I was once very idealistic about politics. I sometimes reach that point again, particularly when I think about voting for Bernie Sanders. Unfortunately, hearing everyone close to me say that he doesn't have a chance to win in the primaries brings me back to that discouraged state. I became a democratic socialist after a lot of personal education, as well as hearing the thoughts of my incredibly Tea Party conservative parents vs. my extremely liberal high school teachers, and then college professors. I've seen both extremes and eventually decided on my political views after a lot of thought. Ironically, I'm still a registered Republican because when I left home, I tried to change my political affiliation to Democrat, but my dad got to the mail first and threw my letter in the trash. Ah well. I live in Ohio now, so I'm planning on switching parties at the DMV soon! :) What about you, jleopold?