i am tired of being told who i am. i am tired of being told what i think. i am tired of the labels and recriminations.
the left says that, if i don’t jump on the healthcare reform wagon and cheer and clap, then i hate the poor and sick and disadvantaged. the right tells me that, if i see the need for and desire change in the healthcare industry, i am a communist. if i to oppose abortion i am labeled a misogynist. if i to support same-sex marriage i am destroying the american family. it does not matter what i believe and why. it just matters that it’s not the stance of a particular political party. to one side, i am a bigot and a racist and to the other i am morally corrupt and hate america.
you are all wrong and i’m tired of it. you obviously do not know me. you obviously do not understand who i am.
i am a patriot and a humanitarian. i am a champion of civil rights and equality. i am a defender of the rights of the individual. you try to impose military rule on me and mine and you better be ready to point a gun at me and mean it because i will not allow it. you try to bar the poor and needy from the shores of my country and you best believe that you will hear my voice.
i believe that this country is great. i believe that this country is great because it is governed by its citizens and not an aristocracy. i believe that this country is great because its very governmental system encourages debate. i believe this country is great because we CAN disagree and still live in peace. i believe that this country is great because we are built around individuality – because the rights of the individual are central to our existence. i believe that this country is great because we are, even so, not ruled by any one individual. i believe that this country is great because it is home to every culture yet belongs to none. i believe that this country is great because you can have nothing and still make something of yourself. i believe that this country is great because the “american dream” is real. here – in this country, on this soil – it is real.
i believe that this country is great.
and i will not let you tell me otherwise. don’t tell me how bad it is – i know the problems. i’m living them. listen to me when i tell you how to make it better. don’t try to frighten me with skeletons in governmental closets. rhetoric and invective will not sway me. your paranoia only discredits you. i will not follow hysteria. i will not follow fear-mongering. i will not follow manipulative, emotional appeals. i will not follow you.
because i am not a follower.
i am a centrist. i am non-partisan. i have strong opinions. i have political stances. i have issues and causes that i am passionate about. i will defend what i believe to my dying breath. i am independent but i am not quiet and i am not apathetic. do not make the mistake of believing that i am.
i am an american. i am the epitome of the individual. i am my own person with my own thoughts and the ability to reason. i am educated and i am very, very smart. i will not tow a party line. i will not go where you attempt to lead me whether by pachyderm or ass. i will not be led.
i will lead you.
i, the people, will show you where this country is going. that is the way this country works. ignore me at your peril. hear me and hear america.
i am a centrist.
i am an independent.