Tina,
All those group examples you gave would not require me to think along party lines. Do I have insurance or a driver's license? Yes, but I can choose to drive carefully or recklessly, or a little or a lot.
If I declare myself a Republican, yet choose to vote my conscience, other members of my group will condemn me. That's the difference between groups.
I mean, I am human, so that puts me in the group of humanity, but it's hardly the same thing as a poltical group which exists for a narrow purpose and within strict parameters.
And no, this is not being apolitical. I do make choices in politics, but those choices sometimes align with what Democrats say, and sometimes with what Republicans say. Someone who is apolitical does not get involved, or chooses not to think about it at all.
We could have a government of people who all strive to figure out the right course of action and then vote accordingly. Instead we have two parties, members of which follow the party lead to vote along predictable lines. This is counter-productive, and why I think the very concept of a formal political party is wrong and harmful. Just look how often Washington gets into political gridlock over childish party reasons and you see how much better off we would be if they voted with their minds instead.
What a second! Given their minds, maybe I don't want them using them! :)