If you haven’t and you are registered, please vote. America needs you to do your part as a citizen. Our country isn’t perfect, but it is home.
Voting is one of the few things that our country asks of us. Our ability to choose our own leaders is what makes democracy work. The leaders of our country need to hear our voices. We have the power; not them.
That’s all.
Now, go vote. And if you have already done so, thank you.
Hugs,
Lu
Donkey… out of you and me..
Please don’t assume you know what is in my heart. Or in my political mind.
Don’t assume because I am an Unitarian Universalist that I vote a straight Democratic or that because I was raised in a Republican you know who I am going to vote for.
I vote for whomever I believe will do the best for the country. Period.
Of course, if your political parties followers insult my intelligent enough because they think I am for the other side it doesn’t bode well for your candidate.
I am beginning to dread elections since it means that I have to fled certain relatives houses to avoid fights. It is actually ironic that the very people whose houses I have to avoid are the people who made me so independent. They are the ones who taught me to stand and think on my own.
I stand with Big Bird.. Don’t use my name in your political game. Seriously, don’t.
As funny as the memes are that poke funny at Romney’s debate graft in which he said that he was going to cut funding to PBS, I think it is wrong for either campaign to use Sesame Street characters in attack ads.(Romney did it as well, folks.)
There is also no need for the campaigns to spend the money on creating ads including these characters when the internet is full of meme generators. Spend your money elsewhere and don’t politicize a beloved icon of childhood.
I think if Big Bird were to speak out he would tell both sides that they need to work on getting along and telling the truth. The only way to really fix the country is for everyone to work together and find solutions that work for everyone. Not just a select few.
He would also probably say that there are some things in life that are priceless and help everyone like public parks and educational shows. Yes, they cost money, but they do so much good and are an essential part of who were are as Americans.
I am a child who grew up watching Reading Rainbow, Mister Rogers, Captain Kangaroo and Sesame Street. Three of those shows I watched on my local PBS stations. They helped instill a love of reading, fairness and curiosity in my young mind. They taught me values that other children’s program could or would not. No offense G.I. Joe or Thundercats.
Yes, our country is in trouble but we shouldn’t thought Big Bird out with the nest of excess government spending. Somethings are worth preserving. PBS and NPR are among them. Just my humble, Big Bird loving opinion.
Sincerely,
Lu
P.S. Floridians, today is the last day to register to vote. You still have time to do it online. Just click this link.
Weeping time has come again
Reaping what was sewn
With good, yet bitter intentions.
The United States of America is in a crisis, not the financial one facing the economy; it is a crisis of conscious. A crisis that I believe has been created by the media and the politicians to distract us from their lack of leadership. I also believe that it occurs on both sides of the political spectrum.
It didn’t start with the Muppet’s or with Chick-Fil-A. Both companies are exercising their rights. It has little to do with boycotts or Christianity. The only thing I will say on issue of Christianity is that Jesus spoke of love not hate and said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. He didn’t say anything about hating our neighbors or legislating morality.
However, nothing sells papers or increases ratings like conflict. Attack people’s faith or religious beliefs, even allude to someone else doing it and they will shout to the heavens, not to mention post on Facebook. Words, we forget at times have power; more power than we want to admit. A blogger & author that I admire came out with a post against the boycott inferring that it was anti-Christian. I disagree with her, but I respect her opinion. Something I was raised to do. Something I believe in doing.
Somehow America has forgotten that basic ideal that disagreeing does not mean hating the opposition. It isn’t a us verses them. We are no longer in the Cold War. One of my best friends disagrees with me on the new healthcare law, another on conservatives issues and don’t get me started on the difference between me and my Papa’s political philosophies. Yet, none of these people have un-friended me or told me I am going to hell. They love me and I love them.
We are all Americans. We have the right to choose where and how we spend our money. I boycotted a locally owned business for the better part of ten years because of the insulting manner that two of my friends were treated at that store. These two people had actively support the company and were humiliated in front of friends and customers. I made the decision after a sermon at my church on economic power and faith.
I may be one person, but my money has power and where I choose to spend it has meaning. So I stopped shopping at the store until the owner changed how she treated her customers. I didn’t condemn anyone who chose to shop there. When asked I told people how I felt and didn’t worry about whether they agreed with me or not. Nor did I criticize them when they decided to shop there.
