Be an Informed Voter

A rule in internet chat rooms is that two topics you are asked not to discuss are politics and religion. It is easy to understand that rule. Those two topics can cause violent reactions. Everyone has their own opinions and ideas about politics and religion and we should be able to discuss them in a respectful manner. But, as we know and lately have seen, that is not always the case.

It is not only sad but heartbreaking as well to see what’s been happening in our country and our world. There has been many ideas offered as to why, greed, power, hate, jealousy, just to name a few. In my opinion, one of the most basic reasons is disrespect. Disrespect of others’ ideas, beliefs, opinions. Even disrespect of lifestyles. In short, disrespect of each other.

Disrespect isn’t anything new. As my mother was hanging out the laundry, a woman said to her, “I wouldn’t hang those dirty pit clothes on my line for everyone to see.” My Dad was a coal miner and the coal dust would cling to the fibers of his clothing. There was no way to completely get rid of it. My mother’’s reply was, “You have seven children to raise. You don’t know what kind of work your husband will do before they are all grown.”

Along the line of disrespect is one thing I’ve long held to be wrong. That one thing is the reporting on political races long before the polls are closed nationwide. A question that may be asked is, “What does it matter to someone in Montana who wins the congressional race in Vermont?” It matters in the aspect of which political party has the most members in Congress.

It used to be you didn’t know until the morning after Election Day who won the offices up for grabs. Now before the polls in Hawaii are closed you pretty well know who the winners are for national offices. For me, it is unfair to those running for office for results to be given out on such an early basis for the western-most part of our nation. As well as what I consider wrong for early election results to be published, I also feel it is wrong for one candidate to be given more coverage than another for the same office. All candidates for an office should be afforded the same amount of time and coverage to offer their reasons for running.

In conjunction with that I think that the time for campaigning should be limited. I see no reason for a political campaign to run for two years before the scheduled Election Day. What is a good length of time? How about six weeks? Perhaps if the time was shortened, candidates would spend their time on why they are running for office and what they hope to accomplish instead of all the negativity about their opponent. Not only that, it would cut the costs of campaigns. I find it to the point of obscene that candidates spend millions of dollars to try and get elected.

And lastly, exercise one of the most important rights you have. In my opinion it is also an obligation. And that is to vote. But don’t just vote for a candidate because a member of your family or friend is or because they are more pleasing to the eye than their opponent or you like the sound of their voice more. Vote for a candidate because you are convinced in your own mind they are the best person for the job. In the case of initiatives or amendments, research them. Know and understand what they are about -- the pros and cons. Don’t just vote -- be an informed voter. If you are not an informed voter, you are doing a disservice to everyone, especially yourself.