Learning How To Vote

How have your political views changed over time?

Over the past few days I took a break on social media in order to spend some quality time with my family watching movies. I am very into inspirational movies that have a lot of high drama and then wrap up with a happy ending. I must admit, I am a sucker for love and a hopeless romantic.

I watched a really crazy one called The Kept Woman, that I felt I needed to be rescued from. There was so much symbolism in there that was clearly inferencing conservatives vs liberals in a tongue in cheek, Norman Bates meets Laverne and Shirley type of way. The not so subtle politics of it all got me thinking.

An Interesting Politiview

I used to secretly call myself a liberal traditionalist. It’s a name I coined which means, I believe in tradition for me and liberal values for you, if you chose them. But, as a law professor I worked with once said, “you just want to do what you want and have someone else pay for it.” I’d never thought of it that way, but I plead the fifth to that statement. I’ve given this statement a bit of thought over the years and have come to the conclusion that it’s basically a common sense moderate. 

When I turned 18 and was finally able to vote I was an environmental girl. It made sense that I was planning to cast for the Green Party yet I clearly remember being told by a classmate at the University of Michigan that “we” were all voting blue. So I voted for President Clinton, and I didn’t give it much thought because I was not fully invested in politics. Like lot of young people I was concerned about rushing, partying, going to classes and dating. Also, I thought he did a great job. I don’t regret voting for him. My money looked great at the time he was in office. I mean, what was not to love?. I’ve since learned that life is more nuanced than that and I know many people had a fair amount of complaints during that time.

During those years, I was very much into my church. Although I occasionally went to mass by myself, I considered my church home to be the non denominational church, Word of Faith. I was very into my church sorority/fraternity on campus and they thought differently about politics. I simply assumed that my pastor was a Democrat. I learned later that he was not. He was the person that advised me to stay in school and then pursue my acting dreams and I’d be blessed. I wish I listened. I went my own way, only to come back to what he said, and finally get back on track.

In college I was close with his daughter as well. We lived in the same dorm and she was a good friend and even mentor. They were a family strong on family values and adamantly against abortion. At the time, it was not a big deal for me. Again, I was against it, but I also didn’t feel that connected to the issue. I didn’t know anyone that had one. I didn’t plan to get one and I figured that it would all take care of itself. This is the mindset of a lot of wait and see individuals.

I also regretfully condemned people on other issues. Those typical Christian arguments about not being fully submitted to God or who drank alcohol. Ironically, as I began to enter the Feminist arena later in life I took the simple stance of women being equal. Equal pay, equal opportunity, etc. That was until I learned about the movement during the 19th century and the role of African American club women. LThese highly privileged women did not resonate with me at the time, but they would later in my life. They share my values and beliefs and their ideas of advancement work in tandem with men. Yet, I still remained dissociated from my politics, like a lot of people, because I figured it would all work out by the hands of “they/them.”

At some point, that changed. When I grew deeper into my faith as a Catholic, I did not become political but I did have a fire lit for life and service. I also began to think logically about how a non profit could help, or my challenges and losses could benefit others, and myself. Additionally the trials of Women in the Bible inspired me and their stories are not always spoken in the way I’d like to see them. They are juicy, controversial and powerful—they are the blueprint.

I hate to pit one value against another politically because ideally we should all be independent. We should embrace the ideals of charting a new course while giving a portion to those that need it and who are finding their way.

I have spent the last year continuing to create my own new plan. I had to take a step back to take a step forward. I kept asking, “Lord what is your will for me?” Even if it is slower going, I believe when we are given a vision it is to be carried out.

This vision changed how I see things politically. As an entrepreneur, how am I best served? I know that as a person, I will help others. But how can I be in a position to do that? What are my beliefs around food and medicine? Who is aligned with what I actually believe? For many of us, the area is gray. But who is that?

I am not the first to say it, nor would I be the last, but we are more alike than we are different. Which is why we focus on issues that are more personal and make them grand scale. Government should focus on major issues that are often out of our control. They shouldn’t be like a helicopter parent telling us how to live our lives. However, there are times when it has to be. This is unfortunate because we continue to slide back into rhetoric that pulls us back and causes us to behave in a way that is detrimental to our societal civility. I want to be where the rhetoric is for all. Where I feel uplifted and not like a fool. I want to feel like I am moving forward and not stuck and where my difference is ok.

The very thing that makes this country great is its diversity. No one should be minimized or should minimize themselves. If you carry the light of the world in your heart, you don’t want to see anyone abused and downtrodden. It’s like a marriage.

A Marriage of Opposites

In my marriage I used to say, let’s try to give each other the benefit of the doubt. Let’s see the good in each other instead of clinging fast to the negative narrative. The truth is being told to you, right here and right now. Can you see it? Yes. But sometimes it’s hard to feel it. We want to feel the difference and that’s harder.

Friends, I have to be honest. My ideas often did not get through. In a marriage of complete opposites and beliefs in every way, agreeing is struggle on all levels. However, through that lens and challenge came an understanding that for some people it is harder to have them see a new way. Their heart is hardened from hurt and disappointment. They may never recover or believe what they see. They want change but they want the comfort of knowing that the one in front of them is still the boogeyman—then they can be right.

This is also our political arena. So, for me faith is very important. You can do and say all that you want, but faith and hope are required for change and that is a spiritual design. That takes time.

I too suffer from my own limited beliefs. I can’t let myself off the hook entirely. You may be like this, “I believe in change and goodness, just not from you neighbor! You are a hopeless case.” Well, that is a little true. And we are all someone’s hopeless case. But the biggest rewards come to those who endure big challenges. Similarly, to take on the Feminist ideology of the personal is political, it all still holds true. Our lives effect our choices depending on the day. I’m also still green leaning. I believe compassionate people care about this earth. Caring about space and nature brings us into the magnificence of creation and a natural connection to each other.

In conclusion, I have changed only in the regard of me being aligned in an intentional and logical way when it comes to how I view politics.

Here are some things to consider:

Do you care about what happens to your immediate life or on a grand scale? Who makes those decisions?

If you are a new parent, changed religions, or identify with the LGBTQ community or have family that is incarcerated how does that affect your decisions?

If you are largely stable and you want as much of a melting pot with shared values within a pluralist society how does that affect your decisions?

These thoughts help to align us with our true selves and allow us to authentically negotiate what is right and true in our lives.

You may lose a lot following your convictions. I didn’t do anything radical but talk about my spiritual walk and it caused my world to crash down. However, that is ok. What is good still stands and old things continue to pass away. This too shall pass.

Stay strong. Stay focused.