The Taxman

With tax season here and April 15th quickly approaching i hear a lot of "fuck this" from my angry father. I'm not quite up on politics, policy, the economy, etc. completely but i know my dad pays a lot of taxes and it makes him upset because he works hard to earn the money he earns (which has become less and less due to the suffering economy) and he doesn't like to give it to the government. He doesn't like the government telling him how he should use his money. I understand. He works hard and he should be able to choose where it goes. And i also see the other side. Our country and its infrastructures can't function without tax payer dollars. It is a dilemma in my mind.
I've been finding myself in more and more dilemma's such as this. The other day in my Persuasion class we got into an "argument", or more of a discussion, over the benefits and disadvantages of private, catholic education. It was hard, being a firm believer that the extreme costs and sacrifice of certain freedoms are well worth the Catholic education. I've attended secular private school, public school, and catholic private school and i do believe that the quality of education, as well as the community and support provided are beyond anything you will experience at a public school in the Sacramento area. And another student in my class made the very valid point that people who choose to send their kids to private school are still paying taxes to support a public school system that they are not benefiting from. A girl highly opposed to Catholic education feels so because she is Native American and the Catholics have a long history of using Catholic education as a name for their oppressive, slave-like institutions. I understand her concern and i don't condone what those people did in the name of a Catholic God, but all i can say is she has not experienced Catholic education like I have.
There are many other ethical and moral debates arising everyday.I suppose my point is that I am having trouble taking a stand an certain issues because i don't want to offend those around me who don't feel the same way as me, or rather I don't want to tell them what I think in fear that they will give me a lecture about how their opinion is right and mine is wrong. And sometimes i just am not sure how i feel about a certain issue, and I also don't want anyone to try to drag me to their side just because i don't yet have one.
I support gay marriage, I'm pro-life, and i think we should legalize marijuana, but i also am a huge supporter of the military, free enterprise, and capitalism. Somehow i love party loyalty and yet i hate bi-partisan politics. Sometimes i really wish i were just more extremely liberal or conservative. It might make these internal struggles easier. I seem to have so many strong philosophies about meaningless things, but on these real life issues i can't seem to take a stand.

Music: Vote - The Submarines