I would like to make a political statement. I do not have an agenda but I take this opportunity to jot down a few thoughts.
1. I am partly conservative and partly liberal so I guess that makes me a moderate. Like most people out there in the world, I vote according to my needs and how that vote will affect me and/or my loved ones.
2. I do not believe that a president who shares my religion or skin color makes them good presidential material. A president is more than his skin color or his religion.
3. I do not believe that the religion or the skin color of a candidate should be a mark against them for acceptability to run for president.
4. Healthcare reforms…true healthcare reform will come only when the focus is taken off the money and put on the patient. The idea that hospitals are investment opportunities to fill out financial portfolios seems unethical to me. The idea that lining investors pockets takes president over the care and health of a patient is abhorrent to me.
5. I don’t care how much money you have. Whether it be billions or $2.34 in your personal checking account. But I do take some offense at those people that pay a smaller percentage in taxes. I think it would go a long way to heal the rift between the haves and have-nots if we knew everyone paid their fair share. I do not care that Mr. Millionaire paid $100,000 in taxes and I paid $1,000. As long as the percentages are equal. I feel there is equality in that. Tax deductions should be limited to charitable spending and catastrophic medical expenses along with a per person flat rate deduction.
6. That being said, I feel there should be remuneration for those who have suffered losses from a natural disaster.
7. Fire, police, infrastructure and aid to the vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly need to come first before planting flowers or grant monies to artistic endeavors. Safety and the ability to move from town to town far outweigh cultural grants and should be sacrosanct. 8. Personally, I think local businesses should be the ones beautifying their neighborhoods, not the government. I believe the government needs to get out of the business of planting flowers and painting murals.
9. If the government is going to help people with mental health, medications and housing, they need to continue giving that help to those already in the program. They do not need to take on any more, but they should not be able to cut off or drop those already receiving help. It endangers their lives and in the end can cost more than the savings.
10. I believe that each individual that receives government assistance should do something in return for that assistance. There are exceptions to that but for the most part they can crochet or knit or quilt items for the needy, they can help at a food bank, read to or tutor a special needs child, visit someone who is house bound due to condition or illness, volunteer to feed someone in a long-term care facility who has lost that ability to do for themselves. This whole “something for nothing” breeds an entitlement attitude that is unhealthy for our communities.
11. While I believe that children should have a mother and a father present and active in their lives to get the best start in life, reality falls short of that ideal through divorce, death and irresponsibility. I believe that stability and loving interaction is more important than whether a child is raised by a gay couple or a single mom or single dad or single grandparent.
12. While I would never think to force a religious group or church to perform marriage to a gay couple, there should be a secular solution to help protect non-traditional couples. Non-traditional couples are not always gay or lesbian but can also include straight couples who have pooled their resources for a better quality of life. A civil union, a binding contract – something so lives are not ripped apart when a partner dies, so that life-long non-married partners can visit them in the hospital and direct their care.
13. I am tired of the back-biting, the nasty name-calling and the outright childishness of both major parties in our political system. The petty bickering and posturing is beginning to affect their ability to make and follow through on decisions that our country needs to be made to continue to function. I want to reach out and shake some sense into them. They are losing sight of why they were elected.
14. It is more than time our veterans were given the respect and access to care they deserve. Counselors that question why a wife stays with her veteran husband, psychiatrists that wait 3 days before contacting a vet who is thinking of suicide, doctors prescribing pills in quantities that are addictive while never addressing the underlying cause, doctors that assume that all veterans are lying to try and get more money. Three years to process claims for disabilities that have been documented and proven while the vet looses more an more of his dignity and his ability to cope.
I don’t have answers to many of the problems facing our nation, our states, our communities. I know that my beliefs and opinions may not jibe with others within my circle. I have always been a bit of a maverick. For those things I can help with, I do. For those things that need intercession from government, I vote and I write letters.
Voting doesn’t make me a maverick, it makes me a good citizen.
