Why she's a liberal and I'm not July 10

I've been thinking a lot about some conversations I've had lately with a colleague of mine. She and I have some of the same gripes with our work situation, and we're discussing them a lot lately. Even though I still don't mention my political beliefs (but if pushed I will not lie), and she is an unabashed liberal, we have a lot of the same problems with the internal politics of the job. For some reason, maybe because of my mid-life crisis or maybe because I've had about enough, I am much more vocal about my concerns lately.

So even though we have a lot in common, we also disagree about many things. I am getting better at making my point without blowing my top when she goes into her talking points; I guess several years of holding my tongue is helping me ease out of the closet.

It's funny-I grew up in the suburbs of Philly and always considered myself a city girl, but in the last ten years I've spent a lot of time in what some arrogant folks call fly-over country, in small towns in central and northeastern PA. I'm starting to think these interactions helped me along my way to the beliefs I hold now; seeing how local businesses and residents approached life and work opened my eyes a bit. My colleague, however, is very stuck in her liberalism and really believes some of the nonsense and talking points, in fact she spews them all the time. LOL

Ironic how many things about the job oppress me while others enlighten me!

So-here's a couple points on which we disagree-I reserve the right to come back and add more. (Keep in mind there are many points outside politics on which we do agree, but then I am ok with liberals as long as we don't talk politics)

My colleague believes that average people will never be able to understand loan documents-the products are too complicated-and will always have to be "protected" from the big bad banks. I believe that except for outright fraud, which of course should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, borrowers have an obligation to understand all the aspects and intricacies of any and all loan documents they sign, and if they don't understand the paperwork, they shouldn't sign it. To me this is a no-brainer! Caveat emptor!

Second point-my colleague believes that everyone has the right to a high-paying job, and that no one should have to work two jobs to support a family. Well HELLO, this is so ridiculous from an economic standpoint; the only way to ensure this is communism-bring everyone down to the same substandard way of living. I myself believe that we all have to make our way in the world, and if some skills are in greater demand than others, people should be paid accordingly. You may ask, "What about the overpaid "stars" and athletes?" Well, someone thinks they are worth the money, and if you don't like it, don't contribute to it. Life is a series of choices, and we are free to choose how we spend our money and our time.

As I said, I reserve the right to come back and add to this when and if other things come up.

What do you think about these questions? Thanks for reading and commenting.