I'm a bleeding-heart, hippie-liberal:

It's time to tell the world how much of a "liberal" or "progressive" democrat I am. I voted for Barack Obama - and I still support him. Am I completely happy with the Obama Administration's progress thus far? I am not! While I may still support Obama, I am concerned that he hasn't done anywhere near enough to get the country back on the right track. In fact, I do not like the Obama "Administration" very much. So - the truth is that I am not satisfied with his progress thus far. I "hope" this can "change".

He's done more "talking" than doing. I know he loves being on television. He speaks well, that's for sure. However, talking incessantly to the American people isn't the way to get things done. It isn't easy being the president of the United States. So all the criticism in the world doesn't necessarily amount to very much.

People want to see more action. The common critique of Barack Obama is that he is a "centrist" democrat, not a "liberal" in any sense of the word. I agree. He seems to be in "the middle" of the political spectrum. Republicans seem to have moved a few notches further to the right, becoming "far, far right".

If we sit idly by on the sidelines texting and tweeting, consuming large amounts of junk and ignoring political and social realities, then - when bad domestic and foreign policies are put into action, we will be the ones to blame. It will be our fault because we didn't take action. Our political leaders work for us, not just for themselves! We are their bosses!

While I try to be politically neutral, objective and fair, I remain reluctant to call myself any particular label. I just happen to vote as a registered democrat and hold some pretty liberal views. I am generally against conservatives. I abhor the GOP (Republican Party), but I do NOT necessarily hate republicans themselves. I just can't stand their ideas and ideologies. I have some family members and friends who're republicans. I even have friends who call themselves libertarians.

Basically, libertarians are "republican light". So, like republicans, I treat libertarians with kid gloves and try to avoid confrontations with them because I disagree so much with their ideologies. When it comes to dealing with republicans or libertarians, it's best to agree to disagree, live and let live and avoid dramatic confrontation. I've become just as set in my ways as they are in theirs, so I know when and where to tread cautiously. I try not to rouse the rabble, so to speak. Changing minds is no longer an objective of mine. I used to think it was productive to try to "get" other people to "think like me" - but those days are gone and are now part of my past.

Some people claim that the Democrats and Republicans are essentially the same, ostensibly making one large corporate or "business" party. They claim this party is bought and paid for by corporate interests and that presidents are basically paid for by the business elites in this country. I don't know how "true" or "valid" this claim is, but it doesn't sound all that strange, especially considering the corrupt nature of humans in general.

I am certainly not a fan of any kind of conspiracy theory because they require extraordinary amounts of evidence to prove, and because they often-times seem too complex to be real. However - I do believe there are some theories that don't require too much evidence to be true. Some conspiracy theories *could* be true, but that alone doesn't necessarily make them valid. In politics, there's too much room for speculation and subjective opinions can often times get in the way of true, objective facts thereby resulting in confusion and political dysfunction.

Lastly, I believe many politicians are only interested in winning elections. They may care for "the issues", but by and large - they are primarily concerned with winning elections. It's very easy for politicians to become liars in order to achieve positions of power and influence. Many politicians become liars, cheaters and become drunk with power and corruption. Basically - I'm a philosopher. I consider myself "above politics". However, I do feel that if I'm going to be an opinion leader, I must be politically aware, astute and observant. As difficult as it may be for me to "be completely interested in politics", I must still learn as much as I can about politics so that I can make an informed opinion and share it with others.