In harsh economic times likes these sometimes the only way to protest is to boycott. If you hit them in the wallet, it can sometimes cause them to rethink their decisions. I learned that lesson in history class after the lesson of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
I am not going to allow a politician or media personality to tell me what to believe or what attacks my faith. We need sound economic policy, an education systems that is supported by funded mandates and continuous improvements on infrastructure. As a teacher, I see the damage done to students when the system fails them. When people look the other way because it is just too hard to help them or worse they don’t believe they can learn. Some kids can survive it if they have the support of their families and faith in something more than themselves. Those two things can not be legislated or willed into existence they have to come from the home and the heart.
The wool has been pulled over many American’s eyes and it is time that we all take the blindfolds off and stand-up for what we want and need our government to do for us. Our nation was founded on many principles; the Separation of Church being one of them. A principle that I learned while attending Catholic school.
Listen to both sides, think, reflect, pray and then act.
One spirit in the dark,
Like a candle waivers.
Many spirits joined as one,
Burn with the power of the blazing sun.
There is strength in community,
The circle empowers you and me.
The circle binds yet sets us free.
By PJ Seale
This is an excerpt from one of my favorite songs. When I heard about the shooting in Aurora this song started to play in head. There are many people that will be trying to make sense of these event; in the words of President Obama “We may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this, just violence and evil is beyond reason” and today and for sometime to come is time for prayer and reflection.
There are candles burning in my home for those lost, injured physical and mental as well as their families.
Today, I pray that all of us forget politics and remember that we are all Americans. There is strength in community.
Each day brings us closer to election time. The news is already on information overload. Both candidates have supporters, ads and an agenda.
The country if you believe the media is crisis and it may very well be. Things are definitely not going well. People are angry and rightly so, but are they angry about the right things?
As a teacher, I have felt how my profession has been attacked in the last couple of years. Teachers and other public sector workers have come under fire. We are according to some greedy selfish individuals growing rich off of the public’s money. I would love to challenge these individuals who believe that I am somehow living high on the hog. My bank account and credit score are tangible evidence that I am not. My health benefits and retirement plan were suppose to be my compensation for being paid less t
han I would make in the private sector.
The upcoming election is a test of our nations ability to make decisions for itself. Do we have the ability to separate the propaganda from the facts? Do we know what we truly want for our nation? What is actually best for the country as a whole not just for ourselves? Can we separate our emotions from the facts in order to make a logical choice?
Politicians from both sides count on us voting with our hearts instead of our minds or better yet both. I admit that I was guilty of this early in my voting career. I voted the way my birth father did because I felt that our shared values dictated it. It was only later as I walked further and further into the adult world that I realized while my values had not changed my perception did. I have lived on minimum wages, without insurance and in public housing. The view from the middle is vastly different from the view from the bottom of society.
Neither party has the perfect solution for the country. It will take compromise and innovation to get us where we are once again prosperous. In the next election, it really does matter if you vote and let your voice be heard. No voting is how Florida ended up with Governor Scott, who hasn’t been the boost to the state’s economy that he promised. A few people decided what was best for the rest of the state. Now, my paycheck has been decreased in the name of conserving money and being responsible.
While the media debates the issues or what feel are the issues, it is up to us as everyday Americans to decide what are the real issues that affect us. Then seek out information from multiple sources and reflect on what it means for us. It will take a sacrifice on our parts. We will have to give up our valuable time for the future health of our nation. And then we must vote accordingly in the fall.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of United States of America, is quoted as saying that “The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Independence day marks the anniversary of our country beginning its fight for independence. The tree has been water time and time again by the blood of patriots; their bodies fill numerous cemeteries.
Both of my grandfathers have served and watched their friends bleed and die for our freedom. Two of my sisters have served, one of whom is still serving, have done the same. My beloved, Papa, served in Vietnam and came home wounded; forever marked by the war. Politicians will stand with soldiers and honor them but few really know their sacrifice, even myself.
This Fourth of July in between the celebrations and the fireworks remember those who can no longer celebrate with us. Remember them every time you raise your glass or take a bite to eat. Remember those who stood for freedom and those who are still standing for freedom all ove
r the world.
Don’t forget them tomorrow either. Or in the months to come as we decide who will be the next man to lead our country. They gave their blood, sweat and lives for us, the least we can do is vote.
