Rant

Politics has a way of creeping up on me.  It gets under my skin slowly and settles deep inside until one day I just about burst.  That happened today while listening to a Republican radio show.   I should preface that I completely agreed with him regarding New York City limiting the sizes of sodas at fast food restaurants.   Yes, I understand that these beverages are horrible for you and that as the years have gone by the sizes have reached a ridiculous size.  Still, I don't think that the government should prohibit the sale of these large sizes.  I personally believe it is up to the consumer to make those decisions for themselves.  Now, I completely understand that others may disagree with me and that is entirely their right.

I have a huge problem with the statement that us pro-choice, liberal, fat-people haters are forcing our perception of what is right down everyone else's throats.  Yes that is actually what he said.  What?  Only a couple of weeks ago, the same man said that he hated the idea that he would be forcing women to have children by supporting the anti-abortion movement.  Now he was going on an angry rampage about how all liberals (because clearly we are all of one opinion) were trying to stomp on his choice to drink more than 16 ounces of soda?  Something about the whole thing just made me snap.

He would argue that he is trying to protect unborn lives so it is okay to eliminate a woman's ability to choose.  Many others would agree that abortion is not the answer and I encourage them to talk sympathetically towards the young women who are in the position of making that difficult choice.   Help make them aware of their options.  Help them raise their unwanted children.   Encourage them to make the choice that you would want them to make but do not eliminate their ability to make that choice.  If you believe that it is murder then please let your God stand in judgment of their choices. It is not your place to judge them.

I'm so tired of this being an issue.  I'm so sick of politicians making blatantly untrue statements about the legitimacy of rape.  It makes me angry that the vice presidential candidate not only shares some of these views but has supported legislation against a women's right to abort. I'm so sick of people calling women who've made that choice to abort, "murderers." I hate how they play around with the idea that it would be okay in cases of rape and incest when so many people in this country still believe that a woman can be "asking for it" based on what she wears.   I can't get over that in 2012 women are more concerned with protecting the rights that we've already earned rather than trying to continue to make our lives more equal in the workforce and other areas.

The endless Obama bashing needs to stop especially when the other side can only offer a "we'll fix it" statement and little more.  We're told that everything Obama did in the past four years was wrong and if we fire him then Romney will fix it.  We can't ask how, we can't question it, we should just have faith in what he says.  Maybe Obama didn't make all the right choices while he was in office but can we focus on whether or not Romney's plan to fix it is better than Obama's plan?   How can we possibly make an educated, well informed decision without knowing the most basic outline of his plans?

Of course, I'm not even touching the rights to marriage for all consenting adults regardless of race or sex.  For the past few months all these opinions volleying back and forth have affected me.  I've tried to keep from talking about it but that whole soda thing and the awful spin that was placed on it was just too much.  I really can't wait for this to be over.  The debates are still ahead and maybe Romney will present some really well thought out plans for our economic recovery, how he will conduct foreign policy, and make clear that he does not support his party's view on abortion.  I have a feeling that I'm only going to be disappointed.

I've tried really hard to keep quiet.  Everyone has the right to their opinions.  I don't judge others for feeling differently from me.  You have the right to get upset and express your frustration.  I now realize that I also have that right.   Don't worry, I don't plan on continuing these rants.  I've laid it on my husband, my mother, and now here.  I think I've vented enough.