A Couple of Things

Beware. This post is about politics (a subject which I generally try to avoid ~ at least in writing). I am watching the Republican national convention and I am really trying to be open minded and listen to what they are saying. I actually agree with several Republican ideals. However, I just don't feel comfortable with the way they frame things sometimes. I do like McCain. In fact, I have more respect for him than for the way his election is being run for him. Somehow I doubt that he would choose to have everyone focusing on his time as a POW quite so much. I am also not sure he would choose to have the negative tone in his campaign that has surfaced if it was all in his control. I hope that if he gets in office he regains his independent spirit. (Of course, don't take this as me wavering in my Obama support. Go Obama!)

Rudy Giuliani just said two things that really bothered me and I feel impelled to write about them. He was talking very negatively about Obama's experience in community service. To be honest, I think someone with Obama's experience in community organization is exactly what we need. I mean, seriously, look where traditional politics have gotten us so far! I love that Obama has that focus in his experience. Maybe he will actually work to bring people together instead of continuing to divide the country. I like that he doesn't have a large amount of typical political experience. I believe that he will come to office with new ideas and won't be bogged down in the "way things have always been done."

Secondly, and this is just a huge issue for me because I truly don't understand the one-sided nature of it in our society, he spoke about the recent Russia / Georgia situation as well as the Israel / Palestine situation. The truth is Georgia was at least partly to blame for their situation a few weeks ago - just as Israel is partly to blame for the Palestinian situation. I remember when I was in college a few years back and had to do a paper about Palestine - not realizing that there is really no such thing. I went on to learn that after WWII, the world pretty much kicked the Palestinians out of their own state in order to give that land to the Jews. This is a hugely grey issue. It is not black and white. The Palestinians do some horrible things because they are angry - angry for being kicked out of their homes, out of the land that they called their own. Can you say that you would go quietly if that happened to you? The mixture of beliefs in that area just makes the situation more complex. Israel does some horrible things too. Our country just seems blind to those things because we are "on their side." We do a huge disservice to the Palestinians if we discredit or underestimate their fight. It is this kind of convenient ignorance that I think we have to move away from as a country.

OK, whew... I feel better now. We just watched Sarah Palin speak and she is a wonderful speaker. I don't agree with her on many points but she is definitely a great speaker. It will be an interesting election. Thank goodness it will be over in a few months!