Voting against propaganda
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
There's only a few hours left in the polls so, if you haven't yet, GO VOTE!
That being said, please, I beg of you, please don't be ignorant in your choice. I'm not advocating one candidate over another (although I do have my personal choice), but I am imploring all voters to educate themselves, at least a little, before casting their ballot.
Over the course of the past few weeks, I've had a number of conversations with people supporting all sides of the ballot. From Nader/Gonzales to Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin, I've heard praise and criticisms abound.
A friend of mine begged me to not vote for McCain. "He doesn't know what he's doing and he's so old, he'll die in office," she said. "If that happens, Palin will be president and she'll start a war." Are McCain and Palin really as innept as she says? Of course not. Even more importantly, aren't we already in a war? These candidates wouldn't have the support of however many millions of Americans if they couldn't get the job done. If Palin does end up being president, will it be the end of the world? No. Even if she is as terrible as my friend says, she has dozens of advisers (and Congress) so she doesn't go astray.
Today, a co-worker came up to me and told me she was still undecided. I encouraged her to do some backgrounding on the candidates, to check out their stances on issues important to her before she decided. Another co-worker overheard this and came over. "You can't vote for Obama," she said. "He's friends with terrorists. And he's communist." She continued, telling us that if Obama wins, America will be thrown into a terrorist-loving, Muslim, socialistic, economic disaster. I was blown away. I tried to convince her that what she heard was just propaganda, but she wouldn't listen. She couldn't understand how I didn't see this by just looking at him. I had to just shake my head and walk away.
So, please, vote for a candidate or vote against a candidate. I don't care. Just do a little research. Hear a rumor about McCain lighting burlap sacks of puppies on fire? How about the one where Obama eats kittens smothered in hollandaise sauce for brunch? Don't take my word for it. Go double check it with a reliable source, I'll even point you in the right direction...
- David Humphreys
That being said, please, I beg of you, please don't be ignorant in your choice. I'm not advocating one candidate over another (although I do have my personal choice), but I am imploring all voters to educate themselves, at least a little, before casting their ballot.
Over the course of the past few weeks, I've had a number of conversations with people supporting all sides of the ballot. From Nader/Gonzales to Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin, I've heard praise and criticisms abound.
A friend of mine begged me to not vote for McCain. "He doesn't know what he's doing and he's so old, he'll die in office," she said. "If that happens, Palin will be president and she'll start a war." Are McCain and Palin really as innept as she says? Of course not. Even more importantly, aren't we already in a war? These candidates wouldn't have the support of however many millions of Americans if they couldn't get the job done. If Palin does end up being president, will it be the end of the world? No. Even if she is as terrible as my friend says, she has dozens of advisers (and Congress) so she doesn't go astray.
Today, a co-worker came up to me and told me she was still undecided. I encouraged her to do some backgrounding on the candidates, to check out their stances on issues important to her before she decided. Another co-worker overheard this and came over. "You can't vote for Obama," she said. "He's friends with terrorists. And he's communist." She continued, telling us that if Obama wins, America will be thrown into a terrorist-loving, Muslim, socialistic, economic disaster. I was blown away. I tried to convince her that what she heard was just propaganda, but she wouldn't listen. She couldn't understand how I didn't see this by just looking at him. I had to just shake my head and walk away.
So, please, vote for a candidate or vote against a candidate. I don't care. Just do a little research. Hear a rumor about McCain lighting burlap sacks of puppies on fire? How about the one where Obama eats kittens smothered in hollandaise sauce for brunch? Don't take my word for it. Go double check it with a reliable source, I'll even point you in the right direction...
- David Humphreys