Born Again Republican

I have to start out this posting by saying I was foolish in my younger days. You might say "Gary, don't be so hard on yourself, we were all young once and did foolish things, it's part of growing up". I would thank you for the kind words and then drop the bombshell on you. Yes, that's right, I used to be a Democrat! I know I know, how can a career military man be a Democrat? That's a good question.
To understand the answer, you have to know where and how I grew up. I hail from Maine, which in case you live in a vaccuum, is a very liberal state. Additionally, I grew up in a household that prized television above all. I was a TV junkie. What's worse is that I actually believed the garbage spewing out of that demonic box. Since the majority of programs and news channels available during my youth were liberal, a young naive boy was easily steered toward a democratic life.
I never considered myself a democrat, as a matter of fact, contary to my wife's upbringing, politics was rarely, if ever discussed in my home. I didn't care about current affairs (unless it involved the Boston Bruins), nor did I pay attention to what was happening around me. I was perfectly content to live out my life in a bubble, oblivious to the world around me, as long as it didn't affect me personally.
Three things happened to me that would forever alter the course of my life and how I view the world. The first eye opening experience happened at the ripe old age of 18. I entered college immediately after high school not because I was ready, but because that is what everyone else was doing. I was immature, which became apparent at the end of the first semester when the University put me on academic probation because of my horrible GPA. Along with probation came the loss of my financial aid. It was at this point that my parents made a very sensible decision (although I didn't think so at the time). They informed me that they would no longer pay for me to attend college as I had proved too irresponsible. So it was off to the working world. I worked several factory jobs long enough to see my future and decide that I needed to do something else.
The second experience came when I decided to enlist in the Navy. This decision came not out of patriotism, rather out of an intense desire to leave home and do something meaningful. It was during my initial 8 years in the military that I began to have an interest and appreciation for something other than my own world. However I have to credit my wife and my father-in-law for really broadening my horizons. Through them I learned how powerful the human brain can be when it is occupied by something other than the television.
The final event happened on September 11, 2001. Although I had started down the road to conservatism several years prior (it's amazing what kids can do), I can look at this event as the turning point in my view of the world. It's as though I'd been in a deep sleep, awoke suddenly, looked at the alarm clock and realized I was late. The rush of adrenaline that accompany's such a feeling is an apt description.
Being older and a tad bit wiser, I am now striving to teach my children the importance of current affairs and the responsibilty our forefather's have given to us.

So I throw myself on the mercy of the court of world opinion and ask for forgiveness.