One thing I’ve noticed is that people tend to choose a political party and then vote for them exclusively whenever elections come along. But, personally, I feel like an allegiance to a specific political group is going to be quite an unhealthy thing to foster. It’s important to value ideas, but not so much specific parties.
The thing about political parties is that they change. You can’t just be loyal to one all the time because of this very reason. While you may agree with Party A when you vote this time, when it comes time to vote again, you may find that your views don’t quite match up. I know which party is generally closest to my own view, but that doesn’t mean they’re always guaranteed my vote or support.
I appreciate that people are busy and don’t have time to research politics to any large extent, so just voting for the same party all the time is an easy way of knowing that your vote will generally reflect your views. But it’s important to check out the policies of other parties and to avoid getting into the habit of thinking that one party is always right. Just because you agree with them in certain areas, that doesn’t mean that they’re always right or that you would agree with them in all areas.
While I am fond of certain parties, I would not say I am a loyal voter for any party. I think that if more people had this approach (and if more people actually voted!) we’d have a better political landscape.
(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)