REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT, OR INDEPENDENT?

Sometimes I wonder if anybody knows exactly what being a Republican, Democrat or an Independent means in these current times?

Today, generally speaking, Democrats are referred to as being "liberal" and Republicans are considered to be "conservative."  Is that all there is to the parties?  

If someone pulled a Jay Leno maneuver and went out onto the streets of any major city and asked people, "What party do you belong to?," and then ask, "Why?"  Most of them would probably state a party affiliation but would not be able to explain exactly why they belong to a certain political party.
 
In my father's day, when I was a child, he explained that Democrats were for the working man and the Republicans were for the rich man.  I thought my father was the smartest man on earth and I did not question his explanation...not until I was grown.  Being a Democrat, I voted for Jimmy Carter but changed parties during his term in office because his policies literally devastated my family's lives by allowing the interest rate to escalate to such high levels.  His "inaction" put my husband out of the construction business.

By the way, has anyone but me ever considered why Carter did not make an effort to keep the interest rates from climbing out of site?  He went into office as a "rich" man and I am sure his investments doubled or tripled during his term in office and he came out even "richer" than when he went in.  What would have been his motivation to try and figure out how to lower the interest rates?

During Carter's presidency, I became a Republican.  Why?  Because the Republican's polices are geared toward businesses...that creates jobs for people.  My husband started another construction business.  Over the years, my husband has provided a living for hundreds of people. 

My uncle James, who was an absolutely wonderful person, worked in a plant.  He always aligned with my father's explanation of what it meant to be a Democrat.  He was always very critical of the Republicans.  Knowing he defined the word Democrat as being synonymous with the working class man, one day I asked him, "What if everyone was a Democrat?  Who would provide the jobs?"  His son worked for our company for seventeen years.  He was stumped for an answer.

Things have changed dramatically since my father's day.  I am not sure myself what each party stands for anymore.  Today, the policies of both parties have become blurred and the politicians are performing more like contestants in a football game, with the same fury that the University of Alabama exhibits when they play the Auburn Tigers.  Politicians seem to be driven more by the desire to get re-elected ,with the power, money and prestige that it brings with the positions, than looking out for the welfare of the American people.

I am changing parties again.  I have decided to become an Independent.