I blame the 2-party system

I just spent a week in Ventnor, NJ (which is to Philadelphians what the Cape is to Bostonians). I really do wish I lived in a swing state. Anyway, I was reading "The Nine" this week. One of the friends of my in-laws predicted that by the end of the book, I would have the fear of God in me and I would change my mind about voting for McCain. Here we go again.

Well, I really am a democrat, I swear. Well, mostly. I would categorize myself as a fiscal conservative, and in favor of smaller government, so, in that sense, I guess I am a republican. I am also strongly pro-Israel and that will sometimes cause me to vote one way rather than the other. On social issues, I lean way more to the left:

• marriage is whatever two adults want it to mean -- the government should not care one way or the other
• a woman must have the right to choose what is in her own best interest with respect to her own body (even if I or someone else thinks that it's icky)
• we need to save the earth for future generations
• (the list goes on...)

What I really want is a new party -- one for like minded liberals. I don't want higher taxes and I want the government to leave me alone as much as possible. I should be prevented by law from harming other people, but what I do privately should be my own business. It seems to me that the conservative movement is right on in some of that theory -- at least the way it is manifested in the state of New Hampshire (from what I can see). Why is it that the same party that wants smaller government also is in favor of wire taps? That it hates abortion (as murder) at the same time that it endorses capital punishment? I just don't get it.

Somebody help me!

Ramblings from the White Mountains

We drove up to NH on Friday for a "company trip". This is a new concept for me, and I have to say, I rather like it. The way it works is this: If the company does well in year x, then, in year x+1 all the employees get to go on a company sponsored vacation. There is a (limited) choice of dates/destinations and the hotel/resort is paid for for the whole family (extra for food for children over the age of 5, and, for now, all three of mine are 5 or under).

Jeff and I really love New Hampshire. We live in Massachusetts where, in the eastern part at least, the political climate is hotly liberal. New Hampshire is like a cool breeze for us McCain supporters (I won't get started in this post...). On the drive up we passed a car with the driver's political views spray painted on the window:

"NOBAMA"
"The best social program is a JOB"
and others.

So you don't get the wrong idea, I am actually a liberal at heart. I mean, I think I am on the right side of most moral debates. For instance, I am pro-choice, I think that whom a person chooses to marry is completely up to that person (and his choice of partner, of course). I used to be totally into small-scale communism (I don't think it works for political systems governing more than a community's worth of people) and still think that medicine might be better when socialized. But, in the last few years, I have been reading media from the other side. The Wall Street Journal is informing some of my more recent opinions. I am no longer a democrat because I feel my party has let me down.

But I digress.

This post is supposed to be about how amazingly beautiful New Hampshire is.

The White Mountains are breathtaking. I was up there a bunch of years ago to go to my friends' wedding (Jill and Steve) in Franconia Notch. Every where you look are green mountains and the way they interleave themselves in the landscape is just the way you would draw them if you were setting up a fantasy landscape. All the dark green in the foreground, working its way back to the light gray in the distance. Add in some late afternoon shadows and you've got me back to believing in God (well, maybe not the way the Rabbis would have wanted me to, but good enough).

I've always thought that I was the ocean kind of person; I believed myself incapable of living more than 50 miles from the ocean. I am now convinced that mountains may be more to the heart of me.

More on theism

A couple of weeks ago, Eli was being contentious at bedtime, refusing to put his pajamas on. I have started using threats/bribes to get my kids to listen to me. however, as they had already played their games (leapsters) I was at a loss of what to take away. I said, "Eli, if you don't ready for bed, I won't let you go to swim class tomorrow".

Eli stood up straight and defiantly declared, "You have to let me go to swim class; I need to learn how to swim!" (as he stomped his foot).

I countered, "Well, you won't have swim class if there is thunder."

"But how can you make it thunder?"

"I can pray to God for thunder"

Without missing a beat, Eli inquired, "Who's God?"

Oy vey. What rat hole did I just step into? I answered, carefully, "God is the guy who controls the weather."

In rapid fire, the following Q&A ensued:

"Where does he live?"

"God lives in Heaven".

"Do you know how to get there?"

Not wanting to enter into a conversation about death and the afterlife again, I dodged with, "You don't get there."

"Then, do you have his phone number?"

"God doesn't have a phone."

"Then how do you talk to him?"

I explained that all you need to do is talk, and God can hear you whereever you are. Eli was unconvinced and told me that didn't make sense. So much for his early religious education!