Volume 4, Issue 32
All current options available for choosing by the American people fail in affirmatively appealing to over 50% of the electorate. To date, all campaigns have spent their energies denouncing the other candidates as unfit. Hillary Clinton is attempting to label Don Trump as crazy and unstable. Donald Trump is attempting to define Hillary Clinton as too corrupt to be President. The Libertarian Party led by Gary Johnson is defined by a philosophy to reduce the size of the military, legalize marijuana, and limit government restrictions on most social behavior. Mr. Johnson fails to point this out in his quest to be an alternative to the two major parties. Jill Stein, as the head of the Green Party, operates under the aegis of the political theory that all politics revolves around the environment. She disregards any analysis of economic cost of such policy to the dismay of the American public.
There is a fifth option which on its face seems to be acceptable, but which upon reflection, is not. It is to not vote. As citizens we have a responsibility to participate in the democratic process. By boycotting the election, we achieve nothing but to allow the very insidious nature of the campaigns to date to play out to their illogical conclusions. As loving parents, we would never cast our children unattended out to a rough sea in a boat with no food, no water, no sail, no rudder, and no captain. Leaving the election to those with whom we have disagreement or feel disdain is casting our children’s destiny out to sea without compass, without provision, towards an unknown destination. Deciding not to vote is a violation of our moral responsibility as citizens. It is therefore an unacceptable option.
This unique and strangest of election cycles has presented to Americans the choices of untrustworthy [Clinton], versus unreliable [Trump], versus unrealistic [Johnson], versus unreasonable [Stein], versus unacceptable [No Vote] – the Un-Vote Election.
What then should be the basis for the decision-making process?
Instead of comparing the lesser of the evils and agonizing over who will cause the least amount of damage, think positively in terms of whose presidency is most likely to advance a vision and agenda in which you believe fervently. This takes effort on the part of each and every citizen to contemplate the mental blueprint of a desired vision. Complicated, unattainable, yet necessary in a time such as this?
Why?
Vision is critical to societal advancement. The often stated biblical position is – without vision, the people perish. The lack of vision leaves the people without hope. Without hope, there is despair.
It has been said that vision without a plan is hallucination. Further, a dream without purpose is fantasy. Hope without faith is disillusionment. And leadership without principle is artifice.
We each must start by deciding, on the great themes of government policy, what we believe. In the creation of jobs and economic security, do we trust free enterprise or government regulation and management? On education, do we trust the curriculum to local school boards or the federal government? On national security, do we trust in a strong national defense and a military power second to none, or do we trust in isolationism? On immigration, do we trust in border security, requirements of assimilation, and in diversity, one common culture, or porous borders and accommodation?
And in all of these great reflections, who do we trust to appoint the next three Supreme Court Justices to protect our basic belief system?
Yes, it would be wonderful if the presidential debate was about vision that provides hope. The current debate of this presidential cycle has spiraled into the depths of blindness. We are asked to choose between business as usual, heading down the same path of the wrong track, or choose change without confidence in the results. In either choice, we must weigh the risk.
It is normal to dream. It is natural to desire a better future. It is healthy to rely upon faith and hope. Perseverance in faith develops character. In a time such as this, it is our national character that will lead us to a vision that unites us as a country.
A plan with a purpose, supported by faith, executed through leadership that is dependent upon principles, is fulfillment of a vision that leads to hope for the people.
Without hope in a vision, the people will perish.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?