So I am back from Washington DC. What a busy trip! We met up with so many friends and family in the last ten days that my head is still spinning.
The wedding we attended was full of people who were all involved in the military either directly through active service or as civilians contracted to do military work. It was actually quite awe-inspiring. They were all so genuinely and sincerely doing their best at their jobs. I have never been in a room with so many militarily connected people. My curiosity drove me to ask everyone what their opinion was on the presidential election this year. To my surprise, the majority supported Obama rather than McCain.
During this election campaign season, the media has hinted that Obama does not support the Iraq war and therefore does not support our military. So I was stunned to find that the people who are involved in the military would support him. I have been conflicted about this issue because I feel that as a lay person, I have no way of knowing what the best military strategies for our country are. I have to trust our elected officials to do what's best. It was quite eye-opening to find that those persons who are actually privy to the inner workings of our military choose Obama.
It is always refreshing to be around people who do and see different things in their lives than I do. It makes the world such a bigger place and moderates my views of the world. National Public Radio had a bit today on how being around like-minded people tends to make one's views more extreme. The discussion was about the Republican rallies.
Using the Republican rallies as an example, people at the rally express views and ideas that support the same position. This makes them even more sure that they are right and Democrats are wrong. Plus, in order to be the best Republican you can be, people tend to go to the extreme. So a person proves that they support McCain by not only agreeing with McCain, but by demonizing his opponent.
So although it is good for women who value natural childbirth to find each other, it is also good to be open to women who value technology during childbirth and to the many more who are somewhere in between. This keeps us from going to the fringe ends of the spectrum.
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