Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Glass Booth

This is the first year of my life that I am actually interested in politics. I listen to NPR. I watch CNN. I pay attention during presidential debates. I have an opinion and can hold my own in a political discussion.

Does this mean that I am a grownup?

Does this mean that I am smart?

Much to my astonishment, I also found out that I am a republican. I’d always assumed that I was a democrat because I am a Robinson. Robinsons are democrats. I liked telling people that I was a democrat because it shocked them. At BYU, it sometimes angered them. I found this fun.

However, upon telling others that I was a democrat I just prayed that they wouldn’t ask me why. I didn’t really know what it meant to be one and I didn’t have the attention span to find out.

Perhaps encouraged by my husband, or disgusted by the over-liberal ladies on The View, I took it upon myself to discover what I really believe.

I now understand the merit of democratic views and think that it is a pretty perfect system in an ideal world. However, this world is far from ideal. Thus, I sway to the right.

I won’t go into my political beliefs, but I will say that this is an extremely interesting and important election coming up. I have put a lot of thought into my priorities and who would best represent my family as President of the United States.

A tool I found interesting was glassbooth.com. You take a short quiz and then the website tells you what candidates most closely aligns with your beliefs. I was surprised by my political match. I will probably not vote for him.

Here’s why: I find him incredibly unattractive. I could put this aside if he had a redeeming personality, but he doesn’t. I don’t like how he conveys his ideas. He is gruff. I wouldn’t like our country’s president to have poor people skills. We need a diplomat.

Luckily, my second-best match is a well-spoken okay-looking human being. He might be my choice.

On a side note, tomorrow Mitt Romney is going to give a speech about Mormonism. Do you think this is a good idea? I will be interested to see how this will affect his campaign and the way my religion is viewed in this country.

7 comments:

Kristy said...

Good post, Bethany. I promise not to persecute you for your political leanings. :)

Janssen said...

I'll also be curious to find out how the Romney speech turns out. Personally, I dont' think it's going to make a difference for him (I just don't think that people who don't want to understand the LDS faith are suddenly going to change their minds), but a friend of mine last night was adament that everyone would be really impressed by it and change their minds about Mormons. We shall see.

Steph said...

I think it will be great to listen to the speech. I know a lot of people (nonmembers) that are very interested in hearing him speak and I just hope it all goes well!!!

Jer and Jealin said...

Hi Bethany. I am a friend of Dana's and made my way to your blog from her blog. I must admit I am completely enthralled with your writing! It has led me to stalk your blog. I could not help but comment on this post. I have found myself more interested in politics this year as well. I would definetly like to believe it means we are smarter! I checked out glassbooth.com and was very impressed. Thanks for the info and I can't wait for your book to be published! :) -Jealin

Unknown said...

I am proud of my grown-up smart wife as moved into the world of politics. I am somewhat passionate about it and enjoy having our political conversations. Speaking post Romney speech I thought that he gave a very moving speech. It was a magnificent reminder of the role religious faith must play in government and public policy. If nothing else I hope people not of the Mormon faith saw that Mitt is a man who will be true to his beliefs in spite of any power or position that could be gained by denying them. That he will act on faith because this country was founded and built on the principals of faith. And most importantly he will fight to keep God in the forefront of our countries political landscape.

Bethany said...

I like Ryan.

adrienne said...

Dad will be shocked & chagrined to find out that Robinson's are democrats.