[BluffTHIS!]

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I have a thirst for knowledge and I feel that I have learned a lot from this forum. What exactly is the problem?

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It is great to want to learn more. But from what I understand of you, you have opted not to go to college and play poker instead. No problem, and I probably would have done the same at your age if poker existed online then. But these forums although a great way to learn about poker and also some other things, do not necessarily contain a represnentative sampling of american society and the beliefs and interests that motivate lots of americans.

You don't need to go to college to learn, because a library card and some cash can get you all the books you need to learn the same stuff in a lot of fields. You need to read some philosophy and history, both american and foreign, to understand our political system. And read multiple newspapers/magazines. Then you would understand that religious affiliation is not a simple predictor of party voting. Read some good biographies of the founding fathers and history of the early republic. There were as many differing political views then as now and motivated by the same wide range of beliefs and self-interests then as now. But this requires regular reading of current news and opinions (easily available free online) and a committment to read books regularly. This helps one have a good background knowledge of things so that one can articulate better thought out views, even if they are ones others wouldn't agree with.

Just as with poker where fish chase low percentage draws on the hopes of winning big, and others play so tight they never gamble at all when they should, so everday citizens have belief systems, some logical and some not. There are lots of people who either give greater weight to logic and values on the one hand, or to to vague altruistic notions that are held no matter what the price may be if implemented if it is even possible to do so. There are people who place more importance on personal responsibiliity and law and order, and others who place more on individual liberty no matter what the consequences.

And while religious views certainly influence all those things each way, there are people in both parties who have the same religious beliefs but arrive at different political choices because of those other things. And becoming more widely read and getting a longer experience in life will help one understand that better.