Politics

I'm surprised you're reading; the title alone should be enough to make you run screaming from blog-land. I think we've all had enough. I wasn't intending to write about politics at all, because I don't want to offend those that don't agree with me, but this will be a non-partisan post, I promise.

Some of us will be unhappy with the outcome tonight, but we still have to realize how lucky we are. We get to make a difference; we have a choice. There are couples living under the same roof that don't agree, but they each get to have their say and be counted.

A few weeks ago, the pending election became a regular dinner table conversation. Pipsqueak started asking questions, and immediately jumped on our candidate's bandwagon. We didn't want her to follow us blindly, so we discussed certain issues, ie. war, taxes, global warming, gay rights, health care (we skipped pro-life/pro-choice… too much frightening for a 6 year old mind). We explained both sides and asked her to choose. It turned out she was with us anyway, and now she proudly wears a button of her candidate on her jacket. (A few days later, she came to me slightly distressed, "Mom, you didn't tell me I couldn't vote!" We neglected to mention that she had to be 18 years old.)

We didn't want our daughter to make a choice because it was the popular one in our household, but I fear that's done all over the country with registered voters. How many people really take the time to find out what the candidate believes in and where they stand on the issues? This can't be done by watching political ads on television, where quotes are taken out of context, and twisted and stretched like play-dough until they become something that the other candidate can use as a weapon. You can get more reliable candidate information than that by watching Saturday Night Live, and that isn't saying much. You have to watch the debates, go to the candidates' websites and do some real research.

I believe that choices are sometimes made too lightly. You shouldn't vote for someone because they are a woman, black or white, young or old. That isn't enough. You shouldn't vote for someone because you think that's who is going to win anyway. You shouldn't even vote along party lines; there are liberal conservatives and conservative liberals. Take time to think about what is important to you in this country and what you would like to see happen, then find the candidate that you think will do that for you. That is what elected officials are supposed to do... represent us.