Topsy Turvy

And away she goes! Nobody knows where! What’s up is down and down is up; in is out and out is in. the new and the old have swapped places. And so has the truth. Those in charge of Washington DC are bent and the rest of us need to focus our attention elsewhere.

Let’s face some facts:

We the People have control of the ballot box on election day; we don’t have control on any of the other days. Only at the ballot box. So everyone needs to be certain that their vote counts for something.

During the remainder of the year we only have control on any election that happens along. We need to pay attention to the issues and vote accordingly.

That is the only way we have control in a democracy – the power of the vote.

At other times we have influence. We can pester the daylights out of our elected officials and ask them to support our points of view and enact appropriate legislation. But we don’t vote on those matters. We can only tally what this elected official did over the period of his/her term; and then vote to retain or replace at the next election. That’s it. No other power exists.

We also have the power over the time and efforts we exert on the issues that matter the most to us. If it is education, donate time and support for your education programs, classrooms and tutoring however you can. Support the same things with donated dollars if you don’t have talents or time to share.

Other interests you can spend time to support: Meals on Wheels. Church. Various and sundry charities. Counseling teens. Mentoring in others in your area of specialty. Helping a younger co-worker develop his or her career strengths for a stronger future. So many things each of us can do. And we should do these things because they are power in the face of political power. If the government doesn’t do enough in areas of your concern, you do the extra work. Get others to do the same. Make a difference.

It is not all up to the government to do these things. We do all have power to exercise; it is just on a smaller scale.

Now, back to power and control at the federal level. Please keep these thoughts in mind:

1.      During the primary election season, get to know your favored candidate and vote for him/her. If she or he does not win, throw your vote behind the choice of the primary winners. Do not dilute your vote by throwing it away: not voting; voting for someone who certainly will not win (history lesson: Bernie Sanders had a lot of support; when he did not win his primary, many of his supporters didn’t vote, or voted for a clear loser (3^rd or 4^th party candidate) or voted for Trump. The result was a Trump win.) Don’t let this happen again.

2.      Know who supports your point of view and encourage them to follow suit in voting only for those candidates you can mostly agree with.

Only by doing this will we get rid of these two scourges:

a.      Trump and his minions

b.      Any and all republicans who have supported trump in the senate and house; they are working for their own power base and purse without regard to the nation’s best interest. They have proven this time and again in the first two years of trump’s term. Don’t let them get away with this.

All of this takes patience. The nonsense will continue until these people are voted out of office, OR until the Mueller Report and indictments are handed down. Be certain of this: indictments will follow. That is what Mueller is finding and managing and not leaking. The public relations campaign by trump and guilliani are clear marks of guilty people. If they are innocent, they will smile, say nothing, and get back to business. Instead they manage the news cycle day in and day out, just like they want to.

Be an informed voter. Know the issues and the candidates. Vote intelligently. Prove the American system of democracy works. When we have a solid core of reasonable people in office, then we can clean up the damage done during these past 18 months.

July 11, 2018