Why I Am And Always Will Be An Independent

The cult-like nature of American politics today.

Politics in America has become cult-like and I want no part of it. I am an independent and always will be.

I prefer to think for myself rather than being told what to think by a few cult, ahem, sorry, “party” leaders that are looking out for the interests of their largest donors rather than the best interest of the nation.

Case and point — Republicans don’t think we have a gun problem in America while democrats don’t think we have a spending problem.

Huh?

We don’t have a gun problem in America; we have a full blown gun crisis.

You are seven times more likely to be killed by a gun in America than any other developed nation on earth. In the past six months more Americans have been killed by guns right here in America than during the entire Iraq and Afghanistan wars…but shush, we don’t have a gun problem.

We are currently spending $3 for every $1 we take in but we don’t have a spending problem?

If a private citizen did that he or she would be bankrupt in six months, yet we continue to do this in America while Democrats continue deny that we have anything even resembling a spending problem.

Leaders of both parties will sit in front of the camera and tell the American people that we don’t have a gun problem or that we don’t have a spending problem, which is essentially like trying to convince logical thinkers that the ocean is actually black rather than blue, but the followers all get in line and drink the cool-aid because that is what their leaders have told them to do.

The entire Republican party is built on small government and less government interaction in our lives, yet Republicans want to tell people who they can and cannot marry, what medical procedures women can and cannot have, etc. — how could government possibly be more involved in the lives of Americans than that?

A true conservative wants government out of all aspects of our lives that it doesn’t absolutely need to be involved in. A true conservative would in no way oppose two men or two women getting married as why should any form of government tell people who they can and cannot marry?

Why should that be any of our business let alone the business of federal, state and local governments?

To the issue of abortion, a true conservative would say that the government should not be telling women what medical procedures they can and cannot have done on their bodies. Government should in no way be involved in these decisions.

Of course a conservative may be very against gay marriage and/or abortion due to his or her religious or personal moral beliefs. But in America we are supposed to be able to live our lives how we want to without others using the rule of law to impose their religious or moral beliefs upon us. Using the rule of law to impose these beliefs onto others is actually a form of dictatorship rather than a truly free nation, which of course goes against everything the founding fathers had intended for this country.

Continuing…

Democrats don’t see a problem with nearly half of the nation paying no federal income tax at all while Republicans don’t see a problem with Mitt Romney (with income of $25 million) paying a lower tax rate than I do.

Both of these views are utterly and completely illogical yet that is what the party says so of course the followers get in line and drink the cool-aid.

The logical question we should be asking is — why don’t Democrats think there is a problem with almost half of the nation paying no federal income tax at all and why do Republicans think there is no problem with Mitt Romney paying a lower tax rate than I do?

Could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that Democrats need the votes of those 47 percent that pay no federal income tax while Republicans need the votes, and more importantly the donations, of the Mitt Romney’s that earn tens of millions of dollars every year while paying a tax rate far lower than most middle class families?

If you weren’t too busy picking out your color of cool-aid you’d probably be asking these very logical questions.

Democrats are pro-abortion and anti-death penalty.

Republicans are anti-abortion and pro-death penalty.

Huh?

I could go on-and-on all day with the contradictory and completely illogical stances of each party. Because followers get in line to support these illogical views is precisely why we have such political gridlock in America right now.

People have become so fanatical about being a Republican or Democrat that politics have truly taken on a cult-like nature in America.

People have lost the ability to think for themselves and to think logically. So, if their leaders stand up and say that the ocean is black and not blue, we literally have half of the nation believing that the ocean is black and not blue. And then they try to explain this in a way that their fanatical brainwashed minds see as logical. But any truly logical and independent thinker would see this as completely insane.

Every major change that has ever happened in America has come from the people and not from government. Getting America back on the right track will also come from the people as soon as we can overcome two key issues:

1. What our party leaders say is not the word of God and is not coming from some flawless divine force. Party leaders work for people just like you and I. If someone is giving them a job through large donations, are they really going to turn around and say, “Sorry buddy, I’m going to have to raise your tax rate by 12% because we can’t have you paying a lower tax rate than middle class families and this is what is in the best interest of the nation.” Of course not. That would be like being hired by Pepsi and turning around and telling your boss “Sorry boss man, I think I am going to start promoting Coca-Cola because I think it tastes better and is a better product.” Of course no one would do that because they’d lose their job. If Republicans did something about the Mitt Romney’s paying a lower tax rate than I do they would lose their donations which would essentially mean that they would lose their jobs. If Democrats did something about half of the nation paying no federal income tax at all while the rest of us pay for them, they would lose those votes and their jobs. The fact of the matter is that these people whom you blindly follow are more often than not looking out for themselves and their jobs rather than looking out for the best interests of the majority of those that blindly follow their every word as if it were gospel.
2. We need to lose our obsession with being a Republican or Democrat. Why do you have to be one or the other, and if you do consider yourself a member of one party or the other, does that mean that you must follow every single stance the party leadership takes, no matter how loony that stance may be? Why can’t we be independent thinkers that take a logical view on matters and make decisions based on what is in the best interest of the country rather than basing those decisions solely on not wanting the other side to get what they want, or based solely on what some party leader looking to secure big-time donations for 2016 says?

The sooner that we consider ourselves Americans and not members of one cult or the other, the sooner we will all start thinking in terms of what is best for America.

Only then will we all get off that cool-aid line.

This article was originally published by Ralph Nicklaus at Hear The Nation.