In America, we celebrate many freedoms, one of which is the freedom to vote.  We are a REPUBLIC.  A Republic is governed by a President and elected representatives from his or her geographic locations.  Our citizens are offered the right to select and vote for the best men and women whom they feel will represent their values, morals, religious, social, economic, beliefs. We hope to offer a general understanding of our three Political Parties and the various Market Segments in each. 

POLITICAL PARTIES

Our three major political parties are: Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians.  Many U.S. citizens who do not wish to affiliate with a particular party can register to vote as an Independent.  The Libertarian party is the smaller of the three political parties, but is just as valid.  In each political party we have incredible and wonderful citizens who are part of this kaleidoscope of voting citizens.

MARKET SEGMENTS

In all political parties, we have various Market Segments which are identified here as: Moderates, Conservatives, Liberals, Socialist, Religious Extremists.  Market Segments represents differing groups of people who support or identify with particular aspects of our social, economic, defense, health and national issues.  American's come from various and diverse cultures, experiences, nationalities, ethnicities, religious and geographic backgrounds. 

BELL CURVE ILLUSTRATION

Our simple illustration of a "Bell Curve" below helps demonstrate the different Market Segments you'll find in the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties.

CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS

You can find Christian's as Moderates, Conservatives and even Liberals.  We know that Moderates make up the majority of all registered voters, and it doesn't matter what political party they belong identify or register as.  Conservative Christian Republicans are not "Right-Wing Extremists" no more than Conservative Christian Democrats are.  Using such hurtful terminology only represents ones hateful ideology, which is not part of any Christian Theology. 

SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES versus RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS

As a general rule, Social Conservatives are those who support life from cradle to grave. Those who attend church regularly are considered Christian Conservatives, which makes anywhere from 14% to 82% of our U.S. population.  They do not have any type of "Extremist" Market Segment attributes because Social Conservatives simply love the Lord and are doing their best to follow the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Extremists are those who demand you to believe in what they believe in or they will kill you.  Christians do not kill others because they do not believe in a particular and specific doctrine or read a specific "Biblical Document". Religious Extremists are more identified as Islamic Jihadist who believe that anyone who is not Muslim is an infidel and all infidel's must be killed.  Not all Muslim's believe the killing others is an acceptable practice, so stereotyping  is another act of prejudice and should be avoided. 

EDUCATION IS KNOWLEDGE

What really matters is that each voter takes the time to know and understand the men or women who are running for office in their local, state and federal elections.  You have a responsibility to educate yourself on the current issues because the more you know the more you can do your best to elect officials that represent yourself and your community.  The Lord does expect Christians to know and understand what our Candidates believe in, how they may vote on a particular issue so you should watch debates, various news stations like cable or local news; research on the Internet or reading articles, books on those running for office.  It is everyone's individual responsibility to be as educated about the major issues of the day before voting.

HATING ONE ANOTHER BECAUSE OF POLITICS

We hope that you, the reader, can open your heart and mind to understand that if you identify yourself as a Democrat, you should not despise or hate all Republicans. And if you are a Republican, you certainly should not despise or hate anyone who is a Democrat.  Political Parties are not evil, but rather the behavior of an individual can be classified as evil.  Only the Lord can fully judge a man or woman, so we will leave it in His Holy Hands and pray for our citizens daily. Recall what Scripture states, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (1 John 4:20)

Americans are separated into one of three major Political Market Segments:  Moderates, Conservatives or Liberals. These segments do not represent who has the correct political ideology, but rather you can find they have men or women; Christian, Jew or Agnostic; New Yorker's or Georgian's; Whites, Mexican's or African American's in each.  We are all loved by our Holy Lord and we should practice daily the additional Commandment that Jesus taught us, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."   (See St. Matthew 19:19 and St Matthew 22:39 and St. Mark 12:31)

Are You An Informed Catholic?

Are you staying informed by watching or listening to Catholic TV shows or radio?  It is vital you not only receive your daily news from local television or cable and satellite news sources.  Please visit EWTN's WORLD OVER LIVE weekly show hosted by Raymond Arroyo and learn about Catholic issues that are pertinent to Catholics in the U.S. and throughout the world.