As long as I can remember, I've always had a love/hate relationship with politics. My parents would be best described as "fiscal democrats". My dad in particular has always been pro-union and honest about voting his pocketbook. I often felt as if my parents were the only Christian Democrats that I knew. Gradually, my three older siblings converted to the Republican party.
In college and grad school, I considered myself to be a staunch Democrat. (I was also something of an agnostic, and I suppose a whole other blog post could be devoted to whether or not the two were related.) When I moved to Texas, and recommitted my life to Christ, voting Republican seemed like the natural, if not the inevitable, thing to do. But I've always struggled with which party best represents not only my own needs, but those of the majority of Americans.
I like the limited government approach of the Republican party, but I take issue with the seeming fact that they favor the upper classes, whether implicitly or explicitly. I consider myself to be personally morally conservative, but I understand and respect the legal right for others to live differently. I have a Democrat's sense of social justice, but I'm somewhat cynical about how social welfare programs have been abused. Most of the educational policies that drove me nuts as a teacher were implemented while a Republican was in office. That being said, I was part of the massive teacher layoffs that occured under a Democratic president. Everything that seems to be the fault of the Democrats is also partially the fault of the Republicans, and vice versa.
Ultimately, I find politics to be utterly confusing. Just when I think I have a firm grasp of an issue, some new information comes along that makes me question my beliefs. (The previous paragraph is probably loaded with misinformation.) I titled this post "Indigo Girl" because I consider myself "more blue than red". I don't see myself voting Republican in 2012, but am I really ready to go back to the Dems? Is it apathetic to sit this next election out?
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