, I hope and pray for better tomorrows.  And I will pray for our President.  But I am worried, even if I don't talk about it.