Only 2 more days until this is over

I knew I had to get to the polling places early. I read about Atlanta having a two hour wait for early voting and it drove me to immediately pull out my registration card and search out my polling station. I was 4th in line waiting for the doors to open last Saturday morning.

Although, I don't know why I even bother voting at all in this uber red county of this deeply red state. I wonder what it would be like to live in some place in the north east. I see electoral maps of the US and see quite a large patch of blue up there. A girl can dream, can't she?

I understand that older, white generations tend to be conservative. It doesn't surprise me much when they rail against Obama as a "terrorist" or when they wail that if he wins he'll put "their" (I assume: minority) needs above "ours". Listening to the fears of these people, I think, says much more about them than it does anything else.

What bothers me more, though, is when someone my age (30-ish) or younger proudly claims they are conservative. What I hear is this:

► That they might realize there are glaring inequalities in the world, but they just don't care. They like things the way they are and don't want them changed because it might inconvenience them.

► That women are valued for only how many children they can produce and how well she supports her husband. Heaven forbid you mention you don't *want* any children!

► That if a woman's birth control fails she should be saddled with a child she didn't want and tried to prevent. I'm amazed that people who are pro-life are only concerned that a child is born and not the quality of later life. I'll bet they choose to ignore the facts that teenage mothers are much less likely to be educated because they have to spend their time caring for a baby. This creates a cycle of uneducation, poverty, and possible abuse.

► That there can only *be* a wife and husband. Forget that people are different and one person's marriage has NO impact on another person. At all.

► They love Jesus and think you should too. If you don't, you will (and rightfully should be) subjected to horrible and torturous afterlife. And present life, if they have anything to do with it. Their religion is the ONLY way.

► That science is an affront to religion. Actually, this is one point on which I agree. Science rewards questions. It takes the "magic" out of natural processes gives us specific, technical answers without having to throw up our hands in ignorance saying "Well, God did it!" I have an idea: Let's teach children to think critically about problems.

► That they are worried about all the brown skinned people coming to live in their country. Building the Great Wall of America should do the trick! But only on the southern border, of course. We're not so worried about the light skinned people coming over. They're ok.

► They're absolutely terrified of the S word. That'd be socialism. I think they have ideas of government standing on corners handing out money. That's not how it works, people! More money for government programs that can help more people. That means that you wouldn't have to be completely destitute to get some help. I notice, though, the same people decrying government handouts are the first in line for government stimulus checks. Go figure.

All of this makes me so sad. Frankly, I don't think things ever change. I see the same themes all throughout history. Take Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, for example.

He developed into an icon of equality for all people of Rome

....

Many farms were lost simply because men were killed or wounded in the wars and unable to work their lands. According to Roman law, land gained in such a manner was to be shared equally among the masses, and not simply distributed to the Patricians.

....

He introduced legislation, a concilium plebes, for a creation of land allotments to the Plebes out of the public lands won in the Punic Wars. This would restore land ownership to more Plebes and satisfy a variety of social needs. The ranks of land-owning citizens would be increased, making more people eligible for service in the legions, while putting more people to work and balancing the social scale, if even by a small amount.

....

Gracchus' bill, as sound and perfectly legal as it may have been, was immediately opposed by the Senate. Not only would the bill have a direct effect on the benefits they themselves could receive

Sound familiar? This is depressing. I think they ended up killing him.
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A note on comments: Offended? I don't care. You're not going to change my mind. If you feel you *have* to comment, please make an effort at coherence. I will swiftly and unapologetically delete any that contain phonetical spelling (U R DUM) or bible quotes as "proof".