What are YOU?

Today most politics somehow seem to revolve around the parties involved.  The Republicans and the Democrats.  The Conservatives and the Liberals.  Right-wing, Left-wing.  But should all issues be separated into those categories?  Should we have to vote with a particular party just because "that's how we registered," even if we don't fully agree with certain items on a politician's platform?

I am not registered as a Democrat, nor as a Republican.  I am currently registered as Independent.  Why?  Because I don't want to be pressured to fill out a ballot in a certain way just to be in line with my "party affiliation."  It's not that I don't believe in small government, like the Republicans do  It's just that I believe in merely holding my government accountable.  For using my vote to demand accountability from my government.

My friend asked me today if I believed that the forefathers of our nation knew what they were doing when they wrote and signed the Constitution, setting the plans for their new nation.  My answer: To some extent.  They thought things out well.  They accomplished what they set out to do; they set the groundwork for a government limited by...itself.  Checks and balances.  Her opinion?  "I think they gave us a perfect blueprint for a successful government."  The kicker? The club of our forefathers eventually formed a political party (to go against Hamilton's bank nationalization plan, no doubt) called the "Democratic-Republicans."  And over the last 200 or so years, we have separated from that unity which formed our country, and, well...look at us now!

Are we better off now than we were then?  I'd say yes and no.  "Yes," because we have progressed in defining our Constitution in so many ways.  Has it been easy? NO!  But now women can vote.  People of colored skin can go to the same restaurants and the same schools and use the same water fountains as the whites (they can even be President!).  I have the freedom of speech to write blogs about whatever I want.  We are all entitled to a fair trial process.  And much, much, more!  But on the contrary, a country that was founded by immigrants and prisoners (including murderers, thieves, those declaring bankruptcy) is now trying to close its doors to foreign nationals.  A country that was formed because we didn't agree with another country's government is now trying to impose our democratic beliefs upon other nations.  Here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave," we still don't have marriage equality.  Here in the "land of opportunity," the unemployment rate is at 9% or so.

So what can we do about it?  Does it depend on your party affiliation, whether you coincide with the President or not?  Does it depend on whether your state is red or blue on the political map? NO!  It starts with one voice, speaking up for what is believed to be right.  I guarantee you're not alone!