I used to be a nominal Republican. I wasn’t a registered Republican because I was thrilled about the GOP. Instead, I registered as a Republican so that I could vote in primary elections.
I try to be pragmatic when it comes to politics. Being that my state is a solid-red state, I knew that it was far more likely that a Republican would be elected to Congress than a Democrat would. So, I wanted to have a say in which Republicans would be in general elections.
Still, the Republican Party had elements that were distasteful to me. In particular, the GOP was the political home of people who wanted the USA to become a theocracy of their liking. All too often, GOP members tried to use the government to impose their religious beliefs on the general public. This situation bothered me because I cherish the freedom of religion that all Americans have. That freedom means that people are free to not conform to another’s religious beliefs.
Sure, I expect a person’s religious beliefs to influence that person’s politics. Such is inevitable. However, being a person of faith does not requires the undermining of the freedom of religion of others. I, too, desire to express my faith, but I decided to do so through writing.
Finally, during the 2012 presidential campaigns, some people went too far with their mixing of religion and politics. A 12/13/2011 Sioux City Journal story reports the following:
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states, “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
When I enlisted in the U.S. Navy, I took the following oath:
Requiring politicians to pass a religious test is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution. Although I am no longer a U.S. Navy Petty Officer, I still adhere to my vow to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” If the GOP was going to blatantly violate the U.S. Constitution, then I wasn’t going to be a registered Republican. So, I re-registered to vote as an Independent.
The preceding post is an excerpt from the free online book Blogging Isn’t For Cowards. Read it to learn why one should get on Dogbert’s good side before it is too late.
By the way, this is what Dogbert does with elephants:
Featured Image © Hans Hillewaert / CC BY-SA 4.0
The “Wanted” posters say the following about David: “Wanted: A refugee from planet Melmac masquerading as a human. Loves cats. If seen, contact the Alien Task Force.”