Quick political conversation with a student- Talking politics with our fellow countrymen.

[Colobo]

Katzenkavalier is a graduate assistant at our local university, and he teaches basic Spanish courses to undergrads who happen to be his age, a bit younger or older. Anyway, he likes to talk with his students after class, and usually they talk about all sorts of topics, including politics.

Today, Katz had a nice conversation from a student from Alabama who identifies herself as an "independent liberal" but voted for Bush in 2004 (go figure). I talked to her about my Republican past and my decision to come out of the closet as the liberal Democrat I always was. This is what she had to say about the current race:

-She says she has been watching the debates but doesn't really know the candidates very well. She knows Clinton and Obama on the Dem side and Thompson and Giuliani on the Rep side.

-When I mentioned Romney, she said: "Who?"

-When I mentioned Edwards, she said: "Who?"

-When I asked her if she liked Hillary, she said: "She scares me." Why, I asked. She replied: "She's all about power."

-She mentioned that "that guy Obama seems to be very good". I could have told her he was my guy, but decided not to influence her opinions. Just answered "he's a very good guy indeed".

-When I mentioned Thompson to her, she smiled and said: "I can't help to think about Law and Order when I see him. That's my favorite show."

-When asked about Giuliani, she said: "Well, I don't know..."

So, who is she planning to support in 08? "I don't know yet..."

[Selatius]

1. Where does she get her information from? CNN?

I can note that I began drifting further and further left the less time I devoted to watching corporate news and the more time I devoted to meditating on economic issues, meditating on the past and its lessons, and the implications for the future.

I came from a household that was very apolitical, apathetic even, but ultimately, I developed an affinity for socialists and social democrats and various left-libertarian ideologies such as individualist anarchism.

I likely would not have made this ideological change if it weren't for the fact that I stopped watching and started reading, mostly about the past. From there, I thought my way into the current stances I hold, but those stances are still changing because I'm still learning.