What do you believe?

I am sure this posting will fume many people and it may strike a passionate response from others. I will just simply state my opinion, one I hope is grounded in common sense, so here it goes.

As many of you may know, I grew up in a lower income class family. I was taught that the Republican was a rich person who does not care about anyone but themselves, and that a Democrat was a compassionate person who is all about caring for the poor. I also have been and still am very critical of the former Republican administration (Bush). With this all being said, this will be the most that you will hear about my views on politics. Hopefully the rest of this blog will be focused on the way I see the world.

In the last four years of Bush's presidency, he panicked and started to spend money like a hungry man who had not eaten for days and was given $100 to spend on food. If he received a bill that was about spending he signed it and moved forward. When it came to stimulus he was right up front in supporting the bill. The deficit grew under his watch tremendously and the people in this world could not stand him. They hated him to a point that the Republicans would not even use him during the election year to endorse their canidate. (I do realize that this was not the only policy that the people hated him for.)

As we look forward, during his election campaign President Obama ran on change and on hope. He promised to withdraw our troops and correct our financial system. However, with that being said, he has continued the same policy of Bush's presidency. If a bill comes through with spending on it, he signs it. The deficit is projected and has already grown tremendously in his first year in office. Some people hate him so much that Democrats are picking and choosing when and where to have him campaign for the party.

Does this sound similar? I would make the argument that Obama and Bush are very similar in their policies. Bush was for spending and so is Obama. Bush was for the war and Obama, through getting into office and realizing that our security was at stake, has changed his tune and become more supportive of the war. Sure they have their differences in foreign policy, entitlement programs, etc... But on the issues that are of most importance to Americans today they have not changed a bit.

With all this being said, I want to bring a recent Facebook page to light. Recently a page has been brought out that is titled the following: "Dear Lord, This year you took my favorite actor Patrick Swayzie, my favorite actress Farah Fawcett, and my favorite singer Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know that my favorite President is Barack Obama. Amen!"

When this was first brought to my attention I thought to myself, "This is funny." Not because it was Barack Obama, it could have been George Bush (either one), Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, etc... What I thought was funny was the cleverness of the statement. However I feel as if I am in the minority on this issue. I also feel as if the world is full of hypocracy.

In the past 20 years of my life, no matter who has been the President, many people have taken humorous shots at the big guy! Bush's presidency was the fodder of tons of jokes, many of them being brought on by comments and actions of Bush himself. I laughed extremely hard at these jokes for the way the writer used his/her cleverness to bring a funny perspective to the Presidency.

I did not nor would I hope that any of you would think that Bush was as dumb as the comedy portrayed. Whether you think senior got junior Bush into Yale or not, he still had to take the tests in order to pass through. If you think he is dumb, then I would challenge you to think about how dumb that makes the American people. Why? Because he was elected twice!

With this being said my simple question is, why is it different when Barack Obama is the brunt of jokes like the one from Facebook? Do you really think that the vast majority of praying people (of any religion that believes in God) want Obama dead? There will always be a fringe group that believes that is a product of this fallen world.

As this came out the other day I said to my wife and some others that this will be construed in the media as being over the top. CNN (a group that the vast majority of typical Americans think is neutral) has reported on this as if to say that this is hate speech. The page has received greater than 600,000 members according to the article linked here http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/21/obama.facebook.prayer/index.html. Where were CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and others when jokes were being made about George W. Bush in the same manner?

I believe the biggest issue in this world is not about politics or policies, it is about knowing what you believe in! It is not about talking points or regurgitating what your favorite source has to say. It is about forming your own opinion! This is what has made America great! You are free to think and believe as you please (obviously I am not referring to hurting others ). The question you must ask yourself today is, "What do I believe?"

I am not here to take a side but I am saying that you need to formulate your own opinion. Don't base your opinion on hearsay but base it on how you view the facts. Don't base your opinion on whether a Republican says it or a Democrat says it! Base it on what you know to be true and stay consistent! If you see a joke as a joke, don't change your tune 4 years later when the joke is about another person in the same position.

If you think that this world is a bad place and evil reigns you are correct. So do you just join in because you cannot do anything about it, or do you fight the good fight? Step out today and dare to be different, dare to take a stance on subjects and don't stand on another's view point. Instead, stand on your opinion and the facts that back them up.