New posting theme

*Disclaimer* The views in this post are in no way, shape, or form representative of the views of the United States Army. They are my own personal opinions*

It feels to me like politics have really gotten dirty the past few years. It may be my perspective-I’ve only really been paying attention to it all for about 7 years now, however during that time it feels as though things have just gotten dirtier and more polarized. In the past couple years I’ve seen the tone on both the left and right sides become more and more shrill and desperate. Listening to campaigns is akin to listening to a bunch of first graders arguing, thinking that volume rather than discourse will win the day. Name calling and labeling abound. Nazi. Racist. Redneck. Communist. I can’t seem to shake the feeling that the political reindeer games in the USA are about to come to a head.

We now have two VERY vocal, very strong main political bents, that are at their cores complete and total opposites. I don’t think it’s actually possible for them to come together and work together in an effective manner. On the one hand, we have the left, that subscribes to the idea that the government knows what is best for everyone. To them, the government is like a permanent parent, whose job is to take care of everyone, and should be trusted with the power to meddle in the lives of individuals for the ’greater good’.

On the other hand, we have the right wing, with an extreme distrust of everything the government does. They advocate for the government to have the absolute minimum in size and power on the lives of individual citizens. Obviously, there are varying degrees in extremity on both sides, and this is a vast over-generalization, but I think it’s applicable, and reasonably fair.

I find it necessary to note at this point, that in saying that the two groups are irreconcilable, I am in NO WAY inciting violence or rebellion as an answer. I’m simply making an observation that the status quo will have to change at some point in order to have an effective and reasonable government. I firmly believe that this can be done with the ballot box, NOT the ammunition box.

It’s no secret to anyone that knows me even reasonably well that I’m very conservative, and I have a strong libertarian bent when it comes to social issues. Being that I’m still in my 20’s, the vast majority of my peers are fairly liberal, and the reaction that I often get when my politics come up is as if I’d just revealed that I have herpes or something. I’m getting very, very tired of my intelligence being called into question over it, or being told that I’ve been “brainwashed by the church” to feel the way I do. I’m not even all that religious.

The fact is, I’ve come to believe the things I do with careful consideration and thought. I weigh the consequences of government involvement in almost every issue. I think how it will affect myself, my family, my work, and also the majority of others. I study history, and I study statistics, and I look at similar actions that have taken place in other areas around the world, and from all of that, I find a stance. I also listen to my own personal moral compass-but I try not to let that bleed out into other peoples lives. For instance, I may not *agree* with the culture of promiscuity in America today, but I’d never vote to pass a law making sex out of wedlock a crime.

In light of all this, I’ve decided to try a new theme on my blog. I’m still going to have normal, non-political posts when the ideas strike me, but soon there will be a new series of posts called “Government By Jimbo”. I’m going to review the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, posting my interpretation. The result will be a complete catalog of how I feel that the United States would be run, if I ruled the world, and how I came to my conclusions. It should be interesting, and I strongly encourage you to subscribe and comment if you’re interested. Feel free to completely dissect it if you like. I fully welcome views across the political spectrum, I only ask that regardless of which direction you lean, be respectful and polite. I’m not going to insult anybody’s intelligence here, so don’t insult mine.

Give me a day or two and I should have the first of the series up.

*Disclaimer* The views in this post are in no way, shape, or form representative of the views of the United States Army. They are my own personal opinions*