Forming My Own Opinion

OK..so the blogs are supposed to be due today.  I need several more posts to complete the required 20, one is the conclusion, and I am writing one now, so that takes off two more!  I know everyone has excuses, I know it is not good to list excuses because nobody wants to hear them, but I have been writing.  It is just that my internet at my house is already bad, and almost impossible when my dad is using it for his business.  It is like living in the 1990s...well it's a step above dial-up, but it is still pretty bad.  I have been writing, I am an avid journal keeper, and I have my Cambridge lined pocket notebook with me at all times.  I have them with me in class today, I'll show you if you really want to see them.

Hooray for mimes about thinking?

Anyway, going on to a real topic, today in class (and other days) we have mentioned how teachers like to get new freshmen students thinking for themselves and seeing what they believe to be true.  I'd like to talk about how I have formed my opinions over my four college semesters.  Credit-wise I am a sophomore now, so I should not only have an opinion on everything but the correct one right?

This post specifically I would like to focus on politics.  That is usually a dangerous subject to have a strong opinion on, but I immensely enjoy talking politics with people.  In the past, my opinion has been, "Well I don't know enough to say this for sure, but I think..." or even worse, "Well my parents think this so I do too."  Now I have found my own opinion on government and feel like I can back it up around...most people.

My first opinion is that I hate political parties.  I see the benefits they provide, but I think having political parties---especially only two major ones like the US has---is just a way for people to lazily get involved in politics with out really forming their own opinion, creates partisan politics which gets nothing done, and in some cases (as we see with the tea party) allows a minority to hold the entire country at risk.  Republicans bug the heck out of me.  Democrats annoy me even more to the point where I might use profanity if I keep talking about them.  There is a party that has very similar views to mine, but I don't want to associate with them because I dislike parties (political parties mind you).  That party is the Libertarian party.  I would call myself a Libertarian if it wasn't for the whole not wanting parties thing.

Second opinion is I really just don't like government.  There are four ways you can spend money:  spend your own money on yourself, spend your own money on someone else, spend someone else's money on yourself, or spend someone else's money on someone else.  They are listed in order of the most efficient way to spend to the least efficient.  Take the example of you go to a store to buy a gift.  If you go there to spend your money on you, you know what you want, and how much you are willing to pay for what you want.  Since it is your money you had to have worked for it, so you know the value of it.  Spending your money on someone else is a little less efficient because you don't know exactly what that other person's wants/needs are, but you still use your money carefully since it is yours.  Skipping to spending others' money on someone else, you don't value that money since you did nothing to earn it, and you don't care so much what the gift is since you are not going to have it for yourself.  In most cases you'll buy the first thing you see...you get the point.  Well government spends all their money...no all our money on other people.  I believe government (particularly the federal government) should be severely cut back in their power.  A market system in all but a few rare exceptions (like some utilities, fire/police service, etc) has always made the best product for the lowest cost.

This is getting pretty lengthy, so I'll conclude by saying I love America.  I am not some crazy anarchist, I do see the values and necessities of government, I just think that it should be kept on a tight leash because government has this nasty habit of overstepping its boundaries.  Talking politics and reading up on it makes me more frustrated, annoyed, and ticked then almost anything else, but it also is incredibly fun and exciting.  It is a very complex love-hate relationship I have with government.  God bless America, amen, dust to dust and all that.