I guess I can say I don’t know what it’s like to be political in other countries, because I haven’t had the time or inclination. But I’ll tell you now that it’s hard to be political in the United States. This is especially true if your political beliefs don’t mesh with the commonly held beliefs at large. I have this problem.

I’m a republican. But before you go crazy on me as most Americans do, there are things I must explain. Like most things in the United States, I must put a disclaimer on my beliefs to remove liability. I am fully responsible for my beliefs. I don’t get drunk because of them or try to harm people with them– they are, after all, my own.
But there is a great assumption that if your voters registration says “Republican” you are an ardent believer in republican “politics”– this isn’t always the case, and in any case I try to keep an open mind. People are falliable, otherwise we wouldn’t be human. So why not try to listen to the beliefs of a great deal of people from different ways of life and heritage and take little pieces of each to form a greater and more valuable belief?

Well, since I’m a “republican”, I’m stuck in the stigma that this isn’t something I can do. But I do it anyway. I’m not a religious fanatic, either. My religion is as personal as my political beliefs– why should it be that I should seek to harm someone because of my religious belief? By some strict definitions this should mean that I’m a “democrat,” and at this point it makes simply no sense, does it? So I’ll tell you a story…

Once upon a time, in an election year not so far away, I was a delegate for the Republican State convention. It’s this event where all of the local politicians come together for the republican party to meet with constituents from around the state. I was lucky enough to be one of them. One of the men, by the name of Pete Coors, was the president and owner of a popular brewing company here in the states. Coors Beer.
I also had a press pass that allowed me access to many of the politicians who were candidates, but wanted very much to meet Pete Coors to see what set him apart from this competitor. So I watch closely as he exits the stage after making his speech, I wait quietly from a short distance as he speaks with the larger press and then I move in. I stand closely, knowing I will be the next one to talk to him. I ready my questions that will set him apart from the other candidate, and then my chance is there. I greet him, steady those questions in my mind, and what does he do?
He grabs my press pass, signs it with his autograph and while in shock I mutter a single question… He refers me to his publicist and walks away. This many was simply shady. He never got my vote… Another story…

While in Germany I had a great feeling that John Edwards would be an up and coming candidate for the presidency, so I sat down to write to him a very well-planned letter explaining my observations as an American abroad. It was long, yes, but valuable in my mind. A couple months later, what arrives? An envelope with a picture of him, looking swanky in a suit. And attached to the picture is a request for $20 compensation for postage.

Neither of these men ended up being of great consequence to elections. But there is a point here that I hope I have made. On both sides, on all sides, there are sleeze. There are people who cannot speak for themselves and must have a publicist handy and then there are those who are simply after the not-so-mighty dollar. I, standing in the middle of political debris fields wonder if ever there will be a candidate who stands up for good ideas without designating himself a single-party player.

Oh, politics.