“Be courageous and face this moment in time consciously
and with all the discernment and clarity within your power.”
James O’Dea
I can remember as a child my normally wise grandmother telling me that when I voted I was to go into the voting booth, shut my eyes, and run my finger straight down the list of my chosen party's candidates without any consideration of any candidate from the other column. There was a very definite we vs. them mentality to her reasoning, and even then I questioned the wisdom in doing as she sought to teach. As I grew up, it didn't take me long to see the dangers inherent in that approach to choosing a candidate.
Not since the last dark days prior to the American Civil War has the need for cool, discerning heads been more important than they are this year. Mongers from all directions are subjecting us to their rabid opinions and misinformation as they work overtime trying to frighten and infuriate us into voting their way. They take for granted the willingness of John and Jane Q. Public to allow themselves to be led by their noses and ignorance by Pied Pipers leading them in blind dances to both the left and the right. They relish the power they have to manipulate and hold no regard for the damage they cause. Chances are, they are the only ones who will benefit from the choices made by those lacking the willingness to think for themselves.
Every election season I implore voters to understand they must vet the candidates before making their choices. In choosing whom we will vote for we are doing no less than hiring someone to do a job for us. We are prospective employers and they want a job, it's as simple as that, and just like any job candidate, they're going to say whatever they think we want to hear in order to get that job. Only the most naive and foolish of employers would take them at their word.
When vetting a candidate, look at their record. Remove yourself from the control of a party, dig deep using every source and resource available to you, and learn all you can about them. How have they voted in the past? What organizations are they allied with? What did they do prior to becoming professional politicians? What reputation do they hold not just within their own party but also with their constituents. Do their records show respect and genuine interest in their constituents needs and opinions? Are they responsible and transparent? Are they known for being honorable, or are their motives murky and hard to uncover? I don't care what they say on the campaign trail. Believe me, what you find in their background is going to tell you what to expect once they get the job, not their rhetoric. Can you live with that?
It's well and good to belong to a political party that seems to represent what you most value, but don't get caught up in a mob mentality. Seek to free yourselves from all the pressure bearing down on you to vote solely on the party platform. Know yourself and what you value most highly, and don't shy away if you find you disagree with your party's candidates in some ways. Rarely will any single candidate tick every box on your list. Prioritize the importance of the issues as they correspond to your life. Then begin looking at all the candidates in an objective manner. Weigh what you've learned about them based on your own research, not on what the media and spinners want you to believe. Then and only then, enter the poll and cast your vote. Anonymity is guaranteed. No need to fear reprisal if you aren't voting strictly the way you're told to vote. You are seeking to hire someone to do a job for you so choose the one that best fits your criteria. Seek to delegate wisely.
The federal government is our company and everyone who works for it works for us. We are the employers. The constitution gives us the power to hire and fire based on job performance. It's our own fault if we let them forget that.
A great article. Just this morning, my partner said she was going to check a straight ticket. Largely because she doesn't know how to check on the background of people. But she has asked me and I tried to tell her what I know. When I find who is on the ballot I plan to get past the glossy bios and resumes to look how they got that position.
Have you been an employer? It is very tough. Candidates may not possess the skills or the right attitude to take care of me and I have to take their word for it. I took in two women, both wrongly convicted for selling marijuana and aggravated assault. They were both some of my best caregivers, completely caring, understanding, honest and are still good friends having moved up in the world from caregiving. I have found that it is often only during time on the job that one's true ability and willingness to work comes through.
The higher up in the ladder of success you go, the more you have to understand how that person got there and whether it is true. I know personally of three university presidents who falsified their credentials. When you get to the top, you join the rarefied old boys network where it's hard to dislodge them because they easily move from top position to top position if they are found doing any wrong. We have a lot of people who are very weak at the top in operations and government. Sometimes it takes some time to find out how weak they are.
In 1956 when I was in high school, the son of a highly patriotic Republican, hired 3 of us to illegally our small town's mailboxes with literature on Eisenhower with his relatively unknown vice president, Richard Nixon. We did it for the money. But everyone loved Ike and they would cheer whenever he came on the newsreel at the movies. That's how tricky Dick got to power, on the wings of a very popular, but not very productive, older president with health problems.
After that, I always voted for the individual and not the party they were represented by. Sometimes they lost by not being in the big 2.
Have you been an employer? It is very tough. Candidates may not possess the skills or the right attitude to take care of me and I have to take their word for it. I took in two women, both wrongly convicted for selling marijuana and aggravated assault. They were both some of my best caregivers, completely caring, understanding, honest and are still good friends having moved up in the world from caregiving. I have found that it is often only during time on the job that one's true ability and willingness to work comes through.
The higher up in the ladder of success you go, the more you have to understand how that person got there and whether it is true. I know personally of three university presidents who falsified their credentials. When you get to the top, you join the rarefied old boys network where it's hard to dislodge them because they easily move from top position to top position if they are found doing any wrong. We have a lot of people who are very weak at the top in operations and government. Sometimes it takes some time to find out how weak they are.
In 1956 when I was in high school, the son of a highly patriotic Republican, hired 3 of us to illegally our small town's mailboxes with literature on Eisenhower with his relatively unknown vice president, Richard Nixon. We did it for the money. But everyone loved Ike and they would cheer whenever he came on the newsreel at the movies. That's how tricky Dick got to power, on the wings of a very popular, but not very productive, older president with health problems.
After that, I always voted for the individual and not the party they were represented by. Sometimes they lost by not being in the big 2.
Ron