Hi my name is Brandy…and I live in a blue state
At first I wasn’t going to write about politics because of the mixed crowd that reads this blog. I am not one to be confrontational about things, so I tend to keep a low profile on hot issues. But after thinking about it some more, this blog is a journal and I will also be the reader years down the road. I will never forget this time, this feeling…so I figured I would get down this stuff now, just so I can look back with my kids and say ” I remember when…”.
To build off my confrontational statement above, I have never really considered myself blue or red. I am one of the millions of Americans that hangs out in the middle. I feel differently about issues and some more passionately than others and I won’t get into those here….if you wanna know, just ask. I have never discussed politics with many people, but this year…it was different. And yes, this happened for A LOT of people around the country…which is AWESOME. To see North Carolina turn blue (still waiting to see the official results) is a happy day for me. I am tired of being labeled as a southern, bible beating, racist, hillbilly who loves Nascar. It angered me to hear McCain and Palin in this state trying to “relate” to us by having Richard Petty call the house and campaigning about southern morals and shit. By the way, I am not going into the whole Palin thing but I think that was the iceberg that sunk the McCain ship. I also found it an insult that McCain picked HER as the female face for America..but I digress. One thing I can say for my position is that it wasn’t only because of the shitty economy, high gas prices, health care, or any of the usual suspects. I am pretty lucky in these regards, grateful for the things I have and the decisions my family made for me a long time ago to put me in my situation. No, I got inspired by Barak Obama and his supporters. It made me examine my beliefs on many issues and realize I am ready for change. They made me care. To clarify, I think we all are ready for a change from the Dubya regime, but I want a culture change. We need a new image. To quote the Time article:
“After eight years of misgovernance, it has lost some of its global swagger … but also some of its arrogance. It may no longer be as dominant, economically or diplomatically, as it once was. But it is younger, more optimistic, less cynical. It is a country that retains its ability to startle the world – and in a good way, with our freedom.”
I am tired of being embarrassed to be an American when traveling outside the US. I also like the young and optimistic part. We CAN fix this country. No more bandaids. The youth vote was 66 to 32 percent. That makes a statement. Conservative America is dwindling and I hope it is the youth having their own voice. We need more youth to look at what THEY believe, make their own decisions and not just what their parents have done for generations. And I am not a crazy liberal here, I know some youth DO know what they want and they DO choose a more conservative outlook. That’s great. That is what makes this country great. I just want more kids from small town America to realize there is a choice. It was very uplifting to see some of my hometown friends fighting the conservative powers this year in Caldwell County (Danielle, Kimberly, Mike).
Now there are plenty of other problems with the youth of America, I agree. It is sad that I am a minority being a 25 year old college graduate without debt and making my own responsible decisions free from my parents. There is a list of things to blame. An education system that is poorly designed with teachers get the shit end of the stick; a corporate America not being responsible for their own actions which trickles down to the middle class who have to pay the costs; a credit system taking advantage of young people and their money. We need a lot of things to get back on track and it isn’t going to be easy, but I think a nice step is to be in a country you have pride in and a president that gives you hope. I will cut myself off here because I have been rambling and deleting for the better part of an hour and feel I might get a little crazy soon. But I leave you with a post from one of my favorite humor sites, Stuff White People Like. I have to say I got a little teary eyed (that’s right Anissa).