Pete, the funny thing is, I agree with many of your points - or at least the basis of them. I believe that you're a good guy. I'm all for personal freedom, personal responsibility, and the promotion of wealth. You tend to stand for the "good" things on the conservative side... the things worth agreeing with.

I think personal freedom is extremely important, we need to protect personal liberties fiercely. I think those who are not responsible for their actions should not expect to be bailed out by loop holes. And I think we should reward hard work. But I think there are a few things we overlook as Americans. I find a little irony in how we boast about equality and how everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Our nation was founded on many principles, some of them tightly tied to religion. The gay marriage bans have made me see how religion still excludes certain people from our society, even today. Most of my family is very religious, and I still can't understand how they view other human beings as outcasts because a book tells them they should - especially when the same book tells them to love everyone. If homosexuals are denied certain rights that marriage offers, how can we argue that everyone has the same shot at the same opportunities in our country?

Humanity is imperfect. Our nation used to enslave people. We used to prevent black people and women from voting. We grew enough to see that was wrong. I'm hoping that sooner or later, we'll see how denying homosexuals various rights that married couples receive is also unjust. I'm not saying the right thing to do is to allow them to get "married". But give them their rights - that's what most of them want (along with not wanting to be verbally assaulted, beaten and killed for being gay). I don't think it's a "hate" thing
(well mostly) - just more about "exclusion" from society. If you're gonna promote wealth, you have to make sure people aren't being excluded. If you're going to promote religion, you have to promote love and acceptance for ALL.

And please, let's not have some half-wit start talking about "what's next, letting people marry sheep?" - that's the type of talk that really insults everyones' intelligence, not to mention how bad it makes you look. If you can't see the difference, please move on to a less complicated subject.

As far as the topic goes:

I think Republicans are all about standing up for their freedoms and don't want the government to tell them what they can and can't do. They stand by their religious beliefs and what they feel is morally right. They believe in promoting economic growth and rewarding those who work hard. They also feel that the environment should only be considered as long as it doesn't negatively impact the economy - if there isn't proof, it isn't our doing.

I think Democrats fight to make sure everyone has the same opportunity to succeed by promoting government intervention. They believe that the poor aren't always necessarily poor because they don't work hard. They believe that those who prosper more from our system should give more back - even though they already do. They feel that the environment should be addressed so that future generations don't have to suffer from our greed.

Both sides have good intentions, however, they sometimes fail to see how each one of their stances can be a fault. I think Republicans help the rich get richer and I think Democrats put too much effort into trying to save people who don't want to be saved. This country gives everyone freedom - many choose not to be ambitious. Sure some people really do need help, but there needs to be more effort in making a distinction between those people and the lazy people.

One last note - have any of you heard how Bush might have to raise taxes? This was on the news the day after the election. Figures... at least now I can go tell my friend "I told you so". Not sure how anyone thought it would be possible to make a dent in the deficit without raising taxes. ???