It's An Election Year - What do you think you need to know?
- Caesar Rondina, Author | Public Speaker
- Jul 27, 2020
- 10 min read
INTRODUCTION:
I have been bombarded with requests to talk about the candidates for President in this year's election. There is a reason why I choose to stay out of the political area. The main reason being, it is too controversial, opinionated, and honestly, most people do not understand how politics really work. Therefore, it is far too easy to make enemies when discussing political issues. However, I do not like ignoring requests from my readers. A dilemma at best. Therefore, I have chosen not to write directly about the candidates, rather, write about the election system. The things we need to know to make an infornmed decision.
Have no doubts, this year is going to be one of the most difficult years to choose a candidate because these are not "normal" times. The media networks have already taken a stand on which candidate they are favoring. That is evident in their reporting, which frankly, is a crock. What happened to "unbiased" reporting? I guess that went out with spats. As far back as I can remember, I don't think we have ever had two candidates that are so opposite. Also, whoever was meant to be President during these difficult times has my sympathy. No one can please everyone, so before you judge any politician, especially the President, there are a few things you should know, and this applies to Trump, or Hillary Clinton if she had won, or Biden if he wins. So you see, the post is NOT ablout the opreson, it's about the system. A sysetem that any President must cope with.
PRESENT SITUATION:
It's been a tough 3 1/2 years in politics. The Democrats and Republicans have been at odds since the election in 2016. That causes many problems, the most important being, it affects the citizens of our great nation. Things do not get done as quickly as they should. Now, add the pandemic to the mix, and we really have one hell of a show. Let's further aggravate the situation by adding all the violence, increased shooting and killings to the mix, peacful and non-peaceful protesters, and China, and we now have a complete state of voter confusion. A nightmare to call it what it is.
I am NOT a fan of Monday morning quarters, regardless of what side of the aisle they come from. Anyone can sit back after or during the fact and claim, "If I were in charge, things would be different." A completely ridiculous and misleading thing to do for any profession. Especially politics. Why? Because that person in NOT fully informed or aware of all the behoind the scenes activities, and is not facing the issues in the same way the person who is in charge, and making the decisions, is faced with.
For example, peaceful protests are a constitutional right. One which I fully support. Violent ones are not, and look what all this violence has evolved to. Children killed with stray bullets, murders in our largest metropolitan cities increased to an all-time record high, etc. The vast majority of our citizens want it stopped, and for the most part, they want the federal government to step in. Well, it's not that simple.easy. What most people do not realize is, the federal government can only step in to protect federal property, until such times as things have gone completely south and certaun declarations are made. The other option is for the Governors or Mayors of the cities to ask for federal government for help. Which we all know some have clearly stated they will NOT do.
Agrree or not, the Mayors and Governors of these cities are NOT considering protecting the innocent people and business owners that are affected by this violence. I ask you, is that what they were elected to do? Therefore, to some degree, the hands of the federal government are tied. Now, some police departments have asked for federal assistance and the federal government can help because they have been "invited" in.
For a moment, and it's difficult to do, forget the name Trump, or Biden. The pandemic was not caused by the President of the United States, nor was this violence. The tragic death of George Floyd was a tragedy that should have never occurred. Everyone agrees on that, and the officers involved were charged and will be dealt with accordingly. I understand and agree with the BLM in so far as the fact that black lives do matter, and eqaulity is paramount. However, speaking to the larger picture, isn;t it true that all lives matter? If is difficult at best, to have empathy for BLM when the majority of the recent killings were black people killing other black people. This only shows that whether police, or race, there will be bad apples in every bunch. Defunding police or abolishing police is NOT the answer. Look at New York. The street crime unit was disbanded and what has that resultsed in. A muder rate that is higher than anytime in their history. Retraining our police is paramount. Should we forget that people of color exist, and punish them all because of the few bad apples? Of course not. These are things as citizens we need to think about. Not everything we eahr form the left or right is true. Each side, to some degree, will paint a picture showing they are right, and somewhere in the middle will be the solution.
WHAT SHOULD WE CONSIDER:
People vote for a particular candidate for a variety of reasons. Some might be;
How they present themselves when they speak,
Their appearance, meaning, how they look,
Their track record, meaning, accomplishments or failures,
Their party affiliation,
The facts and the issues at hand.
There are also many more, these are just an example. I have said this manyt times. I do not believe in political parties for the exact reasons of what has been going on for the past 3 1/2 years. Also, I believe people should vote for whom they want, however, many, and it is ludicrous, to vote all Democratic or Republican just because you are a member of that party. Do you honestly think that we would get the best at what they do by doing that? I vote for the individual I believe will do the best job. Their party affiliation has no bearing on my choice.
Before I close, let me address the last bullet point, "The facts." I watch all the major network's news. Especially their political reporting since it's an election year. Each network spins a speech, or pulls the excerpt of a video clip that supports their views. In almost every case, it is reported differently on every network. I have watch the same story of three or four different networks and has seen it spun differently on each. Yeah, that's a great way to lead we the people around like a dog on a leash. However, in most cases, it may not represent the accuracu of what was said by a candidate.
In this writer's opinion, I enjoy FOX News. Let me tell you why. Yes, Fox does seem to lean towards Trump vs. Biden. However, they also have guests on that debate with other guests that are against Trump. This allows me to hear the different views, which further allows me to weigh what I hear, against what I see happening in the real world. As an example, Joe Biden was recently interviewed and asked what he would do differently if elected to do a better job than Trump on Covid-19. As it turned out, he listed six things he would do. The interviewer asked, and the question was not answered, those six things are poresently being done by the present administration, so what would you do differently? Is President Trump perfect? Heck no, but then, no one is perfect. I agree with many things he has done, and have not agreed with all the things he has done.
