I debated writing this article.  I really don’t care much for politics in general.  I’d like to think we could see ourselves first as Americans, not as political parties. 

The hard part for me has been that not only do I dislike politics, but I also don’t care much for many of the politicians on both sides of the fence.  I also have friends on both sides so I’ve found myself biting my tongue and not saying much at all to preserve friendships and other relationships.

In the end, we all need to decide WHAT we believe for ourselves and understand WHY we believe what we believe.  I can listen with interest and respect to almost any point of view as long it is a well informed belief and not just some regurgitation of what someone else thinks.  I don’t get along well with dogma.

I question my own beliefs far more than that of others or political parties.  Fairly recently I’ve come to understand what I believe and have discovered it is neither left nor right, conservative nor liberal, Republic nor Democrat.    To this end I would like to offer the following as food for thought.

The issue I have with progressives is that they want to change things just for the sake of change.  While I see that some things need to change and indeed change is inevitable as part of life, change just to change reminds of the “Dog and the Fire Hydrant” syndrome.  That’s where you take something that is working fine and “pee” on it just to make it smell like you.  Dogs do it all the time.  I hope we are better than that.

The issue I have with conservatives is that they want things to stay the same just because that is the way they have always been.  I also don’t see the merit in that view point.  While I recognize some things are fine the way they are, times change, people change and sometimes viewpoints need to change. People tell me all the time that things are fine the way they are. Then I point out that we no longer ride our horses to work and almost everyone now has a cell phone. Change can be very good.

So there you have it.  I am neither.  And I am both.  And I am an American. What are you?