The right to vote is a privilege that we have long taken for
granted. It has become subject to the
indifference of our entitlement rather than being subject to the scrutiny of
our responsibility. The important work
for this election will not be accomplished by the candidates, or at least it
shouldn't be. The most important and
essential work for the Presidential election is to be accomplished by the
electorate, the American voter...
The tendency is to believe that on voting day, people will
go into the voter's booth, push a button or two, and magically, our candidate,
whoever they may be, will be elected to office.
When, in fact, the real work must be taking place right now, in the
privacy of our homes, as we do the research required to make the best possible
decision. The alternative is that we
continue to spend months on end being dirtied by political mudslinging while we
sit on the side-lines and let the candidates "fight it out". Political campaigns have become a sport and we
have become spectators. And, this is
what we call democracy?
Political campaigning has become a sideshow, of sorts,
designed to distract us from the real work we need to do to put forth an honest
vote. Candidates for public office,
Presidential or otherwise, are not to be sold to us like exercise equipment on
a late-night infomercial. People must
choose who their personal candidate will be, and not told who they will
be. Voting is as much an exercise of free will as anything. Rights come with
responsibilities. We, then, need to be
responsible in how we make the decision.
In order to exercise our right to vote, it is incumbent upon us to turn
away from the glitz and glamour of the political "red carpet" back to
the organic nature of the true democratic process.
We are too far afield of the essence of the democracy and have become
far too enamoured with the fame and celebrity overshadowing the candidates.
Exercising your right to vote consists of 4 essential steps:
1. Knowledge of the
candidates. Who they are. Why they're running. What they stand for.
2. Understanding of
your personal values. What you believe
and why.
3. Diligence: Which candidate has most closely demonstrated
that he or she values what you value.
(Tip: This decision should not be
party-based, it should be value-based.)
4. Vote using the
information you acquired in completing steps 1-3 above.
Voting is a private
decision albeit one that has public rewards or consequences, or both. Our individual votes determine who will decide
how we will live as a nation and what our role in the world will be. It is not a decision that should be taken
lightly or left up to someone else to make for us because ultimately, the
choice is ours and we will be held accountable for it.
We have minds of our own we need to use them to make the
right decisions. We have to stop the
cycle of being influenced by another person's world view. Each of us has a world view, and therefore,
each of us also has the responsibility of doing some heavy lifting, pitting
value to value, between now and the next Presidential election. Our votes should not be based on what someone
else thinks or believes. We have the
inherent capacity of being able to make informed decisions and we need to use
it. We don't need celebrity
endorsements, multi-million-dollar campaign "war chests", special
interests, or any such thing.
When you step into the voting booth, it should be just you
and your candidate. The only voice in
your head should be one telling you that you can confidently vote for the
candidate that you believe will, based on your own due diligence, best fulfil
the spiritual, intellectual, ethical, and physical demands that will be
required of the next President. It's
your voice and it's your choice. Choose
wisely.
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