Editor, Times-Union:
Ready or not, election season with all of the noise, glorified promises, and mud slinging is once again upon us. This election, it seems to me, is very different from previous elections. This time we are not just electing local, state and national leaders. This time we are choosing a future that may actually go forward - or, tragically, may return our country and all of us backward into a not-so-great past. I suggest there are some guidelines to help with our voting choices. Will we elect candidates ...
- who constantly create problems or those who strive to solve problems?
- who avoid responsibility and always cast blame or those who readily accept responsibility?
- who drive division among us or those who strive to pull us together?
- who threaten to suspend our Constitution or those who keep their oath to protect and defend it?
- who impose the will of a minority of sycophants and influential benefactors or those who listen to and act upon the will of the vast majority of voters who elected them?
- who block and even roll back progress or those who help pave the way for progress?
- who profess to be pro-life but continue to cut programs to protect, feed and honestly educate that life or those who truly are pro-life— for everyone?
- who say they protect freedom of religion but dictate what that ruling religion should be or those who follow the Constitution and maintain the separation of church and state?
- who profess to fight for our rights but brazenly strip those rights from us or those who fight to preserve everyone’s constitutional rights?
- who continually push for more science to be taught in schools but deny and ridicule the findings and warnings of scientists or those who listen attentively to and act upon proven scientific realities?
- who give those businesses a pass with less regulation and lower tax laws in order to line their own pockets and keep them in power or those who hold those businesses accountable for the safety, well being, and welfare of all American citizens?
- who hold our military leadership hostage because of their own ideologies or those who do all they can to boost the morale and provide for the safety and well-being of the men and women who dedicate their lives to protect our country?
Register to vote if you haven’t already, and don’t be an uninformed voter. It is imperative that we, as American citizens, read all we can - from all points of view. We must listen attentively, question voraciously, fact check and verify everything and everyone diligently. We have choices. Let’s make informed choices. We must not rely on social media alone for information. Our state, our country, our planet, our children and their children are counting on us to make good choices.
We have more than a year to educate ourselves. We cannot afford to waste it. It is our right and our duty to make good choices - for all of us.
Jeanne Schutz
Winona Lake, via email