I wrote a column in the past about how voting matters. When it came out shortly before an election, I remember how part of me wanted to hide it! I mean voting does matter and I am always amazed about how many intelligent people don’t realize that, but informed voting is what really matters. I didn’t want all the uninformed, low information voters going to vote just to say they voted. Those kinds of votes could be damaging to the best candidates in the uninformed society we live in.
Recently, perhaps, some got their first glimpse at the Republican candidates for President of the United States in the Fox News debate. I suspect many didn’t even watch the debates because they just consider it too early to care. I believe this is a serious mistake. As elections grow nearer, things generally get uglier. That is a major turn off for many voters and some will tune election news out. In a country that fought so hard for its freedoms, including the right to vote, we really seem to take this voting privilege lightly.
This is precisely the time to start paying attention to the different candidates and what stands they take on the really important issues. Voting for quality leaders that reflect our countries foundational principles really does matter. I hear so many people say things like “the President really doesn’t do anything.” Please pause and reflect for a moment about Barack Obama’s presidency. Ask yourself if America is better off now than when his first term began. The President has a huge impact on Congress and the American people. He has the power to appoint people, veto, and simply get behind a microphone and influence the American people by setting the tone for the nation. I am only using Obama as my example because he is our current president.
I believe in this election we are truly blessed with a huge panel of pretty decent candidates for the Republican nomination. How to narrow them down and chose one becomes a challenge. It is very important to not only pay attention to debates, but do some research on our own. The debates are ok, but don’t only rely on them for all your information. The candidates don’t usually get equal opportunity to express themselves accurately in this setting. We really have no excuses with information right at our finger tips. There are so many different issues to consider, but I like to go completely basic first.
If the candidate isn’t 100% pro-life for me, he or she is not even a consideration. When I say 100%, I mean a baby is a baby at the point of conception and it doesn’t matter one bit how the baby got into the womb. It is that simple. Every human has a right to life and all of us started out the same exact way.
Hopefully by now we have all heard about Planned Parenthood taking their abortion practices, which are horrific enough, to the next level. They have been killing babies and selling off the parts of the babies to researchers. I said “hopefully” because I just recently realized that some people didn’t know about this, but they certainly knew about Cecil the lion. Sad, but true. This current story should easily bring to light the candidates’ stance on human life.
We hear many shouting “Defund Planned Parenthood!” Of course, I believe that Planned Parenthood ought to be defunded, but why now? Wasn’t it horrible enough when we thought they were just killing babies? I had a conversation with someone who told me that he doesn’t see the difference between organ donation and what Planned Parenthood is doing. Really? Isn’t organ donation voluntary? I doubt the unborn child would have signed up for this.
I believe one way to narrow down the candidates in this field is to pay attention to who was acting on their pro-life status BEFORE Planned Parenthood took its already evil practices to a whole new level. It seems like all the Republican candidates are saying they are pro-life now, but we have to pay closer attention. Selling of baby body parts is disgusting, but isn’t the abortion horrific in the first place? I hear many people say they are pro-life, but they are “ok” with an abortion in the cases of rape and incest. That’s not pro-life.
Candidates that support any pro-choice organizations or people are out too. I believe it makes the most sense to choose the candidates that are “all in” and speak out on the pro-life issue and then take things from there. The candidates that have already taken the firmest stances are the ones least likely to get swayed by the political campaign pressures that are inevitably coming their way.
“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Image: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/06/kardong-kalabaw-interview-1-freedom-democracy/#comments
