After a few discussions about politics I have learned something. It's OK, in fact it's good to learn about what's going on in the world of politics. Learn about the people that want to lead our country. Be informed. Know what the issues are and how the candidates plan to address them. Get involved, even if it's by just being an informed voter. By doing this you'll be able to make up your own mind about what is right for the country, including who should be elected to lead it. Everything we learn and witness throughout our lives effects our political leanings. It forms the basis of our worldview and our political beliefs. Discussions about politics are fine IF you are discussing it with someone who has a mind that is open to at least listen to another's point of view. But that type of person is becoming about as rare as an honest politician. What I have learned is this; don't enter into a discussion about politics with the slightest intention of convincing a person with different political beliefs that yours are right, or even better in some way. I say that because it's never going to happen. Ever.
Granted, there are those that switch over to the other side but they too are quite rare.
I have a good friend, a person I have known most of my life and who is a good man. Mild-mannered, intelligent and kind-hearted. But he has become 'agitated' when it comes to politics. When he hears someone of a conservative bent speak out he lashes out usually with a derogatory and condescending remark. In his world conservatives are ignorant and thoughtless. I think most of the time it's best to keep our political beliefs to ourselves. It's not like by expressing your views you're going to change someone else's. Even if you did, it's not going to change anything in the bigger picture. Your views in fact aren't even going to help elect a president. Because our views and votes don't directly elect presidents. Delegates to the electoral college do. Which is not a bad thing. If you look into the reason the electoral college was created I think you'll agree. It evens the playing field amongst the states, and hence the people. The advantage of the big states goes away. We are all wanting fairness, well with the electoral college we got some. But if it doesn't help their choice of candidate get elected most people don't like it. I mean, if the people aren't directly electing the president, then that's just wrong, right? Why should some elitist group of electorates be choosing our presidents? Let me say this, the wisdom and prescience of our forefathers should never be understated. They obviously understood something that few people of today understand. To put it simply, states with more people should not have more power in electing the president. Besides, based on recent history we're not very good at electing quality leaders anyway.
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