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I’m sitting here musing where I exactly I am on the US political scale.

Let’s go back a bit. I’m American, born and bred. Like many of you, I complained about wasteful spending, illegal immigration and immigrants not speaking English, high taxes, welfare babies and education.  I’ve worked hard in my life and paid my taxes and supported my troops. The only way I’ve failed in being an American is by not questioning my politicians harder.

I’m not Christian. That’s my choice, just as being Christian is a choice that many of you have made. Like most people, that has coloured my political views. However, that has never changed my stance on religion in schools, or government. The US is far too diverse to give any one religion precedence over another and I believe this is one reason that our Founding Fathers wanted a government free from religion. Religion is a deeply personal thing and as such, it should be taught by the parents. If, as a parent, you want a more faith-based education for your child, then you should be willing to pay for a private religious school or homeschool your children.

Another thing I’m failing to understand is the fear and hate mongering that suddenly seems to be acceptable behaviour from the Right.  I’ve seen t-shirts for sale that wish death on a duly elected officials.  I’ve seen public figures call natural disasters “the work of God”.  I hear elected officials play “the boy who cried wolf” with health care reform.  I hear of lawyers filing frivolous lawsuits over Obama’s place of birth while nothing is ever said publicly about the fact that John McCain was indeed born outside of the US.  I see hypocrisy on a grand scale and I weep.

When did my country become a hotbed of hatred and fear? When did it become almost a crime to be different? A different race? A different religion? When did it suddenly become ok to be an immature sore loser?

Some I know have called me a ‘bleeding heart liberal’ and a ’socialist’ because I do support more social programs from the US govt. I know that no matter what, there will always be those that feel the need to abuse those programs and yes, in some ways that does make me angry. That will never change my belief that there are certain things that should be available to all. This includes medical care, dental care, unemployment payments that will allow a family to actually live instead of barely scrape by.  I believe that higher education should depend on your scholastic aptitude and not your parent’s bank account. I believe there should be more government funded activity programs to get our kids off the streets, from behind the TV and on the way to self-respect and respect for others.  I believe in re-education programs for the unemployed to help them find a good paying  job. I believe that most single mothers are not single mothers by choice and they should receive parenting training and sex education if needed as well as some help to get them off welfare. Sadly, it’s more profitable for many of them to stay on welfare because once they find any kind of job, all welfare stops and they end up losing that job because they can’t afford reliable child care. I believe in more protection for our workers. I detest this ‘right to work’ thing that too many states have going on.  I want our working mothers and father to not have to take unpaid maternity/paternity leave. I want our working parents to not fear losing their jobs because a child is sick. I want more part-time work available to working mothers that includes vacation time and sick leave.  I want there to be help with child care for working mothers and low income families.

I want there to be more focus on fixing our problems at home and less on forcing our ideals and culture down another country’s throat. I want the government out of my bedroom and my uterus.

After all of this, I still don’t know where I stand. I do know that I’m angry, sad, and heartbroken. My country that I have loved all of my life is gone and what once was a shining beacon of hope throughout the world is now a sad shadow of what it once was.