WARNING: this post gets political.
This morning I thought about my friends and family members in Pennsylvania, some of whom are intent on voting for the former President. While in the shower, I thought, “What could I possibly say that might sway them to reconsider and vote for the Vice President?”
Of course, my inner voice said, “You KNOW that’s not gonna happen, Scott. Right?”
Yeah, but it’s interesting to think about. Plus, I still long (perhaps naively) for a time when those on different sides of an issue could discuss our differences instead of going nuclear.
Anyway…
What comes up for me repeatedly in this election are issues related to young people and, most specifically, young women.
Top of mind is reproductive rights.
I don’t understand how my super-kind and smart friends and family, can support a party that wants to control a woman’s right to make decisions about a woman’s body. How can anyone (especially female voters) think that the government should have any say-so on a woman’s decision to give birth? I think it’s okay for them to voice their OPINION, for sure, but I don’t think it’s cool to legislate that freedom away.
(Did that sound nuclear? A bit, probably.)
The second concern I would address with friends and family is climate change. “Drill, Baby, Drill” is a short term approach to our children’s future based on all scientific evidence. Apparently, the GOP would try and undo the Inflation Reduction Act which is America finally walking arm and arm with other countries who have pledged to make changes. To me, this issue is all about the oil and gas industries’ stranglehold on politicians.
The last issue – which has been on my list for far too long – is common sense restrictions on gun ownership. Like 70% of the voters on both sides of the aisle, I want to see new laws passed that gun owners support that keep everyone (especially children) safer. It pisses me off that lawmakers are scared and selfishly out of step with the electorate and aligned with the NRA.
So, for me it’s all about health and safety issues. Call me crazy, but I don’t worry about immigration, the economy or the Mideast as much as I do women’s rights, climate change and violent crime in our schools.
And isn’t it crazy that NO ONE is really talking about education, healthcare, homelessness or the social security system this time around? I guess there’s only so much our addled brains can handle when we’re besieged by war in our government, war against women, and simultaneous crises in Ukraine and the Mideast.
As Joe Jackson once sang, “It’s all too much!”
Okay – I’m not gonna convince anyone to change their vote and I just violated my own “no politics” rule with this post. It’s not my lane.
But silence is, as they say, a form of self censorship. And I felt the need to let this go. Thanks for listening and I’ll hop back in my lane!
