Something I have never done...

The buttons have been sitting on the dryer by the door for a few weeks. There are 3 of them. Every day as I walked by them I have contemplated doing it...pinning one onto my purse strap. It would be fairly safe; it's not like I was putting a bumper sticker on my car; most people probably wouldn't even notice it. It would be like speaking at normal volume in a noisy room; someone right next to me might hear, but then again, they might not. And the majority of the people would never even notice what I was saying. But I have always stopped short because I am so fucking indecisive. One day I feel I am SURE that there is no way I am going to vote for McCain, but then the next day I start thinking *ideologically* again, and then I start the whole weighing the pros and cons thing all over again...

I start stacking the chips, and keep finding that every time I do it, I come back around to the fact that although I don't agree with Obama on everything, I agree with him on more issues than not. Not to mention the fact that my biggest turn off, which happens to be his lean toward bigger gvmnt and socialism, is becoming more and more of a non-issue...In the past, the Republican party has always claimed to stand for smaller, less intrusive government. I believed them. The ideology seemed to make sense...personal responsibility, reward for hard work, less gvmnt intervention in our day to day lives, fewer laws, the idea that the free market works such that if the people at the top are making money, and the people down the chain work for it, that they will get their share and be treated well, protection of our personal rights and freedoms, etc. But the current state of the economy, among other things, seems to have opened my eyes to some things...I am becoming convinced that although the ideology may make sense, the incorporation of it has failed, and it's all a bunch of crap...

Trickle down economics? Those down the chain will benefit from the success of those at the top?! BAH! Yeah right...the greed and lack of morality and ethics seems to be choking off the downward flow of said 'success'.

Personal responsibility? Morality? Ethics? Good for the Geese, but not for the Gander, I guess...Greed along the spectrum has landed our economy in dire straights. EVERYONE is paying for the actions of some...It's a 'necessary evil' to bail out the big financial institutions and Wall street types (rather than let them fall prey to their shady, unethical business practices and greed) because if we don't, it will hurt ALL of us worse in the long run...although it may be true, it pisses me off to no end...and yet, it seems that the majority of the Republicans are not in favor of at the same time trying to help out the homeowners who are facing a similar situation of their own...they may also be guilty of extending themselves beyond their means, but I still would rather help them out than help those who made GOBS AND GOBS of money off of the rest of us...I also know that the Democrats are not innocent in all of this, and were the ones who pushed these institutions to extend credit to more people...I also think that the push for de-regulation is not working, as obviously a lot of these entities cannot be trusted to 'do the right thing' when left to their own devices. This is getting jumbled and off topic; basically, although the *ideology* is reasonable to me, I feel that the current direction is not working...

Protection of our personal rights and freedoms? Sure, unless it has to do with a woman's right to choice when it comes to HER reproductive life, or if the government wants to tap your phone calls in the name of 'national security', or if you would like to have civil liberty rights with your partner who happens to be the same sex as you...

(disclaimer; I am not pro-abortion, I am pro CHOICE...Abortion, to me, is horrible in most cases, but should NOT be the realm of the government)

The war in Iraq? What ever happened to the plan of going in, removing Saddam, stabilizing their gvmnt and training them and then MAKING THEM TAKE OVER at some point? If we do not set a time table to turn responsibility over to them, they aren't EVER going to take over the lead role on their own. Much easier for us to spend OUR money. Not that it has to be a publicly announced time line, but there HAS to be some sort of plan to get our troops out of there.

Not to mention, what ever happened to OBL, the ORIGINAL target?

Not to mention, I don't like the growing disdain for the USA that this administration has seemed to create...The more and more I read about the global view of the USA and what we stand for and believe in, the more I am convinced it is time for a different approach.

Not to mention the level of involvement of the religious right in the Republican party is starting to freak me out.

Not to mention that Sarah Palin is beginning to annoy me, BIG TIME, with her "I'm just like you soccer mom" spiel...I know that's a damned if you do damned if you don't type situation for them, but she bugs me.

I still don't like the idea of wealth redistribution, and have no idea what the answer to the big tax question is, how to make it fair and how much is too much, etc etc.

So, I could really go on, but you get the point, Internet. I don't know the RIGHT answer, and it may still be the lesser of two evils, but I can't see continuing on the same type of path we have been on.

Maybe it's because having a child has changed ME and my view on the world at large and what our responsibilities should be to society as a whole...

So, I did it this morning. I stuck one of those Vote Obama 2008 pins on the strap of my purse. I am trying to be decisive. I am (quietly, tentatively) putting my political opinion out there to the public, which is something I have never done.