My God, it is taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get to November 2nd. I'm exhausted. I've been making calls, attending rallies, and frowning at all of the mud-slinging that has been going on... and it's increasing lately.
I sincerely hope people will turn off their TVs and radios and visit the candidate's and issues' websites and reach a conclusion the way a well-advised jury would.
Vote for the people and issues you trust most "beyond a reasonable doubt." If their platform (which you can find at each candidate's website; e.g. Pattymurray.com) matches your insights, goals and patterns, vote for them.
If you have developed doubts because of the hail of negative ads that are trying to scare you, go to the sites of organizations you do support and trust (Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, etc.) and see who and what they're recommending you should do when you vote.
Also please spend at least three uninterrupted hours on a cable news station that you usually DON'T watch (e.g, if you usually watch CNN or MSNBC, see if FOX News brings up any issues that you may want to consider further). If anything you hear on the "rival" network sounds too good or too scary to be true, check it out at politifact.org or factcheck.org.
I'm concerned that voters are all in their own little boxes being fed information that is skewed at best and screwy at worst. I don't see how we can make good decisions if we live with blinders on.
Remember: other people of good will and robust intellect are supporting people you don't support. Find out why. If they're just spewing hatred, vitriol and unsubstantiated rumors, you need not listen further. But if they have sensible points and arguments, LISTEN TO THEM, not so much to have your own mind changed as to have it expanded, so that after the election is over you won't be in an "us vs. them" mode and develop an enemies list.
Your friends, family and associates matter. Their political "take" on the world is just another of their idiosyncracies, whether it's charming or irritating. Let it go! They're fellow Americans and lots of people have died to give them the right to believe what they believe and to say what they say. Celebrate that!
Reasonable people disagree. Reasonable people also listen, weigh, consider, separating the wheat from the chaff.
This is a very important midterm election. You already know where I stand, if you've been reading my Facebook page and blog entries, so you don't have to read much more of this blog entry.
All I hope you'll do is lock yourself into a room where you can pray and think and calm yourself enough to find your peaceful center, reject the crap that has been flying out of your TV screen for weeks, and figure out what's the next best act for our beloved country.
I know what I think. If you know what you think, your job is done as soon as you cast or mail your ballot.
If you're still undecided, DO NOT sit this election out. Consider what we have and what the alternative will look like. (2000-2008 is a gauge of that; the Republicans promise more of the same.)
Remember that it was the 2000-2008 years that caused the catastrophe that the present Administration is now digging us out of. These are facts; hard realities. We had a surplus when Bush took office. By the time Obama took office, we had already hemorrhaged more than four million jobs and lost millions more before Obama's policies could apply a tourniquet and stem the loss. So what we have now is not of Obama's doing. TARP is almost completely paid back.
Health care reform will save many, many billions of dollars over ten years even as it better protects consumers (that's us).
Wall Street reform will make sure we never have to bail it out again at the expense of Wall Street.
Credit card companies now have to tell you the truth and inform you when they plan to jack up prices.
Women, your gender no longer makes you a "pre-existing condition" when you're pregnant, get cancer or develop a serious condition.
Young adults, you can stay on your parents' insurance policy until you're 26 and more established financially.
Students, far more of you are getting grants and all of you who are, are getting larger grants so America's future won't fall through the cracks.
Women, you must now be paid the same amount as men are paid for doing the same job.
There's more, but you can find it at http://www.barackobama.com/ so I won't belabor the point further.
To me, the choice seems crystal clear. I've listened to what the other side is offering, and it doesn't seem they've learned a thing. It's to a point now that an even more conservative fringe element has emasculated the GOP and caused it to succumb, to "adapt or die."
It's a serious choice. It's a serious matter. Don't sit this one out.
Women and people of color, a lot of people worked, bled and died to give you the right to vote. Don't sit it out and spit on their graves.
Final thoughts to Remember and Practice:
The people you disagree with politically are not your enemies. The people you agree with -- and their representative talking heads -- are NOT sporting halos or walking on water.
So grab a chair, take a neutral stance for a time, and look things over carefully. I think you'll be surprised at what you discover.
We all want peace and an America that works well. Which party seems to be the most grown up, reliable (even when the road ahead is steep and slow-going) and stable?
Let's elect and keep grownups. Let's look for and keep smart people. Let's be sure that the people we elect to positions of power have ALL Americans' fundamental best interests at heart... not just a select few.
Become a better-informed voter. You usually have to "study up" to succed at anything else that's future-altering and worth doing: driving, working, marrying, parenting...
Let's make American politics work the way it should. Let's send or return grown-ups to Congress. Backyard bullies need not apply.
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