Hi, my name is Kayce, and I'm not a Republican

A few weeks ago at a birthday party for my husband's grandfather, my sister-in-law's husband (holy smokes that was a lot of family relationships) asked me who I would be voting for in the upcoming Republican Primary.  I wrongly told him I hadn't yet decided and then proceeded to launch into all of my political frustrations and anger.  I feel kind of badly for the way the conversation went.  He had no idea (nor did I for that matter) what was coming when he asked me such a simple question.  But I also feel badly that I gave the wrong answer.  I told him I hadn't yet made up my mind because I was on political hiatus and knew nothing about anyone.  Oops, the correct answer is: I won't be voting for anyone because I won't be voting in the Republican primary.  I'm not a Republican.  Please don't stone me.  At this point in my life I choose to not affiliate with a political party.  My ideas are all still young and my frustrations with parties are much too intense for me to make that kind of leap.  If it were an open primary, I'm certain I would vote in it.  I voted in the Democratic primary in 08 because I could.  Please, put your stones down and hear me out here.

One of my biggest frustrations with party politics right now is the big fat blame game.  I've come out of my political hiding and started listening to the news again in the mornings when I go to the gym.  This is only a small step I know, but it is a step.  Let me sum up for you what I heard this morning.  Republicans say that every single thing bad that has ever happened since 2008 is a direct result of President Obama.  Republicans also say that any good thing that has ever happened since 2008 happened in spite of President Obama.  Really, folks?  Is this how we're talking about our world now?  I'm not in love with President Obama's politics, and I'm not dismissing any blame (anyone else see my blame as ironic in this post?) from democrats.  What I'm saying is, WE NEED TO GROW UP!  I'm guessing that a large part, maybe even most, of what happened good or bad since 2008 has little to do with President Obama.  I hear people saying the President can't create jobs, but they'll only vote for someone who can create jobs.  The President has to cut spending and balance the budget, but please don't take away any services or find ways to increase revenue (I get that a lot of money is wasted, but I still think voters are a little ridiculous in their demands here).  May the man who stands in front of the most American flags during his campaign speeches win!  I don't love President Obama, but I don't think he hates America either.

I hear both parties touting their love for the Constitution and railing the other party for destroying it.  I think we've all started using the Constitution as a crutch and a means to make the other guy look bad.  We read what we want in it and conveniently disregard the rest.  In part of the conversation I had with my sister-in-law's husband he said that he didn't agree with one candidate's stance on abortion or some other social issue like that.  (please, don't misread this either, he's a great guy who is very involved and understands the importance of local and legislative politics, I highly respect his opinions).  Last time I looked at Article 2 of the Constitution, the President really has little Constitutional power to deal with social issues.  Maybe he can talk about it in his State of the Union address (which, by the way, was never intended to be a giant campaign speech, either).  He is not granted the power of chief legislator, or America's dictator, or God, or fairy godmother.  What he believes will not always come to pass in his presidency (please note that I refer to him and his because I'm lazy.  I think a woman president would be super cool and perfectly capable).  Honestly, I think it's high time we stop giving the President so much darn credit (good and bad) and see him for what he is, one man in a large government.  I think if we put the President in his place as voters then a lot will happen to put him in his place in the government.  But that means we have to stop looking at one person to fix all of our problems.  It also means we have to stop blaming one person for all of our problems.  Maybe that's just too much responsibility to take on.

I wish we could pay this much attention to our local elections and the elections of our representatives and senators who do have real power to deal with things like social issues..  I wish we could stop talking about who is the most conservative and who had an affair so we could find someone to be our president who has a decent head about foreign policy and can be a great Commander in Chief of our military.  I wish we could stop looking for someone to fix every single little problem so we could find someone with common sense instead.

An Education On Low Income

During the school year my family is a low income family (side note: sometimes it's still weird to write "my family" and not mean my parents and siblings.  Am I really old enough to have a family of my own?).  During the years of living under this socioeconomic label I've gained a pretty good education of what it means to be "low income," or at least what it means for my family.  And, unfortunately, I feel the need to share my education with a bunch of people who have clearly been miseducated about this label.  Pardon my rant.

Lets start out with some synonyms (I am, afterall, licensed to teach English in the state of Utah).  Low income is not synonymous with low intelligence, low education, low morals, low responsibility, low respect, or low self respect.  According to thefreedictionary.com, the phrase low income is defined as "Of or relating to individuals or households supported by an income that is below average."  Low income should not denote an unwillingness to pay bills or work hard, laziness, the mismanagement of money, the inability to have children on purpose or the knowledge of how to plan a family, bad parenting, bad budgeting, or "mooching."  

In my family "low income" means that we are sacrificing now so we can have a better life later.  It means that our vehicles are 15 and 18 years old, but they don't belong to the bank.  It means that we don't eat out or shop at the mall.  It means that we budget like mad.  It means that we work and save like crazy during the Summer so we can have enough during the school year.  It means that we don't take elaborate vacations or have a flat screen TV.  It means that we live in cheap apartment that we can afford.  It means that we choose not to pay for cable.  It means that I actually read books from the library.  My home is clean.  We pay our own rent.  Our bills are paid on time and in full each month.  We eat healthy food.  We wear clean clothing.  We have fun as a family.  We are abundantly blessed with much more than we "need."  My choice to not work is a choice to forgo some of our wants now so I can raise my daughter.  It is not a choice to be lazy or not take care of my family.  It does not mean I don't respect or desire to use my degree. 


Class dismissed.