I really wanted to get something posted before the election. Alas, ‘twas not to be. I was out of town Monday and most of the day Tuesday. That’s my excuse. If I were the diligent, devoted blogger that you expect then I guess that would not have stopped me. Below is something similar to what I should’ve written yesterday. (Note: Yesterday it would have been in the future tense, today it is past tense. That’s why I said similar.)
What follows is not an attempt to change anyone’s mind. This is just my feeble attempt to explain and describe a change in my worldview that has taken place over the last few years. It may not (and I doubt it will) come across as the most intelligent narrative, but I hope it comes across as honest and sincere.
Yesterday was an historic (even before the outcome) day for our nation. It was also historic for me. For a couple of reasons.
The first reason is not really that big of a deal. Yesterday was the first time I voted in a Presidential General Election in Florence, AL. I was born in Florence. I was raised in Florence. I have lived here for about 26 of my 34+ years on this planet. But yesterday was the first time I ever voted for a President in Florence. The first Presidential election I was eligible to vote in was 1992. That year I voted in the primary, but I was in Auburn at the time of the General Election and I did not get registered to vote in time. In 1996, I was still in Auburn and I voted there. We moved to Helena in the spring of 2000, so in that election I voted in Helena. Then in 2004 we were living in Kentucky.
Finally this year, the 5th Presidential Election for which I was eligible to vote, I voted in my hometown. Like I said, not that big of a deal. But it was significant for me. I didn’t even realize it until yesterday as I was racing home from Opelika so I could get back and vote.
The second historical event for me was a little more significant, and requires a little more back-story. Yesterday, I, for the first time in my life, voted for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone. I’m sort of secretive about my voting.)
Those who have only known me a few years are probably not surprised that I voted for Barak Obama. You want surprise? Listen to this. I voted for George W. Bush. Twice (in separate elections, of course). How did I get to this point? Let’s have a little exposition.
I grew up in a home that voted (probably strictly) Republican. I have a few memories from my formative years that involved politics. I’ve mentioned before that I travelled and worked with my Dad a lot during the summer as a teenager. When we weren’t listening to motivational speakers, Ray Stevens, or Bill Cosby, we listened to Rush Limbaugh. For a while anyway. He stopped listening to Rush a little after Clinton was elected.
My brother is about 15 months older than me. He turned 18 in 1990, which happened to be the year of a Gubernatorial election. Michael decided he was going to vote for Paul Hubbert (the Democrat nominee), and somehow my dad found out his intentions. A few days before the election I listened to part of a speech about why he shouldn’t vote for a democrat.
Voting Republican was ingrained in my psyche at an early age. Now, that is not to say that I voted Republican because “that’s what our family does.” When I started voting I was determined to vote my conscious. I would make up my own mind. That is what I did. I am quite proud to say that I have never, ever voted a straight ticket. But I never voted Democrat in any major race either.
Initially I voted for the GOP because of their stance on social issues. I’m a Christian. I have been for almost 20 years. For a long time that meant that I took certain stances on certain issues. (i.e. Anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-Prayer in Schools, anti-evolution education, etc.) I was firmly entrenched in the Religious Right. This platform was a large part of my right leanings.
Time passes. People grow. Things change. Over the years I began to see many of the policies and stances of the “Christian Right” as… well… un-Christian. As I studied and prayed (since that’s what we Christians do) my beliefs and convictions began to change. My views on issues such as the church’s (and the Republican Party’s) stance on homosexuality changed 180°.
But my voting didn’t change. By 2004 I was firmly in the “Gay-Rights” corner (I won't go into the whys and hows, we've been there). I was moving a little left on other issues as well. But I was still firmly in the Republican camp. I was still pro-war, pro-business, anti-minimum wage increase, pro-death penalty, etc. My main reason for voting Republican was financial. I wanted to keep more of my money. I like money.
In the last 4 years, my politics have moved a little further left. I changed my mind on war. I changed my mind on capital punishment. I’m less pro-business than I used to be. I am very much for the increase in minimum wage.
When it comes down to it, I’m more Libertarian than anything. I wish the government would keep its nose out of my personal life and its hand out of my money. But I have decided that my beliefs on social issues and the needs of our country and the world out-weigh my views on economic issues.
So, this year, I voted Democrat. Hate on me if you like. To be honest, I’m a little nervous about it. But I’m happy with my vote, and I’m happy with the outcome.
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