Let's Get Political

With the election coming up, I felt like it's okay for me to get political this once. So if you don't want to hear my views, come back Monday, I'll have a random Lynn(e) post about how financially overwhelmed I am.

Which kind of makes me feel like this

Otherwise, here are my thoughts.

Pretty, fireworks

When I was younger, I never appreciated being a citizen of the United States of America. I'd roll my eyes at football games when we'd play the National Anthem (even though I was in band), or say the Pledge of Allegiance. Sure, I'd take off my hat but the idea was lost on me. When Memorial, or Veteran's Day came up, yep I enjoyed the time off of school, but again, rolled my eyes, not truly appreciating where I lived. Even on the Fourth of July, I was only in it for the fireworks.

Then, in college, I started hearing stories. I heard about countries imposing a population cap (which I'm for) and enforcing sterilizations/abortions if families exceeded this cap (which I'm against). Most recently, I heard about a 14 year old girl in Pakistan who said she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. The Taliban targeted her, and shot her in the head. Last I heard, she was recovering in another country in the hopes that she'll be safe there.

It's the first time in my life that a news paper article almost made me vomit on my work floor. Yes, things have gotten me emotional before, nauseous even, but this one pissed me off. First of all, if you need to gun down a 14 year old girl to prove how strong you are, you suck. Secondly, I'd never taken in and fully appreciated the fact that I live in America. If I want to be a doctor, a veterinarian, an athlete, an astronaut, a cowboy, etc, I can be. Not only that, but I get to CHOOSE whether or not I want to be a bum, atheist, religious, work at McDonald's, become a physicist, be a stay at home mom, be a prostitute, whatever. My family would support me (except for maybe that first and last one ;) ). I also get to help elect the President, and sometimes, I actually feel like my vote counts. In the country I live in, no one would gun me down for furthering my education, saying I don't like a someone in power, or doing what I want to do.

Somehow, the fact that all countries are not like this, managed and sometimes still manages to elude me.

The fact is, we live in the USA. Under no circumstances should people be FORCED to do things we don't want to do (except, you know, pay taxes. And even then, just go to New Hampshire, because they have no sales tax there). We aren't forced to stop going to school at a certain age. We aren't forced to use birth control, or to not use birth control. Though 18 year old males must register in case the draft comes back, we do not have a draft. Our young men are not thrust into violence. We aren't forced into ignorance, or abortions, or population caps. With the exception of laws (some of which are put in place for good reasons), we citizens live a very free life. All of these things (except for taxes) we get to choose.

As previously stated, I read articles about forced sterilizations, or abortions in some countries. I've also read articles where fourteen year old girls are repeatedly raped, and when the rape results in pregnancy, the girls must carry the child to term no matter if health risks are involved.

There was a storm coming in like 2006.
I really like this picture, still.

We live in a country where the topic of abortion is taboo, or if it's brought up, intense arguments ensue. This is partly why I wrote my memoir, and why I'm writing this post. In the safety of these fifty states, we've been blessed with so many more freedoms than other countries. But as soon as we start restricting those freedoms on things like marriage, or reproductive rights, we become a nation that is no better than those that force the public's hands. No one should force a pregnant fourteen year old girl to have a child. Plus, no one should force that fourteen year old girl to have an abortion, either. The decision should be up to her, possible therapists, and trusted adults. Only. Abortion, adoption, and having the child should all be on the table for her. All three options should be available to pregnant women, no matter their age or circumstance. This is not a ONE CHOICE SUITS ALL country.

As of right now, the reason I love the United States of America is because we get to choose what we want to do with our lives. Currently, we can choose our profession. We can choose whether or not we want to have children, or terminate our pregnancies. We can choose to enlist in the armed forces, or to work from home. None of these things are forced on us. We have all of these options in front of us that no one should be able to take away.

So, as long as I get my registration in on time and all that jazz, I will not be voting against gay marriage, because (according to http://www.divorcerate.org/) nearly half of first marriages, 70% of second marriages, and 75% of third marriages end in divorce. Clearly, we straight people know what the hell we're doing. Why not let gays and lesbians allow themselves the chaos that is marriage? Why not offer their partners health benefits so that when their firefighter husband or wife dies, they will be financially secure?

And when I get to vote, I will not be voting for Governor Romney not only because of the infamous 47% comment, but because as a self proclaimed religious man, I fear for women's reproductive rights if he were sworn in to office. We're all aware that Romney is anti-choice, and I fear that he will help with cutting Planned Parenthood's funding, an organization that helped save my life. Not only that, but during one of the debates, illegal immigration was brought up, and he suggested that immigrants should enlist in our army so that they have a chance to become American citizens. Yea, no. Unacceptable. Become a citizen first, find out why you love and want to protect this country, then enlist, IF and ONLY IF you want. Why would you serve a country, die for a country, you're not even a part of?

I'm not saying that Obama is perfect. I'm actually still pretty pissed at him for allowing Shell to try to drill in the Arctic. I'm not even saying that I think you should vote for Obama, because I think you should vote for whomever you feel will do the best as a President of the United States. But I will say that there is a HUGE difference between terminating a pregnancy, thereby erasing the potential for a child, and walking into a four year old's house and stabbing them in the face. (This statement is for those who attack me on Twitter saying that abortion is killing/murdering a child.)

Wonder how long this ink will take
to wash off my hand?

There is a lot at stake this election. Are you ready to cast your vote?