The Empire Page

Week Two: Recent History: What Happened From Then Until Now 

Does each of you have a college education? What level of education did each of you reach?

Steve:  Yes, I have a masters Level B.A. in English Literature, BS in Elementary Education, MS in Special Education and am currently working on my MS in Education Administration

Gary:  Thanks Doug, I get to look like the lazy one. I attended Herkimer County Community College (one year) woo hoo! Then, a year at Simmons School of Mortuary Science (a trade school) and received a Certificate in Restorative Art Derma Surgery. Steve has enough degrees for both of us!

If you did get a degree, in what discipline or field? 

Steve:  Education

Gary:  Hard knocks!

What does each of you do for a living? 

Steve:  Special Education Teacher

Gary:  Self-employed Shopkeeper, Landlord, Semi-retired.

Did the fact you are gay influence you in what you decided to do in life? 

Steve: NO

Gary: NO

What is each of your political affiliation, if any?

 Steve: Independent

 Gary: Independent

Does the fact you were gay influence your political views? And if so, how? Please explain briefly.

Steve: No, I vote based on the individual and the positions, not their party affiliation. I listen to what a person has to say regardless the political affiliation.

Gary: I’d have to agree with Steve. We are all individuals and the whole party line thing has gotten so ridiculous that you truly need to be informed and know who you are supporting. It’s not a matter of simply just walking into the voting booth and pushing a lever. I believe that’s part of this countries problem. So many people only ‘half listen’ and think they are hearing it all.  Sorry, for the extended version or my “soapbox” version Doug.

Let me ask one more obvious question triggered by the last question I had on the survey.

Will candidate’s views on same sex marriage alone, sway your vote away from them? In other words, if you agree with all they stand for and their entire platform but they are against same sex marriage, will that one factor cause you not to vote for them?

Steve: Honestly I cannot believe that I would agree with everything anyone had to say if they didn’t support gay marriage. There just seems to be a lot of acceptance issues across the board that need to be addressed and not just gay marriage. 

Gary: I must say if I agree with all of their points and see that they are not on board with the Civil Rights of every human being in America, then how can I trust that the balance of what they are saying is so. You know what I mean? It is EVERY Americans inalienable right to Life, Liberty AND the Pursuit of Happiness. So NO, I would not vote for that individual.

So now you should have a pretty good sense of each member of this couple. The next set of questions will be getting into the meatier topics of same sex marriage and is the heart of the discussion and the real reason for this series. Stay tuned. In the interim, please let us know how you feel about the issues surrounding this topic.

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com