I have always considered myself an Independent. I don’t want to label myself as any particular party, because, well, I don’t like to be labeled at all. But I like to think that I would always vote for the most qualified candidate, or if it’s one of those “vote for the better of two evils” year, that I’ll do just that. When I was a new voter, I found myself voting mostly Republican, likely because I hadn’t found my footing and was still following in my parents’ footsteps. Then I found myself slowly becoming more liberal.
One thing I have always found interesting is when Republicans say that they want less government control. But to me, I feel like that is ALL Republicans want. When Republicans are in office, I constantly feel under the eye of Big Brother. When Democrats are in office, I feel far less that way, and I think that’s party why I now lean that way. Republicans seem to hold on to the past. They don’t grow with society and the times. They want to keep life the way it was 100 years ago. I, on the other hand, want to move forward and accept more things as they are now. Democrats seem to look to the future while Republicans refuse to see what’s coming.
That said, I still haven’t really mentioned why I’m voting for Obama. In the past couple of weeks, I wrote how McCain scares me. The biggest reason is that a vote for McCain is basically a vote for war. He sees the world as a conqueror would…he wants to control everything and everyone. He puts fear in the minds of the people so they, too, want to conquer foreign lands, whether it be Iraq, Iran, or N. Korea. I am confident that McCain will start a war with Iran; he will find a reason even if they’re not really a threat. He will make them sound like a threat.
He will probably use Israel as a reason. I know Israel is an emotion issue for many. I grew up knowing little about the history of Israel, but it seems that at this point, the folks over there, both Israeli and Palestinian, just need to get over it already! There is no “right” answer. But take down your walls and just learn to see past the labels. You’re all people who just want to make it through to see tomorrow. Or maybe you’ve been brainwashed to believe that being a martyr will somehow make a better place for you in the afterlife. It is likely my lack of belief in an afterlife that makes me think how ridiculous you all look blowing yourselves up to make a point. Shake hands and learn to live together. Why waste your entire lives being angry.
Regardless, if not Israel, it’ll be nuclear weapons. Here’s another thing I don’t get. Why is the U.S. allowed nuclear weapons but other countries are not (except for those we choose)? That certainly doesn’t seem fair. If we can have them, then other countries should be allowed to have them. Do I want them to shoot them over here? Well, no. But do they want us to shoot them over there? Of course not. Either we should all be allowed to have them or we should all be made to destroy them . (I vote for the latter.) But for us to say that other countries absolutely cannot have them makes us a bully. You may say, “But those guys are CRAZY and they’ll send them off for no reason!” I’ve certainly had my days when I’ve been pretty sure that Bush isn’t “all there” either, and McCain…he is FAR less stable than even Bush. He wants to win a war no matter what, and if I were any other country, I would fear him. And my fear in him would make me want to make nuclear weapons to protect myself. If I were N. Korea, I’d be VERY afraid of Bush and McCain. It’s like the bully holding the bat and not letting me, the bullied, have any weapons to defend myself. When we see that in schools, we try to teach kids NOT to be bullies. So how can we be surprised when there are school shootings, etc.? These are kids who are told not to bully or not to put up with bullying, but they’re taught from day 1 that it’s okay for their country to treat other countries that way. “Do as I say, not as I do” does not work!!
And THAT is why I am voting for Obama. Although I agree that Obama has far less experienced as a politician than McCain, he doesn’t make me think about only doom for this country. I think he can see things from both sides. I think we need a big change in government and we need to show other countries around the world that we KNOW that Bush has been useless to us and we want to make our relationships with other countries better, not worse. We need to listen to all sides and not just assume we are right. I am still horrified that Bush went into Iraq after made-up WMDs. The other countries said not to go in, but Bully Bush wasn’t going to listen. That’s crap. Let’s get someone in office who will work with the other countries of the world and not act like a know-it-all. No one likes a know-it-all, a bully, or a conqueror.
So to Obama I say this. I am putting my trust in you. I know you are a bit green, but I am hoping that you will surround yourself with others who are open minded and willing to listen to all sides, others with experience they can share with you as you grow in the presidential position. I hope that you will understand how other countries currently see us and that some of us aren’t always “proud” to be American. Republicans can say that’s unpatriotic. But honestly, I’m not going to wave a flag and be proud of a country whose government has royally screwed things up lately! We really DO need a change, and I am trusting you to bring the U.S. back into good standing. I don’t need to be the most powerful country in the world. I just need for us to be able to live with the respect of other countries. I really WANT to be proud to live here, and I hope it will start again when you are in office.
So if anyone else out there is listening, vote for McCain if you enjoy pillaging other countries, if you need to be #1, if you have little care of what other countries believe and think, if you simply cannot see things from any other point of view but your own. Vote for Obama for real change, inside and out!
