Tag: vote

There’s Always Room for Disagreement

These days, there are so many things in our world that are being disputed. This isn’t a bad thing. Everything SHOULD be up for debate; it’s how we change our world. It’s long-standing practice to question our culture, our laws, and the state of our world. It’s how positive change is made. It’s not always easy and it’s not always pleasant or even peaceful. This practice of evaluation, discussion, disagreement, and action is as old as our country and it’s how we got where we are.

As citizens, it’s not only our right to question what’s happening around us, but it’s our duty as citizens to ensure that our voice is counted and that our democracy continues to grow and flourish. This means that voices should not be quieted, peaceful protests should always be allowed to happen, and every single citizen has a right to an opinion and to express it.

Our current climate of government is unlike any other in our lifetime. It seems as if every norm over the past decades has been turned upside down. The things that we’ve taken for granted such as democracy, fairness, and open communication have disappeared. We’re in a situation unlike anything in the history of our own government. Many flags have been raised; many experts in past and current administrations have grave concerns regarding the direction that our country is headed. Many individuals have strong opposing opinions and believe that the direction that we’re heading is long overdue and the right way to achieve success in our country.

Disregarding opinions on the many matters under discussion, the fundamental right to disagree is still valued in our country. In fact, it’s what we should do to ensure vigorous debate and a healthy outcome. Our voices should be heard and peaceful protests are a way to accomplish that. Other ways to express our opinions can include getting involved in campaigns, joining committees for causes that you believe in, and even just having conversations with others. Most of all, though, we can vote.

Your vote represents your beliefs, your ideals, and your position on all kinds of issues. November is coming up fast. Look at not just the presidential race, but all offices, including those in your own community. Do your homework and look at the issues and the candidates’ views on those issues. What are the things most important to you? What are their stated positions and what is their past voting history? Make your voice heard! Do your part to make this great country of ours become what you want it to be!

Should We Thank Donald Trump for this Sh*t Storm?

Bear with me; I haven’t lost my mind…yet.

I was thinking about everything last night and wondered if we have, indeed, finally reached rock bottom with this administration. I don’t think we have. We have definitely been sinking since Day 1 but, judging by the way he’s still being defended by his party, we haven’t yet hit the bottom. Given the availability of the political news, it’s hard to ignore what’s happening. The only logical conclusion is that we are in big trouble. This leaves me wondering what, exactly, needs to happen before action is taken and, just as importantly, who is going to take that action? Continue reading “Should We Thank Donald Trump for this Sh*t Storm?”

Republicans, Democrats, Americans

American
American

I am SO frustrated right now with our politics.  I honestly feel embarrassed as an American today.  Don’t misunderstand me; I’m still very glad to be an American, but I’m not proud of who we are right now and I’m embarrassed as we play out our squabbles on the world stage.

There are obviously so many issues going on right now that we are simply unable to even keep up with the many darts being thrown left and right.  It seems as if every day, every hour in fact on some days, brings new topics of conversation to the table and none of them are clear-cut and very few of them are ever resolved.  They are simply being replaced with a new topic du jour.  There is a sense of intrigue, of conspiracy, and of distrust in all things being conveyed nowadays.  The average person honestly doesn’t know what is true and what is not anymore.  The fact that we have our highest level of politicians calling each other liars and putting out inaccurate information is humiliating to me as a citizen.  There is so much stuff being thrown into the air that people cannot keep up and that’s pretty scary to me.  I like to understand what’s going on with things that are relative to my safety, security, and my human rights (and everybody else’s). Continue reading “Republicans, Democrats, Americans”

Election Thoughts

election flags
election flags

Is it me or is everybody else in the United States over this election too?

When this first started, a long time ago and in what seems like a different universe, I was a little excited to see what the candidates would bring.  Now, I just wish that somebody would call a do-over and we could all have a chance to start from the beginning … and do it right this time.

I guess I should start with my own perspective on this.  I’m not happy with the current state of affairs and I’m not particularly unhappy either.  I wish I made more money, I wish I paid less taxes, but I do manage to survive and I feel as safe as any of us can in this day and age.  Of course there are things that I would change, things that I wish for.  However, I’m not delusional enough to think that all of my problems will be solved with the election of either one of the presidential candidates or state representative, etc.   My biggest hope is that we can proceed forward in the best interest of our country as a whole.  I know that no matter what bill is passed, whatever law is changed, whatever decision is made, somebody is going to benefit and somebody is going to lose.  There is nothing in this world that will be the best choice for each and every one of us.  I think most of us adults understand this.  Why, then, has this months-long process turned so ugly?

At this point in the election cycle, I’m so disturbed by every single candidate’s behavior, literature, and rhetoric that I would probably vote for anybody else that I haven’t seen or heard about yet.  I was looking forward to hearing about the choices that we were presented with, what they represented, what they had to say.  Sadly, I did hear it.  I have voted in lots of elections and never before have I been so disheartened.  I have heard some of the candidates’ views, but had to do a LOT of research to find out what I needed to know in order to make a solid decision.  I heard a little more about the topics in the presidential race, but honestly I’m guessing 99% of what I heard from the state level candidates was about the OTHER person.  All of them chose to criticize the other candidate over expressing their own views. I have heard so much negativity this year that it has reached a whole new low.  I have honestly never heard such derogatory things being said by an adult, let alone a presidential candidate, with no repercussions and I can’t believe it has gotten to this point without somebody putting a stop to it.  To hear adults, the potential leaders of our country, say the things that I’ve heard recently is horrible to me.  I’m embarrassed for us as a country.  I’m confused by what we, as the people, are supposed to have learned from them, and I’m finding that, as I try to stay involved and learn more, my mood is becoming more and more depressed about our future.  I’m no longer optimistic about any of the choices or what the future holds for us.  This isn’t how this is supposed to work!  Our candidates are supposed to energize us, inspire us, and instill hope & promise for our future.  What happened?  How did we get to this point?  What can we do about it?

I wish a third-party presidential candidate, one that wasn’t a bully, a liar, or a hypocrite, had popped out of the woodwork a few weeks ago.  We could use one with no baggage or special interest; one that would run a positive campaign.  We probably all would have elected them at this point.  From the state level, I now understand why my state is one of the worst ones to live in anymore and why we’ve had so many politicians put in jail.  I can’t even begin to express how disappointed I am in the amount of literature that I’ve received and how poisonous the tone was.  It’s disturbing to me that we’ve come to accept this as part of political campaigns.

Is it naive to expect the leaders of our communities, our states, and our government offices to be respectful, decent human beings?  Is it wrong to assume that they will behave like adults and the role models that we expect them to be?  We are literally putting our life in their hands.  I don’t think it’s too much to expect that they at least act like they take it seriously.