The problem with the Democratic Party in this country is that it is a hodge lodge of people of different ethnic origins and with different motivations, a coalition of sorts, with no strong motivation or principles. Some people vote one way at one election, the other way at the next. Many people can't seem to be able to make up their minds. Many people let their buttons be pushed and vote for or against very specific issues, with no general view. That is why the Republican Party consistently gets more or less 50% of the vote, when it's policies only benefit less than 10% of the population. Religion and Racism have completely skewed the vote. The South was solid Blue before the Civil Rights Movement. It turned Red because of the Racism of most of the white population.
For me, being a Democrat has a very clear meaning, and comes with a set of ideas and very clear principles. It is basically a Philosophy of life that has been with me all my life, and has to do with my "Faith", or lack thereof. I live by one single rule: "Do unto others...". It's very simple, I don't need a God to worship, I don't need a preacher to threaten me with eternal damnation, I don't need a church to belong to, I don't need somebody to tell me how to live my life. I think I never did. Born in the catholic Church, I sang in the choir on Sundays and was on top of my Catechism class, but the stuff they taught us always seemed like silly fairy tales to me, and I never liked fairy tales. I quit going to church at 15, I had better things to do with my time.
Unlike some of my friends in the early 60's, I was apolitical. I never was a Communist, Maoist, Trotskist, much less a Gaulist, and never voted in a French Election. I didn't want to belong to any party or organisation that would impose on me some set of rules and ideas, I wanted to be free, and to be honest, I was much too busy chasing girls, reading, and keeping my old clunkers going.
1968 was a crucial year for my whole generation. I was in the French Army at the time, and didn't take to the streets and actively participate in the "Revolution", but it had a profound effect. We officially and unequivocally rejected our parents principles, and society's constraints, the "Metro, Boulot, Dodo" (Metro, Work, Sleep) way of life. We totally embraced the Women's Lib movement, freedom, love, peace. We disliked Authority, the Police and the Army. We felt we were definitely not put on this earth to live like our elders identical and predictable dull lives built around 11 months of work and one month vacation. A job was not an end, but just a mean to make the money needed to "live", have fun and do interesting things.
Working in Indonesia and New Guinea was my first exposure to the Third World, and an eye opener. Then traveling through the Americas from New York to Brazil in a VW camper exposed me to many diverse and interesting cultures, and raised my awareness and appreciation of diversity. I became obvious to me that my "culture" was in no way better or superior to any other culture, that there were many ways to live, and that happiness had by and large nothing to do with money, except in cases of extreme poverty.
For me, being a Democrat has a very clear meaning, and comes with a set of ideas and very clear principles. It is basically a Philosophy of life that has been with me all my life, and has to do with my "Faith", or lack thereof. I live by one single rule: "Do unto others...". It's very simple, I don't need a God to worship, I don't need a preacher to threaten me with eternal damnation, I don't need a church to belong to, I don't need somebody to tell me how to live my life. I think I never did. Born in the catholic Church, I sang in the choir on Sundays and was on top of my Catechism class, but the stuff they taught us always seemed like silly fairy tales to me, and I never liked fairy tales. I quit going to church at 15, I had better things to do with my time.
Unlike some of my friends in the early 60's, I was apolitical. I never was a Communist, Maoist, Trotskist, much less a Gaulist, and never voted in a French Election. I didn't want to belong to any party or organisation that would impose on me some set of rules and ideas, I wanted to be free, and to be honest, I was much too busy chasing girls, reading, and keeping my old clunkers going.
1968 was a crucial year for my whole generation. I was in the French Army at the time, and didn't take to the streets and actively participate in the "Revolution", but it had a profound effect. We officially and unequivocally rejected our parents principles, and society's constraints, the "Metro, Boulot, Dodo" (Metro, Work, Sleep) way of life. We totally embraced the Women's Lib movement, freedom, love, peace. We disliked Authority, the Police and the Army. We felt we were definitely not put on this earth to live like our elders identical and predictable dull lives built around 11 months of work and one month vacation. A job was not an end, but just a mean to make the money needed to "live", have fun and do interesting things.
Working in Indonesia and New Guinea was my first exposure to the Third World, and an eye opener. Then traveling through the Americas from New York to Brazil in a VW camper exposed me to many diverse and interesting cultures, and raised my awareness and appreciation of diversity. I became obvious to me that my "culture" was in no way better or superior to any other culture, that there were many ways to live, and that happiness had by and large nothing to do with money, except in cases of extreme poverty.