IN CLOSING:
You must weigh all facts. Forget the name Trump and Biden. Look at the facts. Our previous and present economic state, meaning, unemployment etc. This is no ones fault. This was caused by something we call the pandemic. Something no one could foresee. We should be making our choice of how it was handled by how the pandemic was handled, meaning, what was done to find a cure, and help the citizens of our great nation. Don't you think it is funny that many who criticized the President for closing the country early, are now changing their tune by saying it wasn't closed soon enough. Instead of changing your tune, why not simply admit you were incorrect with your first evaluation. I can respect that. Changing statements to meet a political agenda while anyone is running for office causes me to question their integrity, honesty, and more, and the names are irrelevant.
As I started to write, as citizens, we all have to look at the bigger picture. How was our economic growth before the pandemic, unemployment rates, equality of jobs for people of color and gender? Let's not forget all the other things that are important to our nation that are going on during this pandemic. Those cannot be forgotten. No, we do not have a full presidential track record for Joe Bidden to compare against because he was never President, only Vice-President. However, for the eight years he was in office, was as much accomplished for the citizens of this country. Again, forget Democrats and Repbulicans. Remove the names, and look at the facts. Of course, there is always the statement, "which candidate do you think will do a better job."
When any candidate stands up and publicly states they are going to remove the tax breaks given to companies, those tax cuts that caused them to come back to our country and hire our citizens, and tells us in direct language they are going to raise our personal taxes, think about that, and again I say, the name is NOT relevant, and those are only a few things. I could write a book about this. How can I support or vote for any person that is going to change what I believe was good for the citizens of our great nation. Again, forget the name, we are finally getting federal involvement to lower drug pricing. I could tell you as someone that worked as a paramedic for many years, and have seen many elderly people die because they could not afford their medications, this was a long time coming and a tremdous win for us. Like it or not, you will all be elderly one day. Will someone new revoke this due to big business pressure?
In our countries history, we have NEVER had a vaccine ready for any disease in such a short period of time. Is that because in the past, the federal government did not invest and financially support these efforts? Honestly, I do not know. What I do know is, this time, the federal government did. It takes a tremendous amount of work by many people to accomplish this, and at great financial cost. Cost which our government supported.
As I stated, this is not a tit-for-tat post about the candidates, it is a post about the things we need to look for when we make our choice in November. The facts. No one President fixes all the problems in one term. Therefore, all I am saying is, FORGET THE NAMES, FORGET THE POLITICAL PARTY AND YOUR AFFILIATION, AND LOOK AT THE FACTS. The pros and cons, and DO NOT always listen to the news by what you hear or read. Do your own homework. I remember how happy my co-workers were before I stopped working and just did writing and piblic speaking. When personal taxes were cut and most started taking home 40 or 50 dollars, a week or more in their pay checks, they were quite pleased. Now one candidate has shown us that will end when taxes are raised. These are the facts people. Don't look at the men running for office, looks at the facts. What they do after the election is what will directly affect you, and you cannot complain later.
As much as elections are often a personality choice, meaning, do you like the person. That is irrevelant. The real question is, by what they say or have done, is what they say they will do going to benefit the couhtry and it's people? That's the real question, and the only question you should be asking yourself when you vote. We must to looks at the facts, do our homeowrk, and make an itelligent choice.
Lastly, and I know this is a longer post than most, in an effort to keep my readers who requested a slightly different post, let me finsish by writing this. Obama/Bidden ticket did many good things in their eight years. Obama was presidential in his appearance. Moreso than Trump. However, when I think back to 2016, many voted for Trump becuase they liked the fact that he called a spade a spade. Said it like it was. Spoke like a person and not a politicaian. Poeple needed that candor and wanted it, as did I. Therefore, when I watch our President speak, I do not expect to see a John F. Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan, or an Obama. I expect to see exactly what I see.
My decisions are NOT based on that appearance, or his tweets on twitter. My choice will be made based on the facts. The most important being, did the citizens of this country benfit more from what he has done, and do I believe he will do more? Will he do what he says he will do? Did he do what he said he would do when he was elected? That is what my choice will be based on. Not whether ot not he wore a mask. Face it, any President is the most protected individual on the planet. The last thing I take into account are the many accusations made against the person. Fact or fiction. So far, none have proven to be true. So what has that told you? Therefore, is it possible much of these issues are political to try to discredit someone? Also, now things with regards to suspicion of Russian involvement are coming out, and it appears some people involved are quite high up in the food chain. If proven to be true, they will probably NOT be arrested becuase of who they are. Again, maybe just politics, but know I will be watching it closely.
People do not like when this is said, but I will say it. This country did an outstanding job of flattening the curve, but the facts are the fact. You do not have to like them,but you have to accept them. Using my state of Connecticut as a refference, we opened up slower than most. As we did, we reinforced wearing masks and soical distancing. People cooperated and followed the guidelines, and our numbers are among the lowest in the nation, along with New York and New Jersey, since all three states are neighboring and worked together. As other states opened, you all saw it on the news, especially in Florida and California. Most people stopped wearing masks, and were crowded on the beaches and in parks. They are now experiencing a secod spike, and many have once again closed certain things. My point being this. WE CANNOT BLAME A PRESIDENT FOR THE ACTIONS OF PEOPLE. We can point the finger on local govenments that MAYBE made a hasty choice, or didn't reinforce to their citizens the CDC guidelines. Those that did not break up or control the number of people they allowed on the beaches or in parks. Again, it's not a matter of personal opinions, it's about the fact. Stay safe and be well.
Thank you ... Caesar Rondina
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