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Guidelines To Making a Good Political ChoicePolitics Is Confusing Politics is confusing when we approach it wrong. When we listen to one side present its argument, it sounds good and we’re ready to join. But when we hear the other side present its argument, we’re persuaded otherwise and become confused. So we look at the person running for office. If one seems more capable to run the office, we’re persuaded to vote for him, but what if he is both capable and wrong? What is the right way to decide on politics? Apolitical response is irresponsible Some people don’t decide at all; they just become apolitical. That is, of course, the lazy way out. It is irresponsible not to be concerned about politics because politics determine everything that we have and do: the money we earn, the schools we attend, the vacations we take, the places we live, the doctors we see, what’s going to happen to our children - even the number of children we may have (as they do in China), what happens to us in our old age, and sometimes even the church we attend. We cannot afford to be apolitical. Don’t compare person for person When people vote for the “man” – the politician they think will best run the office – they are simply voting for the person who is more personable and eloquent. Yet some of the greatest tyrants in history were people who were the most capable of presenting their story. Confusion reigns When people are confused as to the best way to go, who to vote for or which party to support in a given issue, then it’s clear they don’t have a good grasp on politics and what’s really happening. Don’t compare argument for argument Picture two very large trees in your mind. It is summer and both trees are in full foliage. You are given the task to decide which is a good tree and which is a bad tree. Which will you put in your yard and which will you reject? So you start to compare leaf for leaf. One leaf from this tree versus one leaf from that tree. The good leaves go into one pile and the bad leaves into another pile. When the task is done, the tree with the most good leaves in the good pile is the tree you want. The problem is, both trees are so enormous that before you are finished comparing leaves, each tree has already sprouted an abundance of new leaves. The task is never accomplished and you are never finished because you’re going about the decision making process in the wrong way. That is what you get when you compare argument for argument between Republicans and Democrats. You get nowhere, because that is the wrong way to evaluate a political party. You leave yourself at the mercy of the person who is the better arguer, and you will never come to a legitimate conclusion. Granted, you may have decided on one tree or one political party, bought into it, defended it and replicated it, but you never made a legitimate, informed decision regarding it. It’s altogether possible in a situation like that, you could have chosen the very thing that will ultimately hurt you most.
Compare the parties’ foundations and goals So how do you make a decision between the two trees? You decide on the truck and roots instead of the leaves. What kind of a tree is it? What does it do? If you can rule out that which produces the leaves, then you can rule out all the leaves without examination. The same is true about political parties. When you come to know the foundation of the party and the goals of the party, you don’t have to examine its arguments. It won’t matter if the wrong party presents the most capable person in the world. After all, it’s better to sit for awhile and do nothing in a do-nothing party than it is to gallop at full speed toward certain destruction. Two Parties in America Two parties dominate American politics: Republicans and Democrats. There are many other parties, of course. At one time, Republicans and Democrats were also minor parties, until they grew to be the monoliths they are today. Both parties have a history. Both parties started with good ideas and ideals. Both parties became what they are today. How do we choose? Of course, we don’t have to choose either party. We could choose to be a member of a minor party. This discussion, however, deals with Republicans and Democrats because they by far are the two groups that shape and run the United States. Democrats It doesn’t matter what the Democrats were at one time. What are they today? Somewhere in its past, the Democrats chose that it was the government’s responsibility to be a caretaker for the people. That sounds great. Do what is right for the people. Make sure we have a good education, medical care, a job, and that our elderly are cared for. Protect us. House us. Feed us. Clothe us. Who could possibly argue with that? This seed of being a caretaker for the people has been planted in the Democrats fertile heart; it grew and now pervades everything in the Democrat agenda and platform. The drawback is, this seed is the exact same seed that Karl Marx used to create socialism. As the socialist seed grew in the Democrat heart, so did all its aspects. The trunk, limbs, branches and leaves all have their foundation and source in the roots. Any person acquainted with modern history can see the Democrats today are using the same tactics and the same arguments to gain their same goals that the socialists use in any other socialist country. Sadly, the only logical ultimate result of socialism is a totalitarian government, such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. And still sadder, what we have seen in every other totalitarian socialist government is utter and ruthless corruption at the top coupled with actual slavery and abject poverty at the bottom. Once the Democrats were moral and proper leaders of our United States government. Over the years they lost their first vision and embraced in its place socialism, which we call liberalism. It is possible they may again transform into something else, something better, but we can no more predict that or count on it as we could have foreseen that they would become socialists. But are we any better off with another political party? What is in store for us with the Republicans? Republicans It doesn’t matter what the Republicans were at one time. What are they today? As the Democrats, the Republicans also embraced a philosophical seed. This one we call conservativism. Conservativism is the belief that each person is responsible for his own welfare and that of his family, and then that of his community. Government, to a conservative, is not a caretaker but a tool. Government is a tool that a person uses to enable himself to care for himself and others. That means, the government provides regulations and power that stops others from inflicting injury or harm on any person and group. Unlike the Democrats, however, the Republicans have not been pervasively influenced by their seed. Although the leadership of the party publicly embraces conservativism, neither they nor the party in general fully understand its full power and potential, that is, the empowerment of all American citizens. Unfortunately, the Republicans frequently define themselves as the opposite of Democrats. That, of course, is not bad but how good can it be? If you get only the opposite of Democrats then what do you have? Nothing. No goals, no guidance, no vision, nowhere to go. The good news is, many people in the Republican Party have a vision and know where they are going. They are empowering the citizens. The bad news is, many other people in the Republican Party don’t have a clue. They are simply being the anti-Democrat, defining themselves as the opposite of Democrats. As I said earlier, going nowhere is better than a full gallop to destruction. Nevertheless, going nowhere has got to be temporary; something has got to give. The Decision Choosing means having a personal standard Choosing between political parties means you must be capable of legitimate choice. Flipping a coin is not a way to make a legitimate choice. You must first have established your own personal foundation for what is right and good. If you haven’t established your own moral code, then you might as well flip a coin to choose your political party. What is your moral code? First, I want to remind you that all humans are… human. As Adolph Hitler, Mother Teresa, Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, and You, everybody has his strengths and failings. Do you want to put your future into the hands of a human whom you cannot control or into your own hands? One other thing to remind you: Both political parties have its stinkers. Which ever one you choose, you’re going to find some members of that party who make you ashamed, even among its leaders. Thus we come to the decision:
What Do I Choose? As for me, I’m ready to create a new party altogether. The socialism of the liberal Democrats is odious and the half-hearted, half-blind conservativism of the Republicans is disgusting. Karl Marx carefully thought out socialism and wrote his two books that changed the world – for the worse. Why can’t we with the same careful diligence think out conservativism and write our own books – for the good?
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