Put the Right People in Office: Vote

Originally published on February 24, 2016.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy elections. It must be the competition, the uncertain outcome, and the daily buildup to election day.

Some folks refer to it as a horse race and maybe they’re right.

But, the reason for all the hype and advertising is simply this, we are choosing who we want to govern for us. To represent us. To make hard decisions for us. To look out for our best interests.

It’s actually pretty important stuff.

There’s really only one way, one real way, to make sure the right people people are being put in the right offices for the right reasons and it’s simply this:

Vote.

That’s it.

Just vote.

Now, I’ve heard lots of people say, “Oh all the politicians are all the same and my one little vote won’t really matter.” Or, “I don’t really understand any of the issues they’re arguing about.”

I really get how you could be led to any of these attitudes. But, your attitude is your choice and you can change your attitude if you want to.

If you do just a little digging, you can find out what your candidates believe and stand for.

Ask trusted friends and family.

See who your favorite newspapers endorse or look up non-biased articles on the internet and you’ll soon see the real differences between your choices.

And don’t pay too much attention to any of those ads you see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the papers from any candidate. Those are paid for by people with deep pockets who are betting that you won’t take a little time to find out for yourself who you want and just take what they say as fact. The consequence of that barrage of ads is that you may get confused and turned off to the whole process.

And the big secret is that most candidates hope you don’t vote. They know their ideas about governing would never get them elected if everyone voted, so they try really hard to confuse you enough to give up.

Some famous person once said, “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”

There have been a lot of elections decided by just a few votes, sometimes just one vote. So your vote is vitally important.

If we all do this, we’ll soon get better candidates and better government.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they’ll just have to sit on their blisters.”

— Brian Thornburg

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Put the Right People in Office: Vote

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