Politics

As I am reading Liberty and Tyranny, I can't help but to reflect on how far I have come on understanding politics, why it is important, and how it effects our daily lives. Growing up, I could not care any less about politics, who the president was, or what debates were currently going throught the House and Senate. I could not tell you how the republicans and the democrats differed on the issues and I certaintly could not tell you what principles this country was founded on. Embarrasingly, during the 2000 presidential election, I actually thought, for way to long, that George H. W. Bush was running for a 2nd term. What changed? Just before the 2004 election, I decided that I wanted to exercise my right to vote for the first time. So, I decided to read up on the views of all the candidates running. I found that I didn't really care about the issues. My problem was that I was not rooted in any principles. My gut was telling me that I should feel one way, but years of casual observance were pulling me to the exact opposite. I didn't know what to believe or what to think. So, I decided I should read a book to help me find my way. The most popular book at the time, and from a casual principe-less stanpoint, the most touted book at the time was Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's my Country." I bought the book of off half.com and read every page. I'll admit that Michael Moore made some very compelling arguments. However, the whole time I was reading the book, something did not feel right about it. Years of casual observance conditioned me to believe that what was written in this book was truth, but I just did not agree with it. The sad thing was that I could not tell you why. I had no principles to stand on. So, I continued on. The local Erie AM station, WTAM, broadcast the Rush Limbaugh show at noon and the Sean Hannity show at 3pm. I started to listen to these guys as much as possible. Contrary to the way I felt reading Michael Moore, listening to Rush and Hannity spoke to my core beliefs. So, for the last 6 years, I have been listening to talk radio almost daily to obtain a better understanding of the world we live in. It is this progression that has brought me to Mark Levin's "Liberty and Tyranny".