Do you really pay attention when you vote? Do you take it
seriously? Do you do your homework and research
the candidates? I’m not talking about President. I’m talking about the real policymakers: Representatives, Senators, local leaders. Do
you really know who you’re voting for? Or
do you pick a name you recognize, or a name you like, or a position on the
ballot? Why did you make that choice? Is it possible you made a massive judgmental mistake? Are you doing your “civic duty” without research? If so, you could be voting against everything
you believe in. You could be voting for this.
If the thought of children lying dead in a classroom repulses
you, you may have voted for someone who enabled that. Don’t blame Trump, or Obama, or “W’, or
Clinton, or Bush Sr. Any President is almost completely ineffectual in creating
actual change—that onus rests on congress.
You may have voted to drain the swamp, you may have voted for hope and
change, you may have voted for a kinder, gentler nation, you may have voted because
“it’s the economy, stupid”—but those Presidents have all come and gone, or will
go. A President has term limits, some
get 8 years-- thank God some only get 4 years; but the common denominator is
congress.
I can’t find an exact number of representatives and senators
who have served over 20 years, but I’m pretty sure it’s too many. Everyone may be idealistic when they first
get elected, but time and money and the desire for job security makes too many
beholden to those with deep pockets-- like the NRA. I’ll admit that I’m a
pacifist. I hate guns. I personally see no reason to have one. But I also think if we were all the same, it would
be a damn boring world, so I can’t deny anyone else’s desire to own guns. Although I do love watching the biathlon at
the Olympics, which includes shooting, so I can’t give guns up altogether. Anyhow, I digress. There is absolutely no reason for an average citizen,
i.e. non-military, non-police, to own an assault rifle. An AR-15 is meant for one thing only: to kill
humans. Let’s face it; you are not going
elk hunting with an AR-15. Can’t we just agree that assault rifles, bump
stocks, and magazines have no place in our schools, churches, malls, concert
halls or movie theatres?
My heart breaks for the families for the victims in
Florida. Seventeen families, 17 sets of
parents, will never be able to say ‘Happy Valentine’s Day” to each other again because
it will forever be the day that their child was murdered. Whether that child
was a student, a teacher, or a football coach—they were all someone’s child. Their
families will never be the same. And we allowed it to happen. All of us.
We vote without hard thought. Or we don’t vote. We hold no one accountable. And nothing
changes.
So, please pay attention when you vote. Take it seriously. Do your homework. Research the candidates.
Unfortunately, in our world, it’s a matter of life and death.
