Don’t Let Politicians Paint You Into The Corner

Politicians try to turn every thing "red" or "blue", "liberal" or "conservative, while I think most of us are really somewhere closer to the middle.  More after the jump.

I'm ready to start the "purple" party.  As any kid will tell you when you mix red and blue you get purple. Instead of being forced to choose sides which both have a lot of plus and minuses and being locked into one ideology, we need to accept the best ideas from all over.  This way, WE get back to dictating what is important to us.  For instance we all want nice parks, but we don't want to spend too much.  We want a nice, clean place for the kids to play, but we don't want government studies on the problem, or abusive right of way fights with local neighbors, or a giant overpriced statue of the congressperson who got the park done.

I've heard politics makes for 'strange bedfellows' and that is 100% correct.  For example, farmers want subsidies and disaster help, but I promise you that most vote Republican, which is supposedly all about cutting subsidies and entitlement programs.  Liberals on the other hand will vote for farm subsidies, then regulate what can be done with the crops.  These are VERY broad generalizations.  What I'm getting at is, is that none of this is black and white (or red and blue) and we need someone to come up with a list of basic needs while cutting government abuses and waste.  The problem is Washington itself where you have to help one guy with his "pet project" in order to get business done.  What needs to happen is these "pet projects" need to go away.  We need to avoid duplication of services and unnecessary red tape (supposedly part of the Republican agenda) while rebuilding the infrastructure of America (supposedly part of the Democratic agenda).  Bottom lining it, I think America has plenty of money for everything we need if we could just manage where it's going to better.

I'd like to see more common sense solutions to problems.  For instance why do we put non-violent offenders in prison (where we have to pay for their upkeep) instead of making them pay back society (either through cash, or work programs)?  The stereotypical solutions are either a.  Jail or b. probation, why can't the answer be c. undo the damage you've done.

The other part of being pushed to join either the "left" or "right" politically, is you are expected to swallow everything they offer wholesale.  The Republicans want me to accept Palin and Bachmann while the Democrats want me to say that The President is doing a "great" job (he's not...I give him a C- at best).

Anyways, I'm not very good at writing about politics, because I don't care about politics.  I care only about community and what it takes to make our town a cool place to live.  I'm just saying we're all "purple" people and I don't think I HAVE to agree with a parties entire agenda in order to vote with or against them, and I hope sometime in the future there will be an acceptable "middle" (perhaps "The Purple" party).