A man who voted for a Bush in 2004 because he supported the Patriot Act sued the government when his new Arab son in law was detained for 3 months without due process, because his name was mistakenly on the terrorist list, leaving his pregnant daughter alone to have their first baby.
A family votes for the candidate who proposes higher taxes for millionaires, then spends 1000’s of dollars, after their business takes off, on aggressive accountants to lower their taxes because they are tired of being “taxed to death.”
A family who voted for the pro-life candidate, secretly flew their 16 year old daughter, who was date raped, to Europe for an abortion because Roe v. Wade was overturned, arguing they don’t want her to have to live with that reminder the rest of her life.
A mother from M.A.D.D. who supported mandatory life sentences for drunk diver homicides, is now spending 100,000’s of dollars to mitigate the sentence of her “all A’s” 19 year old son after a drunk driving tragedy, because it’s not fair such a good kid should spend the rest of his life in jail.
A family who voted against gay marriage is now suing the state because their only son, who recently came-out, is unable to marry his partner.
A father who voted to repeal Obamacare is now suing a hospital because his 8 year old daughter was denied a critical procedure because he lost his medical insurance after being laid-off.
The single mother with a good job votes for the candidate who supports lower taxes because she’s tired of the dead-beats and welfare milking the system, then rails the system after losing her job and not being able to get assistance due to program cuts.
There is a trend in the country.
The trend is to use our vote as a weapon.
We are increasingly using our vote to “control” others rather than influence our own lives. We vote to keep gays from marrying. We vote to keep people from being able to chose what to do with their own bodies. We vote to put drunk-drivers behind bars for life. We vote to suspend our rights to get tough on terrorism and put terrorists away. We vote to keep the “dead-beats” from taking advantage of our hard earned tax dollars. We vote to control those we disagree with or disapprove of.
We vote this way because we never think it will be us and that is the problem. We don’t ever think we could be the dead-beat who lost his job and needs government assistance. We don’t think our son or daughter would ever be gay and want to be married. We don’t imagine our daughter could be raped and not want to have the baby. We don’t believe it would ever be us, our child or our spouse who gets into a drunk driving accident that kills someone. We don’t ever think that what we are voting for today, could affect us tomorrow.
When we vote to influence others behaviors assuming it could never be us, we’re using our vote as a weapon and I think that is the wrong way to vote.
When I vote, I ask myself this question. Would I want the laws and the policies this candidate supports applied to ME and my FAMILY? If the answer is no, I don’t vote for that candidate or that amendment. It’s that simple.
Unfortunately, based on my unscientific pole, I’m in the minority here. I have many friends who I respect and admire who vote assuming the policies their candidate supports will never affect them. They support policies or take positions assuming the position doesn’t affect them. And in most cases it doesn’t at the moment. But when asked if they were in that position would they want that law applied to them, their answers are less definitive. It’s usually answered with, it would never be me or it’s not the same.
I don’t believe voting should be about what I want others to do or not to do. I believing voting is about influencing the environment I want to live in and the laws and policies I want enforced on me, not others.
Today is election day. Go vote. Vote for whom ever you chose. Vote for who you believe is the best candidate for this country and your family. And as you consider your vote, ask yourself, would I want what this candidate supports applied to me and my family? Am I OK with gays not being married if my child tuns out gay. Am I OK paying more taxes if I get that promotion or my business take off. Am I prepared to be affected by these laws and policies if the “they” becomes “me?” It’s an important question, because some day they just might and you will only have yourself to thank.
Don’t use your vote as a weapon. Vote for you, not against them, because the them just someday might be you .