Monday, March 26, 2007

Libertarian trapped in a mommy's body

I was reading an op-ed piece in the L.A. Times yesterday and it was like a punch in the noggin.
The author reminded me of my long lost political leanings. Before I became a parent I was a registered Libertarian. I was disgusted by both the left and right and felt that our country had strayed so far from what our framers had originally planned for us. Our liberty was being taken away every day from both sides of the political aisle. I''m not a great brain when it comes to politics and I'm afraid my writing sucks when trying to analyze what is going on with our country... I just know what I feel.
Here are some things I believed:
Drugs should be legalized
Welfare and Social Security (two evil things -- I then thought) should be radically altered
We should not enter into wars unless attacked
Stop making so many damn laws and let us decide to live a good life
Radically change the tax system and privatize more of our services

Then Sept. 11 happened. Then Enron happened. Then I had children. My ideas changed so much. I wasn't in need of welfare, but I suddenly had a lot more understanding of single moms who are out there working their butts off and have to put their kids in daycare only to not be able to provide basic necessities for their family. I didn't want our nation to go to war in Iraq. I didn't want my son to die in a war that was unjustified. I didn't want tens of thousands (or more) people to die in other countries because of my country. I wanted us to send more money to countries where people are suffering every day in ways I can't even imagine. I wanted more laws to stop people from abusing their kids. Sounds silly, but I cried when I heard tapes of Enron employees laughing about making money at the expense of others. I began to hate the Republicans so much that I went out and registered as a Democrat. A freakin Dem! Now, I live in California, so I suppose it doesn't really matter what party I register with because the Dems often get the vote here.

Today I happened to receive a book from one of our clients. Dave Duffy's "Can America Be Saved from Stupid People" further rocked me. I've only read a few essays from the book, but now I can't stop thinking. I don't agree with Dems on many issues. I don't agree with Repubs on most issues. At heart, I agree with many ideas of the Libertarian party.
But I just can't seem to jive being a mom and being a Libertarian. Becoming a mom really screwed up my politics! It's not that I didn't care about other people before -- I always did and have always had favorite charities and organizations I support. I just wanted everyone to do that. If we all decided to take care of each other without being forced to do so, wouldn't this be a great world? But after having kids I realized that people often don't do that. Some people like to kill other people. Some people are power-hungry and step all over others. There are evil people who will make or steal a buck at a cost to someone else.

More thinking and reading is needed....

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