Ever since Ashley took that course in US government and politics, it got sort of really interested in politics. I don't know if the class had anything to do with it since the political situation in the US got pretty interesting around the same time.

I've started to realize my own political beliefs. I'm starting to learn how to think about an issue and form an opinion about it. I'm also starting to see how other people form their political opinions and how those opinions correlate with one another. For example: if you like a strong military, you are opposed to public health insurance. If you believe in the legitimacy of the theory of anthropogenic climate change, you believe in capping the salaries of finance industry executives. If you disagree with Darwin's theory of evolution, you believe in abstinence only sexual education. These seemingly unrelated beliefs I have found to be highly correlated in two types of people.

There are only two types of people in our nation. No matter how much everyone blames our partisan problems on the "two-party system", there are truly two, diametrically opposed types of people: Conservatives and liberals.

I work at Pratt & Whitney which makes, among other things, military jet engines. They employ a huge number of people in Connecticut and they make the best jet engines in the world. With that said, they have a strong tie to the US military. Many of the employees at P&W are strong proponents of high-quality national defense. That means they are conservative. Conservatives believe that the government should invest in a strong military. The way I see it, the military is a great example of a socialist society. Firstly, the military is funded by the taxpayers. Second, everyone in the military is given what they need: training, salary, food, medical attention, opportunity to excel... Everything a socialist society supports. The very same conservative demographic believes that outside the military, no one is automatically entitled to have their basic needs met. As a liberal, I work around people all the time who continue to sing the praises of the free-market and capitalism but who also venerate a military culture which, in my opinion, is the antithesis of a free market. This is a contradiction

This says to me that the belief system associated with the label "conservative" does not have any rational basis. It comes from a historical basis which was handed down from the ruling class in the time of our country's inception. They were White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants who owned property and had a right mind not to give it away. The same is true today about conservatives. They believe in the value of hard work and getting what you deserve. This is the concept of equality in opportunity.

Equality is something in which everyone says they believe. The interpretation of the word equality can be twofold: equality in opportunity or equality in results. The latter is typically the view of the liberal democrat. In cultures that have been historically oppressed, it appears to be more common to believe in equality in results which leads to concepts like affirmative action and some social services.

I'm not sure yet, but I think I believe in the concept of equality in treatment. Everyone should be given the same opportunity be means of equally fulfilling everyone's basic needs. The three beliefs I hold that brand me as a liberal are: Everyone should have free and appropriate education up to bachelor's degree level, everyone should have adequate, affordable, preventative health care, and our nation should invest in highly sustainable energy policies. I do believe that conservatives agree with these tenets, but they are lower on their priorities.

My one wish is that the two opposing groups of people in our country realize that we do have common beliefs. We could achieve them if everyone would abandon their differences and meditate on their similarities.

Just wake me up when it's over. I can't bear to think about politics anymore.