Religion and Politics: Is It Safe?

There are two topics that shouldn't be discussed amongst friends and family unless they agree with you: religion and politics. Being as interested in politics since I was 16, it's been hard to keep to that promise. Especially nowadays, it's difficult to avoid both. I have family, friends and acquaintances who are staunch Progressives, middle-of-the road Democrats, Independents, middle-of-the-road Republicans, loyal Republicans and Conservatives.

Because we are bombarded with misinformation or not enough information, I want to provide research where politics impacts all of us and to state the facts as fairly as I can. I've added a new tab to my blog titled "Politics".

How am I qualified? Years ago, when I was in high school and college, I participated in debate contests throughout California and Arizona. To effectively debate the assigned topic (and win), one had to know both sides of an argument. This was a time before the Internet and smart phone. When I wasn't debating, I was in the library researching and reading newspapers and magazines from every point of view, writing the good arguments down on index cards.

Years later, I became a Systems Analyst for several companies. The most important part of my job was researching what was needed and finding the traps where things can go wrong. All of this was collected into a descriptive document that the clients reviewed and approved; and interpreted those requirements into specifications for the programmers. Essentially, I had to learn two languages -- one that would speak for the business and "nerd talk" so the programmers understood exactly what had to be done.

To put these political topics into perspective, I will have to describe how we, as a nation, got to where we are today. This will be a series of blogs that provide the framework. As certain ideas becomes news, I'll add blogs that are topic-specific.

The first part of the series will be Civics lessons, but ones you won't have remembered in high school:

• The Democratic Party -- how it was developed and what is its platform

• The Republican Party -- how it was developed and what is its platform

• The birth of political tribalism: Republican vs Democrat

• The Electoral College concept

• Gerrymandering

The second half will be topics that are newsworthy but haven't had enough meat reported such as:

• Minimum wage issue

• The right to privacy

• The right to bear arms

• Racial and sex equity

If there are topics where you are curious or want more information, add a comment to this blog and I'll get on it!