So what does it take to change what you have been brought up believing? Do you just wake up one day and decide...Ya know...today I'll be a Yankee's fan? Probably not. It’s my opinion that few things can bring about a change in your beliefs. Even fewer things can make permenent changes. Two things that can make changes in your beliefs are: 1) what is popular around you? and 2) Education.
The first one doesn't really bring about a core change. It is temporary. What is popular around you? I saw many people who in the past did not even care about football become the biggest Saints fans two years ago during their historic season. They never had a hat, jersey or knew of any player's names. But when Saints Fever took over the region everyone was decked out in the latest gear. They were the biggest fans! Why? It was popular and everyone was doing it. What happens once the Saints started to lose this year? The same people went back into their shell. Just because something it is popular in a certain place or time doesn't mean it will bring permanent change. Where are all the anti-war supporters that rallied for Obama?
The second is Education. This is what started my journey. I was a Republican. I was Lutheran. I was a Bears Fan, a White Sox Fan, a Bulls Fan and a Blackhawks fan. Why? Cause I was raised to be those things. If I was raised somewhere else I could easily have been a Democrat, a Catholic and a Celtics Fan.
But I wasn't. I am glad of where I came from, where I am and I am happy where I am going.
So how did my education bring me to where I am today? For 18 years I lived in Valparaiso Indiana. Then I went to college for 2 years. I joined the Army for 4 years during which I was deployed overseas. After my service was completed I received my Honorable Discharge, went back and graduated from college. It was during these 8 years, that I moved away from that tiny segment of the World, that I started my journey. You cannot learn about life and the world if you limit yourself to 60 square miles. This is when my education really started. This is when I started to ask questions and find out the answers for myself. Before that time I was just being brought up. I was being raised with someone else's beliefs, my parents'.
My political Journey started with George Bush Jr. I saw a republican not governing by the Republican Platform. I saw a politician who would say one thing and then do another. He was anti-war but then brought our country into a war unjustly. Every President that I can remember has claimed to be anti-war and then turned to waging war. How did Obama win? He promised "change" and an end to a war. What was the result? Not change, more of the same thing. Not only did he not ended the war that he promised to end, he just started another undeclared and unjust war. Republicans are supposed to believe in a Free-market economy but why is all your money and my money being used that actually manipulate the "free-market". There are so many bureaucracies that not only waste our money but also drive prices higher for those that do not participate in the programs.
Having questions in my head regarding Bush Jr and the entire Republican Party I started educating myself. I found myself politically homeless. I looked into the Democratic Party and did not agree with their platform at all. The Republican Party's platform which seemed good to me at one point now seemed worthless because there are no politicians that actually abided by it. Say one thing...do another. Then I was introduced to a certain politician who spoke on a different level than any politician I have ever heard. He didn't talk about the Republican Platform. He didn't try to use emotions to get support. What he did do was make many references to the only "platform" any politician should govern by...The Constitution of the United States. This document outlines the rules that We the People gave the government that allow them to govern us on a limited basis.
I am learning new things daily. There is one thing that I am certain of. We have come a long way from where our Fore Fathers intended us and our country to be. The path of freedom that was carved by the blood of our ancestors has grown over and is barely visible. This blog is my journey down that narrow overgrown path.
