"Why We Should Vote".
Why we should vote
By Mark Goldstein
Editor's note: Two years ago, Louisville business consultant Mark Goldstein wrote this letter about voting, and civic responsibility, to his children, now 20 and 18. It's a timely message this election year, too.
I was encouraged by your mother to use the opportunity of an election year as a teachable moment. Here are my thoughts that I want to share with you.
Vote. Be a participant. No matter what your feelings are for the current administration or the slate of candidates, get out there and vote.
Read. Read the newspaper frequently. Find additional sources of news including sources from outside of your own community. Learn as much as you can about each candidate. Don't rely on one source of information. Don't confuse entertainers as journalists. They are sources of opinion, not facts. Talk show hosts are entertainers who make money by telling an audience what the audience wants to hear irrespective of the facts.
Listen. Even if you don't like the other person or party, listen and hear what they have to say. If you still think you're right, you can stay with your current position on an issue. If you are wrong, you'll have a chance to discover this and make a correction.
Learn how to read and how to listen. People who are marketing an idea, as opposed to giving you facts, will use key words designed to pluck at your emotions rather than inform you. Learn to recognize these words. Some examples include: very, easily, all, always, never. Disreputable people will try to win your support by demonizing a person, a group or an idea; then claim to be your savior. A person does not elevate themselves by tearing down someone else.
Think for yourself. Make your own decisions based on your best understanding of the facts. My biggest regrets are the occasions when I pre-judged someone on the basis of another person's opinions. Find out what is being left out of a story. Missing facts are a form of deception. If it's done deliberately, that's called a lie.
Don't select a candidate on the basis of a single issue. The world is a complex place. There are many issues to be addressed by the leaders of the community. Leaders have to be able to make good choices with a balanced view of how their decisions will impact many needs and issues.
Write letters and speak out. Your civic responsibility does not begin or end when you cast your vote on Election Day. Most of your elected leaders are busy year round with the “hard job” of leading. Thousands of people lobby elected officials year round to promote their own agenda. These are the people who are involved in your government. You need to be involved, also. Elected officials will do the bidding of those people who are involved.
Be a person of principles and values. Incorporate your values into your decisions. When a candidate campaigns for your vote on the basis of a principle that is important to you, hold that person accountable after you empower them with public office. If they violate that principle while in office, don't wait until the next election to cast a vote against them as your sole means of expressing your dissatisfaction. Write or call them and express your views. Encourage others to speak out, also. Your silence between the elections will be interpreted by your leaders as your approval. Principles are not principles if the boundaries they represent can be moved because they become inconvenient. Values are not values if they are situational.
Help out. Contribute your own time and effort to work on community problems. Help serve in a soup kitchen, teach someone a new job skill, help maintain the parks, etc. There is a lot to do and elected officials don't have the time, the interest or the resources to do it all. Don't rely on them. Giving is not a seasonal activity. Cross racial, ethnic and religious lines when you reach out to help others. It's an opportunity to be an ambassador of good will while you are doing good work. Your community will not be healthy if the only healthy people in your community are the ones who look just like you and worship just like you.
Love,
Dad
By Mark Goldstein
Editor's note: Two years ago, Louisville business consultant Mark Goldstein wrote this letter about voting, and civic responsibility, to his children, now 20 and 18. It's a timely message this election year, too.
I was encouraged by your mother to use the opportunity of an election year as a teachable moment. Here are my thoughts that I want to share with you.
Vote. Be a participant. No matter what your feelings are for the current administration or the slate of candidates, get out there and vote.
Read. Read the newspaper frequently. Find additional sources of news including sources from outside of your own community. Learn as much as you can about each candidate. Don't rely on one source of information. Don't confuse entertainers as journalists. They are sources of opinion, not facts. Talk show hosts are entertainers who make money by telling an audience what the audience wants to hear irrespective of the facts.
Listen. Even if you don't like the other person or party, listen and hear what they have to say. If you still think you're right, you can stay with your current position on an issue. If you are wrong, you'll have a chance to discover this and make a correction.
Learn how to read and how to listen. People who are marketing an idea, as opposed to giving you facts, will use key words designed to pluck at your emotions rather than inform you. Learn to recognize these words. Some examples include: very, easily, all, always, never. Disreputable people will try to win your support by demonizing a person, a group or an idea; then claim to be your savior. A person does not elevate themselves by tearing down someone else.
Think for yourself. Make your own decisions based on your best understanding of the facts. My biggest regrets are the occasions when I pre-judged someone on the basis of another person's opinions. Find out what is being left out of a story. Missing facts are a form of deception. If it's done deliberately, that's called a lie.
Don't select a candidate on the basis of a single issue. The world is a complex place. There are many issues to be addressed by the leaders of the community. Leaders have to be able to make good choices with a balanced view of how their decisions will impact many needs and issues.
Write letters and speak out. Your civic responsibility does not begin or end when you cast your vote on Election Day. Most of your elected leaders are busy year round with the “hard job” of leading. Thousands of people lobby elected officials year round to promote their own agenda. These are the people who are involved in your government. You need to be involved, also. Elected officials will do the bidding of those people who are involved.
Be a person of principles and values. Incorporate your values into your decisions. When a candidate campaigns for your vote on the basis of a principle that is important to you, hold that person accountable after you empower them with public office. If they violate that principle while in office, don't wait until the next election to cast a vote against them as your sole means of expressing your dissatisfaction. Write or call them and express your views. Encourage others to speak out, also. Your silence between the elections will be interpreted by your leaders as your approval. Principles are not principles if the boundaries they represent can be moved because they become inconvenient. Values are not values if they are situational.
Help out. Contribute your own time and effort to work on community problems. Help serve in a soup kitchen, teach someone a new job skill, help maintain the parks, etc. There is a lot to do and elected officials don't have the time, the interest or the resources to do it all. Don't rely on them. Giving is not a seasonal activity. Cross racial, ethnic and religious lines when you reach out to help others. It's an opportunity to be an ambassador of good will while you are doing good work. Your community will not be healthy if the only healthy people in your community are the ones who look just like you and worship just like you.
Love,
Dad
Labels: My Vote
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 7:57 AM
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