> I doubt that Joni subscribes to any particular political party >or group
either here or in Canada. Joni strikes me as much >too independent in her
thinking to go along completely with >any one philosophy or religion or
train of political thought. >She takes whatever truth she discerns in
everything she >learns about & forms her own ideas & opinions.
Right on, Mark.
> I will say that I recognized a lot of the anger that was in >Clark's post
about political parties as being deeply ingrained >in myself as well. Watch
the film 'The Band Played On' or >read the book some time. That's part of
what makes me >lean one direction rather than the other.
That anger is completely understandable to me.
> But I certainly don't think my brother is evil. I enjoy his >company & we
seem to love & appreciate each other at this >point of our lives more than
we ever have. I also don't think >he wants to take away my civil rights or
would be against >my having the right to marry Travis.
I may be deluded but it has always been my understanding that a true
Republican, one who sticks to the original idealogy, is someone who
staunchly believes in individual rights to live your life the way you
choose. I think the original Republicans were more like the Libertarians of
today. It seems that at some point there were a few factions that glommed
onto the party and gave it a bad name. We all know what those factions are.
Their original ideology of upholding individual freedom has been greatly
perverted by the sway of those factions. There have also been factions that
glommed onto the Democratic party over the years which have also undermined
their ideology.
If the left wing on this list could see my life's voting record on the
issues I'm sure I would be "approved." I don't agree with many of Bush's
stances, and I certainly don't think he's perfect or an attractive
candidate. But I am like Pat - I do not trust Gore or anyone associated
with the Clinton world. Period. I've had 8 years to observe them, so this
is not a rash judgment. In fact, I started out really liking Gore years ago
and having a very positive opinion of him which continued until just
recently. Ironically, I initially had a very poor opinion of Bush, Jr.
which continued until not too long ago, toor. There are many complex
reasons why people vote the way that they do. Those who want to pidgeonhole
our choices or preferences into set-in-stone inflexible terms should scare
us, really. They want to divide so they can conquer.
Kakki
