Confession: I am a Former Liberal Democrat

C'mon, who's shocked? Oh wow.... really? Well, this may be a sort of "the gist of it" post because I have work so it has to be quick. I'll promise to explain as well as I can with my limited time.

Yes, I am a former liberal Democrat. The first presidential election I voted in was in 2004 -- the race between George Bush and John Kerry. This was almost two years prior to my reversion. I was young. I was incredibly ignorant and naive. I wasted my vote on John Kerry. I was apathetic to politics and my parents were registered Democrats so I went along with what they and my friends said. I didn't bother looking into the issues. All I knew was that Democrats supposedly helped the poor and the "little people" while Republicans were the opposite. Again, I was young and ignorant. Plus, Kerry was "Catholic" and, well, I was "Catholic" too so why not? Oh, how wrong I was.

I supported a lot of things that liberals support. I was poorly catechized and did not know my faith beyond reciting an Our Father and a Hail Mary. How on earth I was allowed to do my confirmation without proper study at 13 is beyond me. I look back and cringe at the things I said and did but, as I said, I was young and ignorant (and, yes, I will keep repeating this.) It's not a good excuse but it's the truth.

I wasn't living the best life then either. I've never drunk alcohol, done drugs, smoked, or done anything with anyone that I would be ashamed to tell my future husband. In that way, I have always been a "good girl." I did, however, do a lot of stupid things (i.e. lie over the stupidest things; part of why I detest lying so much now) and I was easily swayed. Even then, when my friends were all on the "ugh, religious/conservatives need to lay off" train, I wasn't 100% convinced.

Looking back, the first sign that I would soon leave that world came when my then best friend told me she was having an abortion. She was not the first friend to have one (another friend had had one at the age of 14). I was shocked. She already had a baby (a beautiful baby boy) so I couldn't understand why she would want to kill her own innocent child. Yes, even during those "lost" years, I knew that she was carrying a human being, not a "clump of cells" as some liberals repulsively call a baby. She told me that she simply couldn't have the child as she could barely handle her firstborn. I was against it but I "supported" her... and by "supported" I meant I would be there for her during the aftermath. I was against it and wished she would change her mind but I didn't think there was anything I could do about it. After that, I felt so disgusted that I pulled away. That, along with other factors, caused me to slowly leave those "friends" behind. To this day, I am so sad and so repulsed with myself for having said that I "supported" her when I really didn't... and more so for not saying anything. And, for the record, this and other things have long been confessed.

I was "against the war" (the way liberals presented it) though my high school sweetheart was (and still is) in the U.S. Army and my childhood sweetheart is in the U.S. Navy. I was grateful to them for their service but I as a "liberal Democrat" couldn't support it. Again, say it with me this time, I was young and ignorant. Oh, and don't get me started on the whole issue of gay marriage. You can probably guess what my thoughts were on it (again, received my information from the hateful liberal spew I heard on a daily basis), before I knew the true sanctity of marriage. This last comment will lose me some of my last liberal friends but I can't hide my beliefs. It wouldn't be fair to myself or to God.

When I returned to the Church, I saw that a lot of errors of my youth. (btw, my "lost years" were between the ages of 14 and 21.) The Roman Catholic Church did nothing to me... except show me the truth and love. I spent a long time hating myself for what I had once supported, though I had been told on a regular basis (by priests) not to be so hard on myself. While I had sinned, I had done it out of ignorance. As a poorly catechized young woman who was never taught that the things I supported were wrong, I didn't know better. Now I do.

While I haven't been too vocal about my support for a specific presidential candidate or anything of the like, I can say, with honesty, that this is the first time in three elections that I really looked at the candidates and the issues. The last one, I voted for McCain-Palin because of Obama's pro-choice record (which has since gotten worse). This time around, I will be voting Romney-Ryan. While I don't agree with everything on Romney's agenda, I believe that the unborn and religious freedom would be better protected with him as president than under Obama-Biden. While I'm not a registered Republican nor have I been a registered Democrat for a while now, I am voting as a Catholic. I am voting for life and for changes that will help this nation pick ourselves up from the economic and moral mess we're in. Needless to say, this is the second time I will NOT be voting for Obama. Also, every time I read this, I am reminded of how I should be voting this election:

"Put no trust in princes,
in mere mortals powerless to save." (Psalm 146:3)

First time young voters, please do yourselves, your consciences, and your souls a favor and vote carefully. Don't let the mainstream media tell you anything. Don't be swayed by anyone's sweet talk. Look at the issues and candidates for yourself. Pray that you and others make the right decisions because, as cheesy and cliche as this may be, this future really is in your (and my) hands.

... and this was officially longer than I planned. Oops. lol. Oh well. The little lady is coming over soon for tutoring so I shall go.

I hope we all stand together and make the right choices tomorrow. My prayers are with you. :)

And now, off to tutoring and trying to not feel crummy (cold-like symptoms are threatening once again).

As always, thanks for reading and God bless.