Don’t Choose Based on Appearance
We all want change. It is human nature to want some change. Most people don’t look for major changes in their daily life, but when it comes to politics, everyone can find things that they believe should change.
There were studies that I’d read when the Clintons were elected. Yes, way back then. The studies were trying to find out on what grounds people were attracted to a particular candidate. The results were disheartening to say the least. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t keep the article, so you can choose to disbelieve it. The respondents were asked why they voted that way they did and overwhelmingly chose based on appearance. Their looks, mannerisms, and speaking ability.
Honor and dignity were missing completely. The long held belief that we were created by God with dignity and value was not even a fleeting thought. If a candidate doesn’t have any substance, but can hold your attention, he/she should be thought of as no more than a clown.
All human beings, everywhere, have the quality or condition of being an individual person. This is personhood. A person endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among these the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are consecutive, not concurrent. The right to life is paramount and not equal to the right to liberty etc. The first right is the most important, because none of the others matter, without the first.
The curent presidential candidates are the news for those watching politics. It is important, but not to everyone in the US. Many, many people barely notice or they are totally spoon fed by the national main stream media. They wouldn’t even know anything without it. We need to use some of our time to become good citizens. We must become informed about the reality of what these people stand for and what they stand against.
Every race matters. I have to admit, I have been more than a little discouraged and have skipped voting in some years past. It might be a national or state or local election, but who is in government matters. They make the rules that everything else runs by. Even if you’re living off the grid, in part or fully, the laws of the land and the policies of the departments and agencies impact the entirety of our lives.
You could be in a clearing in the woods, completely self sufficient, but is the area, air, or water polluted? Is it protected? Are the animals in the area hunted, not hunted, allowed to carry disease, allowed to ravage the land? You don’t live alone.
If you’re in the city, do you think about how the officials in that city affect your life or the lives of those around you? Are the police well funded or understaffed? Are there successful treatment centers for drug addicts? Is there a killing center in your city? How well are the schools educating the children? Are the streets clean? Are they dangerous? Do you pay for services in addition to or as a part of taxes? Do you have community involvement or are there a lot of closed door meeting where decisions are made?
It may appear that neither you or your vote matter. It may appear that everything is fine. It may appear that watching tv or playing games is a good expenditure of your time. We all feel that way sometimes, but the truth is we were created to be thinking beings. We do not need to make decisions based on feelings or appearances.
It’s a challenge. I know it is a real challenge to educate yourself on what these people are doing in our lives, but we must. Each of us is designed to have what I call, a cross-relationship. We have been created to have a relationship with God. That is a vertical representation. The horizontal is our relationships with each other. We must know what the people around us are doing. They directly and indirectly impact us.
Start somewhere. Google voting records for the candidates. Ask around, but not just your friends. Talk about it. Find out if the candidate will vote in step with the concept of personhood. The concept that every single human being deserves the right to not be killed, based on someone’s arbitrary set of criteria. If some are legally killed, it won’t be too long before others are added to the list. You can be sure that if a person doesn’t respect your right to life, they won’t respect your other rights either.
Don’t Choose Based on Appearances. Find out what’s inside of every candidate.