Funny - there are people that are surprised by my thoughts. Apparently - they assumed I was a right wing fundamental Christian. They were not rude or insulting, they just did not realize that I am a humanitarian. It's ok if you don't agree with me - I welcome free thought and free speech...I am grateful that the people who don't think like me can also voice their opinions. What I am not ok with is people making assumptions about me based on my religion or political affiliation. You cannot tell who I am just by me checking a box that says "Methodist" or "Independent". We are living beings with more compelling thoughts and emotions than you can shove into a stereotype.
#1 - I go to Church and am proud to announce that I am a Christian and to be more exact a Methodist. This does not make me an extremist or a fundamentalist. This also does not mean that because I am not a fundamentalist that I am not a real Christian. I believe that fundamentalists are the ones that are TRULY not Christ like and it saddens me that they have tainted Christianity. The irony is that the fundamentalist think the same thing about people like me. Fundamentalism or Extremism in any religion takes away from what the core values are set out for. I believe that being a Christian means striving to be Christ like...which means being loving, compassionate, forgiving, and charitable.
#2 - I was a registered Republican for YEARS and two years ago became an Independent. In fact years back I wrote a blog post about being a Conservative Republican. It is a very telling post about my life and views at the time. It is also witness to how people can change. My views were more jaded then as I hadn't been out of the hell my former life had been for that long. The further my life moves away from that - the more my heart opens up to the human experience and the desire to help others.
http://koreanawareness.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-im-conservative.html
I am amused about the responses I get from both sides. Republicans think that I must be jumping to the left and Democrats think that I must be running from the right...neither is true. I don't want to be too far to the left or right...which is why I changed my affiliation. People like to criticize the middle of the road people like me, but you really shouldn't because we make up a much bigger population than the far right or far left. The difference is we don't speak up in the ways that the extremists do. I have found that I am an exception...me standing here in the middle of the road yelling at both sides...that doesn't happen much. I am a fiscal conservative (except where public education is concerned) and a social liberal. Sometimes it contradicts itself and that is ok with me...because life is not black and white. Human nature contradicts itself...and I don't find anything wrong with wanting to find balance in this world.
http://koreanawareness.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-im-conservative.html
I am amused about the responses I get from both sides. Republicans think that I must be jumping to the left and Democrats think that I must be running from the right...neither is true. I don't want to be too far to the left or right...which is why I changed my affiliation. People like to criticize the middle of the road people like me, but you really shouldn't because we make up a much bigger population than the far right or far left. The difference is we don't speak up in the ways that the extremists do. I have found that I am an exception...me standing here in the middle of the road yelling at both sides...that doesn't happen much. I am a fiscal conservative (except where public education is concerned) and a social liberal. Sometimes it contradicts itself and that is ok with me...because life is not black and white. Human nature contradicts itself...and I don't find anything wrong with wanting to find balance in this world.
I could go on and on about how middle of the road I am. About how I am a centrist. I could give example upon example of my opinion on welfare, healthcare, equality, etc...but I will tell you that it will all take me right back to being in the middle. I can't help that I can see both sides of an issue and sometimes I look at it more conservatively and sometimes I look at it more liberally. I am not sorry that I believe that everything should be looked at with an open mind and it's ok if certain situations sometimes close you down a bit more or others open you up a bit more. This is life and you CANNOT honestly believe that EVERYTHING is black and white. You cannot live a real life only seeing two options constantly. That is not real life and that is not realistic. Life is compromise. Life is happiness with sadness - not just happiness or just sadness. Life is celebration with tragedy. Not, just celebration or just tragedy. It just doesn't work that way. So why must people insist that you can only be left or right. Why are you the enemy if you are not left or right. How can anyone claim to want too do what is right for this country, but they cannot bring themselves to compromise with others.
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