Please Think

Do you know what's scarier than Halloween? Election Day on November 8.

We stand, all 335 million of us, at a fork in the road. This mid-term election is as threatening to our Republic as December 19, 1860; the day before South Carolina seceded from the Union, heralding the beginning of the Civil War.

One way leads us on the level path. We are not all the same. Our wants and needs are all different. Those who would truly represent us can only try their best to do the best job for all of us. In that, it is unlikely that anyone gets all that they want. We can only hope that most get what they need. That's governing.

The other path leads backward; to being ruled (note the different verb – it's important) by a cabal of self-appointed arbiters who espouse to know 'what is best for you.' About 240 years ago, we threw off that yoke. I do not welcome its return. Three possibilities come to mind … none are positive: tyranny, fascism, or anarchy.

I'm pleading with my readers to consider their vote, unless of course you've already voted early. In that instance, you can only wait and see. Stop listening to the unnamed political action committees spending more than the Gross National Product of many nations to convince you that the other candidate is wrong. I said that exactly as I wrote it. Powerful sources within both parties are striving for your vote and, ultimately, control of all three branches of government. Please check the candidate website. Read with the candidate says about the issues. Ask what they will do, not what the other person has done. Ask how they'll do it. Then ask how they'll pay for it. Those are the questions to ask – not why the other party is doing it all wrong.

There are candidates running on both sides who have no business running for animal control officer much less national office. A few are amoral. Some are outwardly fascist. A few others are bordering on true Socialist. One or two would use public office to avoid criminal prosecution. A number are outright racist, anti-Semitic, and/or misogynists. And some are merely pawns. Nearly all of those challenging incumbents are running at the behest of their parties. Each has some set of traits being used by the party elite to counter their opponent. Look at the money trail.

I fear the looming shift in power. Those who would seize control promise only more division and vengeful actions, not forward momentum for this nation as a whole. Do they represent you?

• Do you want to prevent your neighbor from voting, just because they're different from you?
• Do you want your or your parents' social safety net, the one they paid into their entire working lives, slashed to facilitate tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate investors?
• Are you satisfied with increasing fire storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, flash floods, drought, and commerce disruption? Those who tell you that climate change is fake news don't care about the future. They own stock in or are recipients of massive donations from lobbyists for major corporations, including oil and coal. They could not care less about the future of this earth, as long as their present is greatly enriched.

Rest assured that those who want to take power don't need Social Security; ergo, they don't care about those who do. Their investments and high pay support lifestyles well beyond those of average Joe. They don't like, understand, or represent minority viewpoints; ergo they don't want them disrupting their own say in the government. Oh, they'll pander to a minority group for votes, but once in power, watch the about face. (By the way, they, themselves, will be in the minority in ten years, and they know it. THAT is what they fear most of all.)

Please do not let the inmates seize the asylum. Use your head. As Jimmy Dolan (League of Their Own) said, "That's that lump, three feet above your, uh, rear end."

Vote. Vote Smart. Vote for your country and ensure freedom for all and a safe future for all our grandchildren.