I went back and forth about whether or not to comment. This board is a happy place for me and I hate to see politics argued in my happy place. Nothing I say here will change the mind of anyone deeply disappointed with the results of this election. In fact, I fear that by speaking out I may lose a few readers. But I'm happy today and I want to share why.
I've been a registered Republican for over twenty years. And yet I won't be voting with my party until they can swing back to the middle and represent the values of average Americans and not the extremists on the fringe. The GOP of Ronald Reagan and my youth has been overrun by strident voices seeking to legislate morality. I was raised to believe that free agency and personal choice are gifts. Personally, I don't think I could ever have an abortion. But I don't have the right to tell someone else, whose circumstances I can only guess at, that she doesn't have that choice. Neither can I tell a consenting adult who they can or can't choose as a life partner.
We're shaped by our experiences in life. My experiences taught me that life is messy and not to judge anyone on government assistance. My parents divorced when I was ten and my mother held down two full-time jobs while raising three children. Even with those two jobs (as a nurse, mind you, not a menial laborer), she had to swallow her pride and apply for welfare. To this day, I still remember the looks I got when buying groceries with food stamps. It wasn't a hand-out, it was the equivalent of wearing a big old scarlet "A". And yet I didn't grow up to be a "burden on the system". I went to college and became a tax payer myself. I'm grateful there was a safety net in place to catch us. I have absolutely no issues with paying in to the system that helped me.
I find it distressing that anyone wants to call me stupid or crazy or delusion for making a choice they disagree with. I live in the reddest of the red states and it's amazing to me that all these otherwise intelligent and compassionate people can't see past the end of their own noses. Four years ago there was a run on buying guns and ammo here. Everyone was so certain that it was the apocalypse and that Obama was going to take away their right to bear arms. And yet, every day for the past four years, the sun has rose and set and they're still free to squirrel away as many weapons as they choose.
Why don't we give Obama the second chance that half of America feels he earned and see if we could make this a better place instead of doubling down and hoping he fails? I was extremely impressed by Romney's concession speech and his sincere graciousness. Mitt said it best: "This is a time of great challenges for America and I pray that the President will be successful in guiding our nation."
