My Two Cents

I thought about starting this off by saying "I won't get too political," then I thought, wait a second, this is my blog. In my tiny corner of the interwebs I can say as I please. That being said, there are two ways of saying what you please. One, is saying anything you want in haste, not thinking about the people you will offend or the way people will analyze your words. The other is trying to get your point across with as much tact as possible. I'll be going with the latter.

As you all know, (or should know- if you don't I'm embarrassed for you) President Obama was reelected as the President of the United States. Personally, I was pleased. Pleased to live in a progressive country where our freedoms and liberties are important to us. Pleased to live in a country where my vote counted. Pleased to live in a country where I can express my opinion and my voice can be heard. 

I should preface this by saying I have friends in all aspects of the political spectrum, and I respect them to no end. We are all eager to learn and grow and prosper in this country, we simply value certain issues more than others. I am so proud to have friends and family with varying opinions because we are all able to express ourselves to one another. We don't cut each other down for our opinions or try to prove each other wrong. We listen. We try to understand. If we can't understand, we chalk it up to our differences and move on.

I truthfully wish everyone would willingly take this approach. Accept the differences within others and communicate without ignorance and hate. Politics are no longer black and white. Our young generation is evolving and accepting of things the older generations aren't necessarily okay with. My hope is that with society evolving, politics are able to evolve as well. Regardless of your party I'm sure we can all agree that the policies in place 30 and 40 years ago simply haven't adapted to the country we live in anymore. Our only choice as a country is to evolve, adapt, progress, and grow. 

I honestly do not care what your beliefs are, so long as you have researched them. We live in a country where information is readily available at our fingertips and it would be selfish of us not to take full advantage of that. Don't simply adhere yourself to a political party because that's what your parents taught you. I can't tell you how many people I see on my Facebook newsfeed that are from middle or lower class families who would benefit from some of President Obama's policies, yet they support Governor Romney. Women who found themselves pregnant at a young age, needing the support of Planned Parenthood, but still supporting Governor Romney who vowed to defund the very organization they need. 

Educate yourselves. That's all I ask. Also, think before you post things on social media. I consider myself to have very thick skin, but some of the things I read mocking Obama supporters were incredibly hateful. Claiming that everyone voting for Obama is expecting government handouts is beyond offensive. Joking that you should drop out of school and have a bunch of kids and get of welfare is just a testament of how uneducated you are on the facts of the election. Did you know that the state of Oklahoma just passed a law requiring you to pass a drug test to receive government assistance? Despite many Republicans believing this is a win for them, I believe this is a win for all Americans. 

Something else that really bothered me was people threatening to move out of the country for the next four years. All I have to say about that is this: if you honestly think you'll find another country where you can be granted as many civil and social liberties as you have in America, I wish you luck. The fact that you are given the liberty to even cast a ballot is something people fight and die for. So before you think our country is going down the drain, think about that. 

One man cannot and will not make or break America. Have faith in our leaders ability to find common ground amongst parties and make the best decisions for our country. Be thankful for the country we live in, people would die to be here. 

xoxo