Important decisions to be made
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
We now know who the choices are for president and vice president in the November election. And those choices cannot be any further apart on issues, beliefs, experience, and love for our country.
Of course, this doesn’t consider if there will be a challenge of some kind on the nomination of Kamala Harris. She has received NO votes from voters, but somehow she has been given enough votes from somewhere to win her party’s nomination. She was not a popular candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries – again winning no votes – so why would people think she would make a good choice to replace President Biden?
I’m not going to go into all the differences between the Trump/Vance and Harris/Walz teams. If you do a little research and watch a variety of news programs you will hear more about that.
The one thing that really sticks out to me is that it was Walz that called the Republicans “weird” and must think all the transgender people in our federal government and the drag queens in our libraries are “normal.” Don’t get me wrong – I am not calling anyone weird or normal! We all have our own quirks and differences.
Anyway, keep up with the news if you really want to be an informed, educated voter. We need to really understand the stance on the issues that will direct our country for the next four years and even further into the future. Think of the lives of your children and grandchildren and the type of country you want for them. Do you want them to grow up in an America First country or an America Last country?
Look at your own values – and look deep, not just at how you have thought in the past. How have things worked out for you so far? Are you living the life you had hoped for, a better life than your parents, been able to provide more for your own children, or enjoy being able to make decisions for yourself?
We have issues to watch outside our own country that are going to affect our way of life in the future. The Middle East is a powder keg with a match held close to the fuse. One small move can potentially set the entire area at war, and where will the United States stand? Russia, China and North Korea are a constant threat to us and are watching how we are leaning in this election. Add them to the threats from Iran, Iraq, Hamas, and Hezbollah and we have a possible WWIII hanging over our heads.
Our military is now led by wishy-washy leaders who have lowered all the requirements and expectations for our troops. We are probably weaker in manpower and equipment than we have ever been. And our national security agencies are in shambles! They don’t even know what is going on within their own agency, much less what is going on in the other agencies or the rest of the world!
Spend some time doing some deep thinking about the kind of country we could be living in by this time next year. Will we be at war – and with who? Will we be in a full-grown recession or depression? Will we still be overrun by illegal immigrants who will be given full voting rights with free medical care and education; will we be struggling more to buy groceries or gas; will our law enforcement agencies be even weaker than they are now?
What about our schools? Will our children be getting an education or an indoctrination? Will you have a choice of what kind of car you buy, what kind of stove you have, where your child goes to school? Will your children or grandchildren be able to find jobs to support themselves and their families or will jobs be replaced by technology alone?
We have huge decisions to make. Don’t just accept what you see on TV or read on Facebook or what others’ opinions you hear. These are the most important decisions we will make. Be sure you make the best decision you can. Reach out to other people in the opposite political party and try to understand why we are so far apart on the issues. Don’t you think maybe there is some real truth somewhere in the center?
I know I hear things on Fox News that cause me to shake my head. The same for CNN and MSNBC. Most of the things being said are the opinions of the people talking and should not be totally believed. There might be a small piece of truth somewhere, but it is overshadowed by their own personal opinions or the instructions of the networks they work for.
The one good thing about the media is that we have the candidates in videos to hear what they actually said themselves instead of just hearsay. Yes, opinions change, but do they generally change drastically in a short period of time?
I am hopeful that there will be debates between Trump/Harris and Vance/Walz. We need to see each one of them and how they can manage themselves while promoting their stands on the main issues we face. That is really the only way to see what the differences are so we can compare our own values with theirs. Somehow it needs to be done in a non-partisan manner, but I’m not sure it’s possible or if the candidates would even agree to do it. Time will tell.
Please keep the Grier, Woodfin and Rainwater families in your prayers for the loss of their loved ones. I know there are others who also need prayer, but these are the ones I have personal knowledge of. God bless you all!