Politically Incorrect

I largely avoid discussing politics, in writing or in person, because I can’t stand the often mean-spirited divisiveness that it generates among friends, co-workers and sometimes strangers on the street, especially when on Facebook.  I don’t necessarily want to know all the political opinions of my Facebook Friends, and have often wondered how that person who seemed so nice in my day-to-day dealings with him or her can be so misguided and hateful.  I never de-Friend anyone, but I made an exception for a perfectly pleasant-seeming former casual acquaintance of mine who turned out to be a raging Neo-Nazi lunatic on Facebook.

I am not afraid to say that I am absolutely crazy about Hillary Clinton, as a person and a politician.  Essentially, I not only supported her for the presidency, I support her for anything she might like to do, and I think she is one kick-ass Secretary of State.  Of course, everyone knows that I’m liberal, even when I don’t come out and say so, but for me being liberal is more about being open-minded to all philosophies and lifestyles than it is about taking a particular political stance.  In fact, when I first registered to vote I tried to register as an Independent, unaffiliated to any particular party, but the registrar in Clarion, PA (where I was going to college at the time) had never heard of such a thing, and was not prepared to register an Independent.  So I am a Democrat, which is okay, because it means I can vote in primaries, and had the chance to proudly cast my vote for Hillary for President.

However, I have a hard time keeping quiet when it comes to civil rights and what I perceive as discrimination against any particular group of people.  You see, I actually believe that all people are created equal and should have rights to equal treatment under the law.  Maybe I got mixed up a little in all those history classes, and my numerous viewings of the musical 1776, but isn’t that the foundation of the United States of America?  I was under the impression that our nation was created so that all the people in it could live their chosen lifestyles in peace, free from persecution.  I really hope that is the case, because I still get all weepy and in the mood to sing patriotic songs just thinking about it.

So, I have to say something when a national campaign focuses on weight rather than health, essentially targeting chubby kids and setting them up for ridicule and self-esteem issues.  I cannot understand why anyone, anywhere, would be against all people in our country having access to affordable health care.

 

The right to bear arms aside, I cannot fathom why, in a day and age when we can no longer go to our office job, or high school, or a fast food restaurant, or the local shopping mall where our congressional representative is appearing, or religious services or the movie theater without risking being shot to death that any right-minded person would have a problem with enacting some reasonable gun control laws that keep assault weapons out of the hands of your everyday miscreant. And do not try to tell me that people kill people, not guns.  If the shooter at The Dark Knight Rises came into the movie theater that evening with the intent to strangle or even stab people, it seems unlikely that so many lives would have been lost.

Now let’s talk about love for a minute.  In America we should all have the right to love whomever we choose to love, and live freely and openly with our partner or loved one without fear of persecution.  It should go without saying that any couple in this country should have the right to legalize their union in marriage.  We all have the right to believe whatever we believe about this, but as Americans we should not have the right to impose our beliefs on anyone else.  And to those who try to justify legalized discrimination based upon what the Bible says, that is exactly why we have separation of church and state in this country.  We have a right to practice our own religious beliefs, but a responsibility to not interfere with others’ right to practice theirs.  And if I understand it correctly, that’s what America is, or should be, all about.

Well, now I feel better.  I promise next week I’ll talk about something banal like the weather.