Independent Voters

Independent Voters are a thought conflict. Independent Voters do not exist. When someone self identifies as an Independent Voter they do so with the meaning that they may vote for any party. That does not make you an Independent Voter. That makes you a party switcher. An Independent Voter would be someone who votes based on Independent thought which I assure you does not happen often.

Voters are persuaded by political will on either side. Where one is a normal conservative but may vote for a Democrat on occasion does not make them an independent voter. It makes them a conservative voter who is not resolute in his/her beliefs or can not find a candidate that shares enough of his her beliefs. Often the reason a person votes for a candidate they normally would not is because of one big issue. If you believe that Abortion is wrong, but believe you should save the environment you are not an independent voter. You show independent thoughts but you are a conservative thinker who happens to believe that saving the environment is important.

In this case if you voted for a Democrat because you believe more strongly in saving the environment you are not doing this country any good, because what we need in this country is more moderate candidates all around with good ideas in all things. Why not make your voice heard and petition a Republican candidate to be more concerned with the environment than switch your vote.

Politics becomes more and more divisive everyday. Republicans are on the verge of splitting into a more conservative branch, and liberals can go to far left sometimes. We must return to a middle ground before we can never agree on anything, but one way we should not return to the middle ground is by lying to ourselves and saying we are independent voters when really we are just moderate voters with no good choices on either side.

Are Atheists more Religious than Christians?

The idea that Atheists could be more religious than Christians is a thought conflict. However, if you dig deeper you can see that this argument has some merit. What is religion based on? Religion is based fundamentally upon belief. I would argue that Atheists have more belief in their ideal than Christians.

We all know that Christians belive in some form or fashion in a higher being and an afterlife. There are numerous interpretations of the being and the versions of afterlife, but those two basic assumptions can be left in tact. Atheists on the other hand believe that when you die that is the end of life as we know it and thought for the deceased individual stops. And that is where I posit that Atheists are more religious than Christians.

You see, Christians live their lives with the assumption that after they die they go to an afterlife. Whether it is heaven or hell has no bearing on this argument. I would argue that any state of being, where one is continued the ability to free think, is a better state of being than that of an Atheists version of the afterlife. Can you imagine ever not being able to think? It is the scariest thought I can imagine. Being in eternal pain, in a hell so unimaginable, is more appealing to me than not being able to at least recognize that I am feeling that pain and thinking that it sucks big time.

Christians can live life with a greater sense of ease knowing that they have an afterlife, even more so if they end up in Heaven. With the overwhelming majority of the population believing in some form of god and afterlife, believe me when I tell you that I am an Atheist for a belief so strong I can accept a future where I can't think. That is Belief my friends, on a scale no Christian can match. Not being able to think is more dire than any hell a Christian could come up with to scare me into belief with.

There is no possibility for a happy ending for me. When I die, I no longer think. When a Christian dies depending on if he or she has absolved him/herself of their sins, they can go somewhere to think. The fact that I can't do that because I don't believe in God, and that I continue to believe that shows how strongly I believe there is no afterlife. So, make a point that I am not more religious than Christians, but you can not make a point that I believe less fully in something than a Christian.

Its difficult to loose weight.

Losing weight being a difficult task is a thought conflict. Losing weight is in fact an extremely easy thing to accomplish, and could occur with little change to your daily routine if you have dedication. Unfortunately, everyone wants an unattainably easy way to lose weight while being able to eat and do whatever they want, regardless of how gross it is.

The simple formula for losing weight is to intake less and or burn more calories in a day than you take in via consumption of food. This is not hard, and can be simplified by watching the calories you eat. Most people do not track the calories they intake for a whole day. We may look at calorie information for the worst foods we eat, but actually tracking the calories we eat in a day is a rarity. Although, initially somewhat taxing, tracking all your daily calories can become second nature. Calorie listings for all foods can be found on line, and even home made meals can be counted with a little work. I know, there is that word again, work.

After knowing how many calories you take in to feel satisfied, you can calculate your basal metabolic rate, usually a burn off rate of about 2,000 calories per day. Eat less than that amount and you will lose weight slowly over the course of the year. Eating till you feel satisfied can be tricky too though, let's examine that gesture. Eating till you are satisfied requires a person to really think about how hungry they are and the food they are consuming. A person can not really think about their food when they are jamming it in their mouth as they drive in their car and talk on their cell phone. That is an exaggeration (for some), but really appreciating your food and eating slowly enough to feel satisfied is also a rarity. Next time you eat, stop every once and a while mid meal and take a nice long drink of water, and continue eating. It will slow you down, fit more water into your diet, and help you recognize when you feel full.

After that, picking an exercise to do in the day is not very difficult. I like to walk. In fact, I will walk wherever I can time permitting; Which once you walk for a while, can be most places you might not. Taking the stairs and not the elevator is a great way to fit in exercise. Stairs for me are the same efficiency as an elevator for a fat person. Walking to my lunch eatery of choice, is a few minutes out of the way from driving in lunch time traffic in many circumstances. Or simply adding a quick jog or resistance training routine to your daily life will gain you the extra edge you need to lose weight in a low impact simple way. I suggest resistance bands from your local big box store or my personal favorite, Bodylastics.

Is capitalism in the best interest of our country?

Pure Capitalism, and even restricted Capitalism, as the best form of economic policy is a thought conflict. We have learned this lesson many times and forgotten the lesson just as many. The most recent learning we as a society have encountered is the banking crisis we are experiencing. We now hate banks, even though they are a product of the Capitalist system we love so much.

Banks are and always will get rich off of a service they provide to the community. The community needs the services and will continue to support them. The community also ironically has a say in how the banks treat the people they serve, via public shares held claiming ownership in many of the national banks. Yet, as with voting, people either under utilize or mis utilize their rights as citizens and would rather complain than act.

While it's easy to see the ginormous profits the banks continually make on people as a whole and complain they are not serving the best interest of said people, they are serving the best interest of those people that matter most. Share holders. Share holders dictate what banks do, in that they want the banks to make as much money as possible. This unambiguous and unifying theme is the only real regulation on the bank. Sure there are superfluous regulations instituted by the Government, but they are easily manipulated. So, in the end the banks do all in their power to make as much money as they can. It is the definition of Capitalism.

Capitalism breeds greed and corruption. When people start to make money they want more and more of it. Not understanding their role in stock ownership, shareholders tell banks to make as much money as possible hoping they can make money along with them. When in reality any money they make from the stock price increase they will lose when the bank takes them up the backside with fees and interest on something.

Even with all this outrage about the banks, we are left with the two mainstays of the American dream. Green and Capitalism. They shall never be spoken ill of and they will always remain the driving force in this nation.