I've been mainly keeping quiet on the political front, cause I know it can lead to endless debates. Which, I personally don't believe changes people minds if they know what they want/believe without any interest in truth. Yet, I've been getting a little frustrated that for those who are still deciding, there's a plethora of one-sided information going around. So, I found Daniel Cox's (AerylonBW) blog to be very interesting. I didn't write any of it below, and claim no credit. I'm not looking for a debate either, but simply giving more food for thought.
Written By Daniel Cox (AerylonBW)
I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not whether they're a Republican or a Democrat. I don't believe there are 'two Americas,' but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there - and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America, and her people first.
The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for far too long.
Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their
heads at the political pundits and so-called 'news', thinking that what they hear is always spun by whoever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.
We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified
for the job. Essentially election is a hiring process, and the candidates of any Presidential Campaign go from city to city, state to state, to take their voices to the people, and to those who vote and elect our leaders...it is this idea that is the job interview for which these people who run for president strive for most of if not all of, their adult lives. So, Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?
I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it 'change'. Change what?, I ask.
Well, we're going to change America , they say.
In what way?, I query.
We want someone new and fresh in the White House, they exclaim.
So, someone who's not a politician?, I press.
Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama, they state.
So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?
No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change.
And so it goes. 'Change we can believe in.' Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. No one can really tell me why or how Obama is going to change anything-only that "he's going to change a lot of stuff." Stuff? WHAT STUFF?! Be specific. Step by step. Whats broken? What needs fixing and what in all opf God's green Earth needs Change, change, change.? I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth - other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change. We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?
CHANGE WHAT?
I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one.
Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton , look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes.
For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.
Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. Five a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. (Or lack there-of if your voting for Obama) 6, 000 meals, give or take.
John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part?
He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began. Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy, bug infested, disease ridden cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man?
I submit to you that that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain. The issues as important as they are, and as callous as the media have become, it is this single act of a man who was not only NOT selfish, he opted to stay with his fellow soldiers. The type of Sacrifice that cannot be matched without someone out right dying for you and your country.
Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis , during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying 'We honor John McCain's service...BUT...', which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, 'Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change.'
I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America , and there's a huge difference.
Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the Senate in 1982.
Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe 'likability' is a higher priority for them than 'trust'. Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of
the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.
Don't you see that it is time for us to take a stand? It is time for thinking Americans to say, 'Enough is enough!' It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party lines. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America, and her people, and the future of those people and the generations to come first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.
There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country. I want a man who puts his country, and his people before his own needs, and the needs of his family after our own families. A President is not just a fancy title of someone that sits in a big white office all day doing nothing but calculating how much he can 'score' today. Being a president is about being a leader of men, and an example to the rest of the world that shines brighter than any other world leader.
This is a man who knows full well that he and his come second to the good of the USA and her people. This is A man who will not only lead us to a brighter future, but a future that is not curtailed to by cowardly men, but by men and women who not only know how to fight for their citizens, but do so without hesitance. There is no greater honor than to serve your fellow man, and if you should die in that service, then let the future generations know why and how, and who you were, and that you gave everything, including your life, the ultimate sacrifice, for the idea that freedom is everyone's job, and everyone has a right to it, and you died with honor and glory that goes into our history books marking you forever as the hero you are, male or female, black or white, Christian or Muslim, Asian or Mexican, Republican or Democrat or Independent, Green Party or NO PARTY. It is not about one man, or one woman. It is about millions of them. It is about the United States of America. And you know what? I am and always will be proud of my country, and I will always love it, and what it stands for: FREEDOM FOR ALL. So as you can see. I want a President who's qualified to lead.
And [dangit], I want my country back! So ya, I'm voting for John McCain. Sorry Obama, you may be a pretty face to the media, but the real men and women of this country can see right through your charade and how plastic and fake you really are.
Vote in November for John McCain!!
And If you happen to find someone without a smile, why not give him one of yours?
