New Year's resolution

Since I never made a new years res. this year, I'm making one now. With politics being so torn between parties lately, it makes me wonder if it's just politics that's tearing us apart, or if it's something bigger. We all want to feel as if we are a part of something, right? Whether it be a family, friends, or any other kind of group; something to associate with and define ourselves by. Maybe we are using politics to feel like we are a part something big. In being a part of something bigger than ourselves, we tend to find another group of similar size to "fight." Is this an animal like "instinct?" It seems like large families fight (ie Hatfield/McCoy), friends fight (ie New Englanders w/Red Sox vs Yankees), and even politics.

Getting back to my point, my resolution is to be more open-minded to the republicans pov. They aren't all terrible people. Just like democrats, there are some who give the entire group a bad name.  In 2000 I registered to vote as an Independent. I did so because I wanted to be able to choose which way to vote for each individual election. So far I have only ever voted Democrat! I haven't lived up to my registered status, and now I'm going to do my best to. Maybe I'll never vote republican, but I will try to keep an open mind and look for perspective on things.