Tuesday, November 6th is the day we will vote to remove elected politicians that a majority feels are not doing a good job. We will also re-elect government officials who we believe are doing a good job. Officials who have retired, resigned or feared they might not win if they ran will be replaced.
This is an important election but so are all other elections for local, state and federal positions of power. Remember that while you are not required to vote for your favorite candidates you forfeit your right to complain if you don’t vote. The United States of America is truly a Democratic Republic and voting is one of the sacred obligations that we each should obey.
Voting for government officials takes place every couple years and every four years and with U.S. Senators, every six years. Their jobs have been created by our Constitution and other documents to assure that these men and women of government perform all their tasks legally and for the benefit of the citizens of this nation.
Those who violate that pledge/oath should not be in office in the first place and should be summarily voted out of office as soon as possible. On the other hand, it is our individual obligation to know who we are voting for no matter which party candidates claim as their political standard bearer.
Voting is an act of free will; in many countries citizens do not have that free will and depend on their nation’s leaders to provide employment, earnings, safety, and other benefits even though citizens have no voice in the names of who will serve as their leaders. About 195 nations in this world depend on different currencies and customs, thus we must realize that world trade of about $77 trillion annually must be fair and friendly even when we believe some nations are not trustworthy. And that is why we insist on our sovereignty, safety, defensive posture and freedom of trade and travel in the air, on land and sea within the bounds of treaties and other international regulations.
You should not allow anyone to tell you who to vote for. But I hope you will read the following words of how to vote. First find out all the facts possible about the candidates. Listen to their words of promise and wisdom but do not vote for someone’s promises; vote for past performance. In the present political scheme of things, promises are often made to get your vote but not performed for many, some devious, reasons. Past promises that are made and followed by positive actions and policies that pave the path of freedom, security and prosperity of the people are clearly the candidates to vote for.
Here are some examples: Mr. Obama was elected to office in 2009 using his mantra or campaign slogan of ‘Hope & Change.’ Neither hope nor change are strategies; they are general vague statements of presumption. The presumptions by some citizens meant jobs but only moderate gains were made as millions more citizens were added to welfare rolls. Minority workers and women were hoping for jobs and increased earnings but eight years later Blacks, Hispanics and women hadn’t received much help.
Many of us were hoping for added security in a troubled world but the ‘red line’ in Syria went unchallenged as did the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula; the Joint Plan of Action (JCPA) aka ‘The Iranian Nuclear Deal’ was seriously flawed; North Korea was shooting unfriendly missiles & NATO members were not paying their fair share of defense contributions. The Cuban dead-end deal of moving the U.S. Embassy back to Havana is in the process of going out of business and Israel’s Capitol has been moved to Jerusalem; promises of this move have been threatened by several U.S. Presidents but only accomplished by the present President.
Overall, the U.S. economy is enjoying robust growth in employment and higher wages beating all records dating back to 2009. Unfounded personal hatred of our present administration has no place in the voting booth but major achievements should remind us that ‘Draining the Washington D.C. Swamp’ is in progress to the benefit of all U.S. citizens and the world at large.
Dick Baynton
