Whose Line Is It Anyway?

I don’t like to talk politics much with people. I will, and I find some of it interesting, but honestly I usually end up getting annoyed, or people get annoyed with me. I don’t think it’s necessarily my fault, though; I think it’s just what politics brings out in people.

A big part of the reason I hate politics, and people who love politics might hate me, is that I don’t really have an allegiance to any side. I don’t get behind candidates and hail them as our country’s savior. I don’t put my much faith in our congress to make the changes I want to see in my country. And I usually fall somewhere in the middle on many American issues.

I try vote in every election I am able to, and I am grateful for a country that gives me that freedom and right, but I’ve noticed that no one ever seems to be happy with the outcomes of our diplomacy no matter who is elected. But even so, many people want to draw a line in the sand and make you pick one side to be on. Our country has two major parties. It’s a pretty well known line.

Beyond politics, people seem to draw lines on most issues in life. We are line-drawers by nature. Whose side are you on? Which extreme to do you believe in? As I said, this is difficult for me because I seem to find myself in the middle on many matters.

I thought I was just neutral for a while, but I decided that neutral isn’t a good word for it because it implies that I just don’t care. And I do care. I just don’t have an allegiance to one side on every issue, nor do I trust a politician of a certain party to take care of everyone and to truly have our best interest at heart.

I don’t like drawing a line for everything. Some issues are very black and white to me and I can easily pick a side, but some are grey and they’re more complicated than one person in Washington or on the Internet can give me an answer for.

I don’t think every issue needs two be a choice between two sides. I think sometimes we might need to draw two lines in the sand and be somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

I like that there are many people willing to view two arguments before they make up their minds. There are too many people who reach their verdicts long before looking at the evidence, and then they look for evidence to support the conclusion they have already come to. We do it without even realizing we’re even doing it.

Draw two lines and see how it feels to be in the middle sometime. Sure, some people will get mad if you don’t pick a side, but heck, people get mad about everything. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know” if you don’t know what you think about something. If that’s not a good enough of an answer for them then they sound like they might be a bully. And my mom said I don’t have to be scared of bullies. Their days of taking our lunch money need to end.