“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.”
Unknown (attributed to various)
My father served for twenty years in the US Navy. Because of this I was indoctrinated early into the precepts of patriotism. I have had the good fortune to have lived in and visited places that provided opportunities to see where our history was created. Where freedom and independence were born. Where our founders spoke out and risked their lives for a cause they believed in. Along the way I was given an education in the profound underpinnings of our democracy, the Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights, not to mention the rest of the American Constitution. I also had the benefit of educators who taught me how to think for myself and not take at face value the rhetoric being fed to me by those who would have my support.
While I do identify with one party, I am at heart an Independent because I do not vote blindly based on my chosen party. I weigh the claims being made by the interviewee against my own extensive research into their background and previous actions before voting for the candidate I believe will do the best job, regardless of their party affiliation. In every sense of the word, I am interviewing prospective candidates for a position and I make my decision accordingly.
It has become a cause I am passionate about to warn others against blindly believing who they're being directed to believe. It has become my calling to turn people from metaphorical sheep into political analysts. If after doing extensive study of the candidates you still choose to vote for the one who would undermine all that America stands for, then that is on you and you are the one who will ultimately reap the reward for that decision,. Sometimes that reward isn't what you intended. In that event, I hope you are honest and brave enough to own that mistake and do what you are able to do to rectify it.
This is a nation that was founded upon the concept of democracy. In so doing we wrested our freedom from a nation that would have held us in bondage. Our forebears, and countless others since, fought for the freedom to live, worship, and speak openly about where we stand on the issues. We should not be living in fear of reprisal for doing what we, as guaranteed by the Constitution, have the right to do, and that is to dissent. We are free to change our minds, if we so wish, and we are free to agree to disagree. What we should not be free to do is take away the rights of others whose rights are also guaranteed by the Constitution. In the end it is the individual acting in concert with others who will decide upon the direction our country takes in the years ahead. The question is, are you brave enough to take a stand?
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