The Basics
This blog was created to give me a place to present my views in a manner that can be read and replied to by anyone interested. It is mainly for my political beliefs, though it will not be limited to that. Our basic beliefs affect our political positions, and so many political realities affect our lives that limiting discussion to only political views would give an incomplete picture. I say our beliefs affect our positions because there are other factors. Those include where we are receiving our information and how reliable we feel it is. Many people do not take the time to thoroughly research issues to determine their position and simply fall into line with whatever their party promotes, or at least with what their favorite leader professes. This is nothing new, but has been carried to new highs in the last few years.
I believe everyone should be involved in the political process. Most are not as interested in it as I am and that is their perogative. It remains important though. We are lucky enough to live in a free country and one that we should be ever vigilant to protect from all threats, whether from without or within. I have often counseled my children to watch what is being done and not just what is being said. There are often vast differences between the two.
I don't know how many people will read this blog or if anyone might choose to respond. You are able to leave comments by name or you can respond anonymously. Either way is fine with me. However, I do request you to be respectful and keep the language clean. I will not use profanity and request that you have enough respect to do the same. I do reserve the right to edit any comments for inappropriate content and to delete those that cross the bounds of decency.
I am happy to discuss my views with those who agree and with those who do not, and have done so for most of my life. My views are strong and deeply held, so I can understand when you feel the same of your own. It is my hope to present my position in a coherent and logical manner. While I may not be able to express all I feel about a subject in a short article, I am willing to answer questions that you may have in order to clarify a position and the reasoning behind it. It is my belief that even with strongly held political differences, we have many more similarities and beliefs in common than have been articulated much in the past 20 years. In other words, we can choose to disagree politically and still maintain a respect and caring for one another as a person.
To give you some idea of where I stand, I will give you a very short idea of my background. I am a Christian and attend a Southern Baptist Church. While I may not always agree with stands the denomination takes, I do always agree with what my Bible has taught me through the Holy Spirit. I believe it is our faith is more important than our denomination. I am a citizen of the United States and very proud to be. I am very patriotic, though I resist the nationalistic approach that so many have exhibited recently. You see bumper stickers that say, "My country, right or wrong". I like the more complete quote from Senator Carl Schurz in an address to the senate in 1872, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right". I was born in 1953 and have lived in the state of Georgia since that time.
I am a Democrat. I may not always agree with everything the democratic party does, but I do agree with core principles of the party which set the course of our policies. The basic tenets of the Democratic party provide for the equal rights of all people regardless of social or economic status. Our party policies protect the individual and poor first, while creating an environment that encourages creativity, entrepreneurship, and business. There are good people in both parties and there are good ideas on both sides. It is imperative that we learn to work together again for the good of our country as a whole.
There is currently the biggest divide I have ever seen in our country. It is a division that disregards any open discussion, with both sides saying I am right and you are wrong. Many do not want to be confused with facts or any opposing viewpoint. As I said earlier, I have discussed politics most of my life and never have I found a time that so few people were willing to discuss issues and differences as I saw in the election year of 2004. That was disheartening to me, and also has compelled me to become even more active than I have been.
Everyone that has known me for any length of time knows that I keep up with politics. I study it and research the different issues. I do not just like to take someone else's opinion of an issue. I like to find the facts and form my own opinion. There have been people all through my life that have asked me why I didn't run for some office. So far there has been no office that I felt I should run for, though I still freely gave my opinions as I worked with and for those who were running. The experience of 2004 convinced me to become more formally involved however. I am not running for office and do not foresee that, but I am working more formally than before. I am a member of the local Democratic Executive Committee and have helped to establish a website for that. We are now planning activities to prepare for this election year.
This blog is another step in my efforts. It is a way for me to present my opinions and positions where you can read them at your leisure, and hopefully understand them better. Thank you for visiting my site. I look forward to the chance to talk with you and discuss our agreements and our disagreements. We are all in this together.
I believe everyone should be involved in the political process. Most are not as interested in it as I am and that is their perogative. It remains important though. We are lucky enough to live in a free country and one that we should be ever vigilant to protect from all threats, whether from without or within. I have often counseled my children to watch what is being done and not just what is being said. There are often vast differences between the two.
I don't know how many people will read this blog or if anyone might choose to respond. You are able to leave comments by name or you can respond anonymously. Either way is fine with me. However, I do request you to be respectful and keep the language clean. I will not use profanity and request that you have enough respect to do the same. I do reserve the right to edit any comments for inappropriate content and to delete those that cross the bounds of decency.
I am happy to discuss my views with those who agree and with those who do not, and have done so for most of my life. My views are strong and deeply held, so I can understand when you feel the same of your own. It is my hope to present my position in a coherent and logical manner. While I may not be able to express all I feel about a subject in a short article, I am willing to answer questions that you may have in order to clarify a position and the reasoning behind it. It is my belief that even with strongly held political differences, we have many more similarities and beliefs in common than have been articulated much in the past 20 years. In other words, we can choose to disagree politically and still maintain a respect and caring for one another as a person.
To give you some idea of where I stand, I will give you a very short idea of my background. I am a Christian and attend a Southern Baptist Church. While I may not always agree with stands the denomination takes, I do always agree with what my Bible has taught me through the Holy Spirit. I believe it is our faith is more important than our denomination. I am a citizen of the United States and very proud to be. I am very patriotic, though I resist the nationalistic approach that so many have exhibited recently. You see bumper stickers that say, "My country, right or wrong". I like the more complete quote from Senator Carl Schurz in an address to the senate in 1872, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right". I was born in 1953 and have lived in the state of Georgia since that time.
I am a Democrat. I may not always agree with everything the democratic party does, but I do agree with core principles of the party which set the course of our policies. The basic tenets of the Democratic party provide for the equal rights of all people regardless of social or economic status. Our party policies protect the individual and poor first, while creating an environment that encourages creativity, entrepreneurship, and business. There are good people in both parties and there are good ideas on both sides. It is imperative that we learn to work together again for the good of our country as a whole.
There is currently the biggest divide I have ever seen in our country. It is a division that disregards any open discussion, with both sides saying I am right and you are wrong. Many do not want to be confused with facts or any opposing viewpoint. As I said earlier, I have discussed politics most of my life and never have I found a time that so few people were willing to discuss issues and differences as I saw in the election year of 2004. That was disheartening to me, and also has compelled me to become even more active than I have been.
Everyone that has known me for any length of time knows that I keep up with politics. I study it and research the different issues. I do not just like to take someone else's opinion of an issue. I like to find the facts and form my own opinion. There have been people all through my life that have asked me why I didn't run for some office. So far there has been no office that I felt I should run for, though I still freely gave my opinions as I worked with and for those who were running. The experience of 2004 convinced me to become more formally involved however. I am not running for office and do not foresee that, but I am working more formally than before. I am a member of the local Democratic Executive Committee and have helped to establish a website for that. We are now planning activities to prepare for this election year.
This blog is another step in my efforts. It is a way for me to present my opinions and positions where you can read them at your leisure, and hopefully understand them better. Thank you for visiting my site. I look forward to the chance to talk with you and discuss our agreements and our disagreements. We are all in this together.
posted by NHThomas | 4:03 PM
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