From the Inside Out

Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama battled tonight in a tense debate televised on ABC.  It is six days before their showdown in Philadelphia.  As each day passes, the pressure is mounting for both candidates.  They have been fighting it out for over a year.  Each one is fiercely campaigning in city after city with no clear winner emerging.  It continues to be a long, hard fought battle — one that will probably continue raging right up until the Democratic convention in August.

Frankly, I was beginning to get tired of it all — the political bantering, jabs, attacks, and talk show discussions — until I received a disturbing call from one of my employees.  This call reminded me how lucky I am to live in a country where we have the freedom to express our beliefs and vote according to those beliefs without the threat of violence or bloodshed. 

During the call, I learned that this individual grew up in Kenya.  His parents still live there.  That is, they did until a few short months ago.  After the elections last year, extreme violence erupted.  Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled the country to escape the violence. 

His parents escaped, but they left everything behind — their home, their business, and their lives.  They are living temporarily in India with friends.  Thinking the violence would die down quickly, they had originally planned to be away for only a couple of weeks.  It’s been months since they left, and they are still frightened to go home.  Nothing has improved.  In fact, four more people died yesterday. 

These people are the same age as my parents.  They are stranded with only a few belongings, not knowing where to go or what to do.  They can’t return home, and they can’t stay in India.

I can’t begin to imagine how horrific that must be.  Instantly, I felt ashamed for taking my freedom for granted.  We live in one of the greatest countries in the world.  Sure, it’s not perfect, but we can express our beliefs.  We can participate in a democratic election process and have confidence that our country will not falter or be subjected to extreme violence resulting from elections. 

No matter what you think of the election process or the candidates, you should remember how lucky we are to have the freedoms and security we enjoy today.  Don’t take it lightly.  Don’t complain.  And don’t take it for granted.  There are hundreds of thousands of refugees who would gladly give everything to switch places with us.

In an election year, you hear the words “vote for change” often.  The words sound great when spoken by candidates.  Let’s face it…no one likes being stuck in a rut.  We want variety and excitement.  Add that to the fact that when you look at how the country is run by politicians, it’s easy to find things you’d like to change.

However, we must exercise caution when listening to the banter between candidates.  Don’t jump on the bandwagon for change without thoroughly investigating what changes your candidate wants to make and how those changes will impact the country. 

I don’t know the author for the following write-up, but it struck a chord with me, so I’m posting it anyway. 

What a difference a new Congress made…..
A little over one year ago:

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2½-year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006, we’ve seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value
evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion
dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

Want some more of that “change”…just keep on voting Democratic.

Another tragedy occurred this week.  A gunman walked into a crowded college classroom and murdered five innocent people at Northern Illinois University.  It’s such a shame, and each time this happens, I ask myself how many lives could have been saved if just one person in that classroom had been armed with a gun.   

In a country where it’s legal to own guns, I don’t understand why our schools and universities are “gun free” zones.  Clearly, this isn’t working.  It hasn’t prevented any deranged person from walking into the campus and killing people.  If law abiding citizens were able to protect themselves while on campus, I wonder how many of these situations might be avoided.  How many lives might be saved?  I think it would be much tougher to slaughter people if they could shoot back and protect themselves. 

Have you ever wondered why these lunatics choose schools and colleges to conduct their acts of terror?  Of course, no one knows for certain.  However, I would suggest that it might have something to do with the fact that students are sitting ducks with absolutely no way to fight back, and these people know it.  They know they can inflict more damage in our educational institutions than in any other place.   

Giving people the right-to-carry arms decreases crime rates.  The statistics tell the story.  Are we ever going to be able to stop unstable people from committing senseless acts of violence?  Probably not.  The problem, however, is not with the gun.  It’s with the individual who is using the gun. 

Let’s stop trying to fix the symptoms and begin to address the real problem. We have created a troubled society that doesn’t value life and is morally deficient.  Plus, there’s not adequate care for those who have mental health problems.  However, that’s probably another topic for another blog.

So, what can you do to help prevent future acts and enable people to protect themselves?  You may want to consider that question when you go to the polls and vote later this year.  Your vote affects the policies and the laws of this country.  So let your voice be heard.

Following closely on the heels of Super Sunday is the day when a large number of states hold primary elections — otherwise known as “Super” Tuesday.  Being a Republican, I was disappointed when Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the running.  I found him to be one of the more interesting candidates.  Nevertheless, he’s out, and I’m evaluating the leftovers now.  Since the primary won’t be held in Texas until March 4th, there’s still plenty of time to decide.

Unfortunately, I’m not that fond of any of the remaining candidates.  I don’t know if they have the ability to outlast, outwit and outplay against Hillary or Obama in the ultimate game of “Presidential Survivor”.  Obama is impressive — polished and well spoken.  In fact, I would vote for him, but I don’t share his political beliefs.  He will be a tough one to beat.  I’m afraid he may be our next president, and that concerns me because I’m worried that his policies may not be good for our country or strong enough against terrorism.   Although, I guess I might say that about any Democratic candidate. 

Speaking of other Democratic candidates, I have to take brief moment to rant about Hillary Clinton.  Okay, where do I start?  She is arrogant.  I don’t agree with her politics.  I’ve never liked her.  She is so abrasive that I can barely stand to listen to her for more than a couple of minutes.  I also hate the fact that people expect me to support her simply because she is a woman.  That’s rubbish.  I don’t think you should vote for any candidate based solely on their gender, age or race.  These people are interviewing for a job; the most important job in our country.  The person who gets my vote will be the person that I believe is the best candidate for the job; the one who has the most experience, executes the best policies, shares my political beliefs, and acts with integrity.  In my opinion, Hillary is not that candidate. 

In the Republican race, the leading candidate (after the primaries tonight) seems to be McCain.  At this point, I would have to say that I’m leaning in his direction, but I do want to fully investigate Romney and Huckabee.  I’m not that interested in Romney, so for me, it’s probably a decision between McCain and Huckabee. 

What do you think?  Which candidates do you like?  What are the pros/cons of McCain or Huckabee in the white house?

For those of us in Texas, we’ve got four weeks to decide.