This clip from the Howard Stern show came in an email the other day and I wanted to share it, but for a different reason than the senders and creators of the email probably intended. This stems from a debate that I have heard many times over the course of the last few months: that blacks are voting for Obama purely because of his skin color. I would like to say that I am writing this not to share or force my political views on the two of you who read this - which I will not state - but to throw out my social views by asking how many of ALL of us vote for a candidate for ill-thought-out reasons. Do we vote for a candidate purely on political party? How many of us out there overlook a qualified candidate because of what we think or assume about him/her? How many of us don't consider voting differently than we have in the past without actually considering the better choice? How often do we say that we won't vote or don't care because we don't like either candidate? The country is going downhill anyway and neither candidate is ideal, so why bother? Slogans, nicknames and wardrobe become the focus and deal maker rather than the actual issue? Why do so many feel that by not participating - and this includes being an informed voter- that their ownership in a mess is nulled? Patriotism to so many means that they love their country, yet how many don't love it enough to get involved or even informed? I would argue that true patriotism is a belief that all of us will get through the good and especially the bad together, and that even if the "wrong" person gets elected we still have the obligation to our fellow citizens to care. I am FAR from being a political or social activist, but I am frustrated with the throwing-my-hands-up, washing-my-hands-of-you, he-won't-be-my-president attitude that so many have. There are many reasons why so many around the world despise Americans - why should this be one of them?
2 comments:
Amen. Very well said. Thank you thank you. You smart. Me like it.
I've thought about similar issues lately...Like how people were upset with Oprah because she endorsed Obama instead of Clinton--because she should vote for a woman, of course! Or that it was assumed that every Mormon would vote for Romney. Or that somehow I'm obligated as a Mormon to vote Republican merely on the abortion issue...even though after 35 years and 4 Republican presidents in those 35 years (7 terms) (not to mention that a Republican was in office when the Supreme Court made its decision on Roe v. Wade) we haven't exactly seen anything be overturned/changed by said Republicans. I mean, you can still be a Democrat and not approve of abortion. Anyway, I'm not making any statements as to who I am voting for, but though I haven't finalized my decision yet, I am not ruling EITHER side out, but rather choosing who I think would be the BEST of 2 maybe not-so-perfect candidates. I actually heard a lady at work say she votes for policies, not people (meaning that she votes on bond measures and statewide issues, but she doesn't cast her vote for politians). That's fine if she chooses not to exercise that priviledge, but I say those people don't have the priviledge of complaining after the fact, either. Okay, now I'm done.
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