How many times have parents threatened to pull a car over to the side of the road to deal with unruly children? I myself have heard it many times and have even said it to my own children (although I personally found the knee pinch a much more effective method of regaining order) but I never actually pulled a car over.
A couple of days I found myself doing virtually the same thing with my last blog post.
My intention was to rationally explain my choice of Presidential Candidate and why. I was also interested in initiating a discussion of why other people supported their candidate but asked that the conversation be kept positive. I didn’t bash the other candidate and asked that anyone participating did the same. Sadly, while the conversation began in a good way; initially the folks who didn’t agree were respectful. But soon the comments began spiraling directly down into the “dark side.” There was a lot of sound and furry, but little substantive discussion of issues. That is why, after a couple of days of monitoring the discussion, I “pulled the car over” and pulled the post.
The whole thing left me at a loss. It seems to me that if you’re actually going to place your vote for an individual, you should at least have a reason why you support them and being against their opponent is not a reason in my opinion. We’re not talking about voting someone off “The Voice” or “Dancing With the Stars.” This is not a popularity contest and you don’t even have to like the person you’re voting for, but you should at least consider who is best qualified for the job. If you believe your candidate is qualified, you should be able to articulate what those qualifications are regardless of whom their opponent is.
That is exactly what I attempted to do. Maybe I wasn’t as clear as I had intended, but be assured, I’m not supporting Hilary Clinton because she’s a woman. The fact she is a woman is as I began my last post, is a historical milestone. I am supporting her because she has shown commitment to public service for her entire adult life. She is a leader. She is smart. She is tough. She has experience in both domestic and foreign policy and knows how the government works. I respect her for what she has accomplished and trust her to take our country in the right direction.
Do I think she’s perfect? Absolutely not, but I do believe she has earned the respect that should be afforded anyone in her position and that neither she, nor her opponent should be judged by anything but the facts – hard facts, not conjecture, “feelings,” accusations or suppositions and certainly not by an avalanche of memes on the internet. Just because someone has cleverly assembled words on a photo doesn’t make something the truth, nor does repeating it over and over again.
And don’t make me pull this car over again!