In January of 2002, I registered from an Independent to a Republican per a fellow A.S.O. Student Government Senators recommendation that I "get involved in the process." A year and four months later to the day, I left the Republican Party and did a political 180, registering as a Democrat. In the student government at my college, which was "controlled" by the Democrats and being known as fairly conservative on some issues, this surprised people in both parties. The following discusses why I chose to make this decision.

My decision to leave the Republican party was one that I pondered for nine months. It was motivated by a list of factors, including some changing political views, actions the national and state Republican party took, and my realization that my views really lean toward the left, even though only by a thin margin.

What first influenced me to question my party affiliation was the election of November 2002. It was the first midterm election I had voted in. I voted for four Democrats and two Republicans. Usually a person registering for one party votes for the majority of that party, not the opposite. It is true that I would have voted for Richard Riordan instead of Gray Davis for governor had not Bill Simon been chosen in the primary, but still, it was enough to catalog in the back of my mind for future reference.

In regards to politics, my views toward abortion changed after reading Margaret Sanders autobiography. Margaret Sanders was one of the first women to advocate abortion as an option for women with unwanted pregnancies. She graphically illustrated in her book the conditions that inner-city children were living in, how some wore newspapers for clothing and how many were starving to death. My expanded explanation for my pro-choice view is one I will save for another essay, but my view changed from pro-life to pro-choice the day that I read this autobiography. I do not advocate abortion, but I believe that it is more merciful than for a child to starve to death or to eventually die due to the mothers failure to take care of herself properly during her gestation period.

A view that changed over the past few years is my view of people controlling other peoples lives. Over time, I slowly realized that the reason that there are so many conflicts and turmoil in this world is because people try to control others lives through political enforcement, through forced religious conversion, through terrorism, and telling people what careers they should pursue. Many people feel that it is their right and their mission in life to force others to believe what they believe. The Republican party, sadly enough, exhibits this flaw. They believe that it is their "holier than thou" right to impose their so-called religious philosophy down peoples throats and control peoples personal lives, including their sexual activities in bed. After the recent ruling in Lawrence v. Texas and even prior to that ruling, the Republican party stated that it does not know how to mind its own business. I refer to Senator Santorums obnoxious comparison of homosexuality to bigamy and incest. Prior to this ruling, if people engaged in sexual practices out of the "norm," they could be jailed and/or fined according to that states laws. The Republican party supported this philosophy.

The next reason is the conflict in Iraq. President Bush stated several times in his speeches from November to March that he planned to take action in Iraq. The moment I heard him, my intuition told me that no matter what anyone else said, no matter what anyone else did, he was going to wage war in Iraq. I believe that it is wise to consider everyones opinions first before making a major decision, and if the majority is against it, to not take action during that time or wait until later. President Bush ultimately decided to go to war in Iraq without the U.N.s support. Though I have questioned the effectiveness of that body, I believe it is our international communication that has kept the United States from going to World War III. President Bush is now trying to get additional troop support from other countries after going to war without the support of the U.N., which is made up of various countries. Prior to that, Congress abdicated its war-making power under Article I of the United States Constitution to President Bushanother maneuver backed heavily by Republicans.

When I took my Political Science class in the summer of 2002, I realized that though I do not care for President Clintons moral choices during his presidency (a politicians morals are above politics on my list, because I believe a persons morals has heavy impact on their political choices), I agreed heavily with his North-American Trade Agreement intiative and his Wellfare Reform initiative even though it was supported by Republicans. I agreed with his effort to strike down the discriminatory practices of the United States Military against gays, even though that met with only partial success with the "dont ask, dont tell" policy. You can read my opinion on that in the "Gays In the Military" essay. Despite his bad ethics which tarnished my view of him as President of the United States, I found that I supported many of his political policies.

The final variable that sealed my decision to change political parties was meeting a local businessman in the area. In order to provoke me to reconsider an issue or to question my own position in politics or life choices, the person must provide me with evidence and reasoning. Being a moderate Democrat, this person had all of the ingredients to concoct this introspective cocktail. We discussed President Bushs policy in Iraq, abortion, wellfare, and other issues. Our discussion about abortion finalized my view on that issue, as well as the Republicans imposition of its "lifestyle" (which it itself has trouble following) on other people. Discussing politics with this person, who discussed them with me in an open-minded and considerate manner, finally "pushed me over the edge." On May 09, he picked up a voter registration form from the post office. On May 12, I mailed it. On July 02, I received my voter registration confirmation. My registration as a Democrat was complete.

The above is an example of how ones views, whether in politics, personal lifestyle, and life choices can change with life experiences, meeting different people, and seeing how people really operate; whether they really live up to their morals or not. My views changed over a period of a year and four months with the way I voted, reconsidering my views on various issues, and the businessman I met. It goes to show that nothing is really written in stone.