Only The Clueless Believe Not Voting

With so much misinformation, and so many people with self-serving intentions, it is understandable that some people will be swayed to believe lies and conspiracy theories.  Even so, it is the duty of every able-bodied person of voting age to research and understand the political system that affects the daily life of all Americans.  It is also the duty of every able-bodied person of voting age to research and understand the candidates that run for the leadership offices in our political system. Knowing how the system works and who the elected officials are will leave no room for staying home on election day. Knowing what is at stake, who in their right mind would want to put their lives in the hands of unqualified and uncaring politicians?

Those who think a President has the power to make all things happen are clueless. Those who vote only for a President and ignore all other races are clueless. Those who ignore local elections and special elections are clueless. Those who do not understand the role of the Senate and House of Representatives are clueless!  Those who abandon their long-time party because they do not get what they want, without understanding why they do not get what they want, are clueless!

The most clueless of all are those who let someone else tell them what to think and what to do.  These people take what another person says as fact, never investigating for themselves and coming to their own conclusions. They are happy to be part of a movement that they do not fully understand or know the consequences of. These clueless folks have been persuaded they are victims of one thing or another, and that the only way to fight back is to vote this way or that way or not at all. The most clueless do not realize that those who keep them angry and hateful do not have their best interest at heart.

Who a person votes for is their business. What is a shame is not voting at all.  Not voting says you do not care one way or the other how things turn out, so why should anyone care about you? Not voting says you do not care if unqualified and shady candidates get elected, so why would you expect good things to happen?

Voting is good. Knowing who you are voting for is critical. Take the time to research the candidates. Go to their campaign websites, visit their Facebook page, check them out on ballotpedia.org. If possible, check them out in person at a campaign rally or town hall meeting. Do not wait until the last minute to start your research. Start researching the candidates as soon as you know their names. Do not let anyone tell you who to vote for, or not to vote at all. Understand the system and the process, understand the current issues, research the candidates, and come to your own conclusions.

The November 2024 election will be upon us in no time at all. But there is still plenty of time to fully research all the candidates, on all sides, and make an intelligent decision on how to vote. During your research, you might find truths, untruths, and opinions about the candidates. Open-minded and intelligent people will recognize the truth, good or bad.  There might even come a time when your research leads you to vote outside of your regular party – you should not feel guilty about this if the other side would serve the people better for the current time. Voting outside of your normal party should seldom happen, if ever. But it is not a crime to do so. Switching to another party is also not a crime if you find yourself leaning heavily in that direction. The objective should always be to select the best candidates to serve the American people.

Make sure you know how the political system works, what the current issues are, which candidates will fight for the changes you want to see, and what is at stake when voters choose not to participate in the election process. If it comes down to picking the lesser of two evils, you had better do diligent research so you can make sure the right one gets elected. Anyone telling you not to vote at all does not have your best interest at heart.  Blindly following the directions of others is foolish. Until you gather your own facts and make your own determinations, you are clueless.

--Rosalin Grace

Say It With Roz

March 22, 2024