Choices

Politics! Politics are hard to figure out. Sometimes I find myself having to sit down and think through an issue , attempting to put aside my parents opinions and my teachers opinions, which are normally on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Which is weird, because as a kid, you’re always told that your parents and your teachers are right, then you start to understand politics. And at school my teachers are singing praises to FDR and at home my parents sing praises to Reagan. 

It’s hard to try to overcome this indoctrination on both sides and attempt to form your own opinion.

Mine started in eighth grade, when we read The Giver in Patton’s class. (If you haven’t read it, you should.) She asked us if we would rather live in a completely structured world where every action is governed, like the book, or a world with no laws.

There were two of us that raised our hands for the world with no laws. Two! (Which by the way kind of makes me scared for my freedom.)

After class my two best friends and I argued about it. “But people could kill you!” They said, over and over. 

“Learn how to defend yourself.” Was my reply, which in retrospect seemed naïve that that was my defense. I just knew that I  wanted  the free world more. I couldn’t really come up with an argument.

It probably stems from the fact that I am and extremely independent person, but for me it all comes down to the ability to choose.  I think that you should be able to chose to do anything you want, except when it takes away other peoples choices. 

So yes, that means I’m against abortion, because I think those babies have a right to make choices, yes that means I’m against the death penalty, because they still have choices to make,  and I dislike that the government takes money straight out of our checks, because then we can’t chose to not pay and protest.

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Yes I totally did just quote Dumbledore to prove my point. J