I remember the days when I fancied myself a liberal. I believed I'd assembled the facts and put together a system of beliefs and ethics which would provide a framework for my personal functional ideology. That meant a bleeding heart, tree hugging, vegetarian with socialist tendencies. What was I thinking? "Fiscal conservative" seemed repugnant to me, like money was more valuable than the health of other humans lives. That isn't true at all. Conservatives CONSERVE. They don't abuse resources. I value human life just as much as I ever did. I value each and every person with a compassion and a bleeding heart to match any well meaning leftist. I still think the same things in life are important, I haven't become money hungry. I've become simplistic in my needs and wants, donated half my clothes and kitchen supplies, and cleansed my life of excess. I still value freedom and happiness. I want everyone to be as free to make their own decisions as possible. That's how I care about people. It's not my goals that have changed, it's my understanding of what it takes to achieve my goals. The issues have shifted. I'm dreaming bigger. I don't want to watch money be spent frivolously and taxes increased in a spiral of economic decline. No one does. But Money is power, and fixing the economy eliminates the tug of war battle for the funds necessary to run inessential public services. Its through this that I begin to understand how similar the Dems and Reps really are. The confines of my mind, the structures in place to assist me in making decisions are burst wide open. My brain has never been more open to new interpretations. I was completely wrong in my political ideology. I want to know how wrong I am about everything else. I'm excited to rediscover my world.